Needed Research in the Curriculum

Abstract

The purpose of this discussion is to point out some examples of the most important researches that are needed in the and to indi cate how field workers may contribute effectively to such research proj ects. Before proceeding with the discussion, it is necessary to define the terms, research and curriculum, and to differentiate between the two chief methods of research. The term research7'' is here used as defined in the Second Edition of the Unabridged Webster's New International Dictionary. According to this authority, research is critical and exhaustive investigation or ex perimentation having for its aim : (1) the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation ; ( 2 ) the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts ; (3) or the practical appli cations of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws. 'n The term curriculum has been used in so many senses that it is difficult to avoid ambiguity. The best that can be done is to state clearly the meaning of the term as used in this paper and then to rely on the reader to keep clearly in mind the strictly limited sense in which the term is used. The term is here used to refer to the planned se quence of learning experiences. By way of preliminary definition of terms, it still remains to differen tiate between the two chief methods of research, the historical and the scientific. As Fling points out in The Writing of History,2 sci ence deals with generalizations and its terms are common nouns, but history deals with unique, individual, complex wholes and its terms are proper nouns. As he says, the scientist studies and organizes facts from the point of view of the general, of repetition, and of law. The historian, on the other hand, studies and organizes facts from the point of view of difference, of individuality, and of uniqueness. The same facts may be