Curriculum Theory Research Articles

The Role of Theory in the MLIS Curriculum

This panel explores the integration of theory into the master’s curriculum for library and information studies. Balancing theoretical focus with more practical emphasis can be a challenge, and engaging students in theory by tying it to practice can be complicated. The panel will provide opportunities to explore these challenges in the specific contexts of reference and information literacy instruction courses, but also more generally throughout the LIS curriculum.

Integrating Curriculum and Instruction In Islamic Religious Education : Insights from Robin Fogarty's Theory

This research explores strategies to enhance the coherence between curriculum and instruction in Islamic Religious Education (IRE) by employing Robins Fogarty's theory of curriculum integration. Utilizing a qualitative approach with integrating a theoretical study as a research design. Specifically, the study highlights the utility of Fogarty’s tripartite integration model as a critical lens for developing a unified IRE curriculum. This model aims to synchronize disparate content areas, fostering a more integrated and holistic student understanding. For the data sources, the research examined the various theories linked with Forgaty’s theory, and the data analysis was qualitative, in which the research tried to explain and integrate the theory into IRE policy. The findings from the study emphasized the imperative for further applied research to develop integrated lesson plans, explore teachers’ experiences and professional development needs, and assess comprehensive learning outcomes. The research advocates for a collaborative approach between curriculum theorists and educators to refine and advance IRE policies. Such collaborative efforts ensure that IRE promotes intellectual advancement and contributes to students’ spiritual and personal growth, ultimately enriching their educational experience.

Teachers’ values in a space of change: The idea of teacher assistants as re-negotiation of teacher professionalism

ABSTRACT Teacher professionalism has long been subject to contestation as embedded with certain ideas, norms and values. Transnational discourses on teacher professionalism have spurred the recontextualisation of the idea of teacher assistants in Swedish educational reform. Policy imperatives around increasing teachers’ professional responsibility and accountability have raised issues regarding what values around teacher professionalism ought to be prioritised. The aim of this article is to explore teachers’ values regarding professional responsibility in the compulsory school context based on the interaction with teacher assistants and in light of policy discourses on teacher professionalism. The concept of “discursive space” is utilised to explore juxtaposed values within the local and across national and transnational levels. This concept is based in a combination of discursive institutionalism and curriculum theory with an actor-centred approach around ideas and discourses in an institutional context. The analysis shows dilemmas around holistic aspects and fragmentation regarding professional responsibility, but also, possibilities when “sharing” responsibilities with teacher assistants. Dilemmas emerge around questions on purpose and temporal struggles. Dilemmas emerge regarding professional responsibility against accountability purposes and result-orientation. Re-negotiation of teacher professionalism is spurred by the idea of teacher assistants, and surrounding discourses, creating dilemmas for teachers in the negotiated discursive space.

Strategy for Implementing the Hidden Curriculum for the Arabic Language Teacher at the Secondary Stage in TMI Al-Amien for Female

This article aims to analyze the strategy for implementing the hidden curriculum for Arabic teachers as well as the supporting and inhibiting factors at TMI Al-Amien Prenduan. This research uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive type. Data sources were obtained from Arabic language teachers, master teachers and academics. The data collection methods used are observation, interviews and documentation. Data analysis is carried out by reducing data, presenting data and drawing conclusions. Meanwhile, the technique used to check the validity of the data is source triangulation. The results of this research are the hidden curriculum strategy used by Arabic language teachers at Marhalah Tsanawiyah in the form of applying I'dad tadris and serving as an example in the application of Arabic. The supporting factor in implementing the hidden curriculum is the role of the master teacher in planning the hidden curriculum for the Arabic language teacher himself. Meanwhile, the inhibiting factors are the lack of understanding of Arabic language teachers regarding the hidden curriculum theory and the small number of Arabic language teachers who study in the field of Tarbiyah.

Struggling for relevance: exploring editors’ perceived importance and value of religious education in school

ABSTRACT This article, situated in the field of didactics of religion, explores the comprehension of religious education (RE) by the editors of Elevkanalen, a subsidiary of TV2, Norway’s most significant commercial public broadcaster. They are a unique media enterprise that provides educational resources for primary and lower secondary schools and is designated by themselves as a school publisher. The study applies interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to analyse the data collected through semi-structured interviews with the editors. The findings reveal that the editors’ approach to RE is based primarily on topical content or current issues rather than traditional subject-specific matter. The underlying justification lies in the query of how a given topic or issue can be rendered relevant within the context of RE. The editors are struggling for relevance and advocating interdisciplinarity, and the article discusses these findings by utilising relevance theory, Goodlad and Su’s curriculum theory, and Klafki’s didactical formation (Bildung) theory.

