Abstract
The aim of this literature review study was to examine the historical development of the concept of curriculum theory, its reflections on curriculum development studies, and teaching-learning processes and also to attract the attention of the researchers to the area of curriculum theory which was seen to be left aside for years. The research was designed by reviewing the literature, and different theoretical perspectives on curriculum development studies in the USA which historically dominated the field since the early 1900’s and Turkey were examined. In the first phase, the explanation of the concepts of curriculum, theory, curriculum theory, the chaotic structure, and discussions in the literature regarding the terminology of these concepts were given. It was concluded that in the literature the concept of curriculum theory has been used synonymously with the concepts of curriculum beliefs, educational value orientations, curriculum ideologies, and curriculum orientations. In addition, the classification of curriculum theories, curriculum development studies in which the reflections of curriculum theories could be seen, and the studies conducted in Turkey and abroad on this subject were included in the study. Taking the limited number of studies on curriculum theories and their lack of variety into account, future studies on curriculum theory are considered to feed the intellectual background of the field and attract the attention of the researches to theories of curriculum, which will fill the gap in the literature.
Highlights
The curriculum is the constitution of education that directs an education system and defines the individuals to be raised in the society
During the curriculum-developing process, what knowledge is of most worth, what should we teach? (Spencer, 1884); why should we prefer to teach one thing over another?, who can reach what knowledge?, in order to obtain a whole from the different parts of the curriculum, how should these parts be interrelated? (Kliebard, 1977) are important questions to answer
This study is in the form of a literature review, which was prepared by examining the studies on the concept of curriculum theory in the literature
Summary
The curriculum is the constitution of education that directs an education system and defines the individuals to be raised in the society. There is a need for deep inquiries and questions asked to curriculum are of great importance Such questions include: Is the nature of the knowledge in the curriculum sourced from didactic teachings, individual interpretations, abilities and competencies, or cultural and moral perspectives? (Schiro, 2012) The questions like these can find their answers only after intense thinking processes (Null, 2016) These deep inquiries show which intellectual planning, infrastructure, ideological and philosophical perspectives are at the heart of the curriculum. There is a huge impact of American scholars and studies on the field of curriculum and the development of the concept of curriculum theory. In order to see and analyze how curriculum theory was addressed in the studies from a broader perspective, both the national and international research on the curriculum theory was examined
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