How can ChatGPT assist hospitality and tourism education?

ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence (AI) poses new challenges and opportunities for hospitality and tourism (H&T) education. This study explores how ChatGPT, a chatbot powered by a generative pre-trained transformer model, can affect H&T curriculum design and delivery. Using secondary data from academic articles, news reports, and official documents, the paper applies curriculum theory and stakeholder theory to examine the competencies, expectations, and interests of H&T students, educators, and industry practitioners regarding ChatGPT. This study reveals that ChatGPT can enhance learning outcomes and experiences, improve educational equity and efficiency, and raise ethical, technical, and pedagogical issues for H&T education. This research note also offers insights and recommendations for H&T educators to integrate ChatGPT into their teaching practices and prepare students for research work and careers that incorporate generative AI. Moreover, the study contributes to the literature on H&T education by examining the role and impact of ChatGPT as an innovative and emerging technology.

Interests, Knowledge and Evaluation: Alternative Approaches to Curriculum Evaluation

Reprinted with permission from Aoki, T. (1986). Interests, knowledge and evaluation: Alternative approaches to curriculum evaluation. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 6(4), pp. 27–44. https://journal.jctonline.org/index.php/jct/issue/view/95

Curriculum theory and developmentally appropriate practice

ABSTRACT The authors begin this article with an account of the crises in education in the US today. Curriculum theory is applied to the ideas in the 4th edition of NAEYC’s ‘developmentally appropriate practices,’ and the relationship between the ideas in this edition to current issues is discussed. The authors also present a brief description of democratic education. They conclude with a recommendation to democratise early childhood teacher education that includes the development of individual and group platforms.

Reconsidering Curriculum Theory and the Way of Doing Education in China: Applying Paraskeva’s Itinerant Curriculum Theory (ICT)

Reconsidering Curriculum Theory and the Way of Doing Education in China: Applying Paraskeva’s Itinerant Curriculum Theory (ICT)

Considering critical moments, co-authoring and active engagement in learning

ABSTRACT Background Within classroom research, there has long been agreement on the importance of dialogue and discussion for student learning. However, how the concept of knowledge influences classroom conversation needs further investigation, as this has key implications for students’ active participation. Purpose Our research sought to conceptualise the assumption of knowledge in standards-based curricula and explore some implications of teaching based on this kind of curriculum. To do this, we drew on a larger research project undertaken in Sweden, which involved a comparative classroom study. Methods Four natural science lessons were examined in terms of student’s opportunities to engage in the teaching content. The analytical framework was based on curriculum theory, the concepts of a lesson as a curriculum event, and students as co-authors of teaching content. We analysed two concepts of knowledge – social realism and transactional realism – in relation to an openness towards ‘critical moments’ during lessons, either noticed or unnoticed, and related them to the logics of curriculum and knowledge. Findings When framed by classroom teaching designed from knowledge criteria, students’ opportunities for acting as co-authors can become restricted, with critical moments overlooked because of a teaching focus necessarily limited by curriculum. Thus, opportunities for creating spaces to pay attention to students’ questions and reactions can be constrained. Conclusions Standards-based curricula, a concept of knowledge with a strong focus on subject-specific facts and ways of reasoning, together with high-stakes assessment, may lead to fewer openings for genuine discussion and student reflection. This highlights the need to leave larger spaces for teachers and students alike to influence content that engages students.

Teacher assistants’ values in a discursive space: emerging change and re-negotiation of teacher professionalism in Sweden

ABSTRACT In the Nordic context, transnational discourses influence recontextualisation of ideas and discourses, and thus, how local actors negotiate around values imbued with ideas and discourses. In Sweden, the idea of teacher assistants has been prompted – through policy discourses on teacher professionalism – under imperatives of reducing teachers’ workload and increasing professional responsibility and accountability. The aim of this article is to explore teacher assistants’ values regarding roles and responsibilities in relation to teachers and education in light of policy discourses on teacher professionalism. Drawing on discursive institutionalism and curriculum theory, the concept of ‘discursive space’ is utilized to explore values in an institutional context. Based on twelve interviews with teacher assistants in compulsory schools, the analysis shows how a reductionist notion of teaching gives rise to dilemmas around being teachers’ ‘alter ego’ when values around teaching as ‘core’ are prioritized. Dilemmas around local pluralization emerge when teacher assistants are viewed as a ‘solution’ to a plethora of issues. Challenges emerge in the context of ambiguity around teacher assistants’ orientation towards teaching or processes ‘surrounding’ teaching. The analysis illustrates conditioned values highlighting dilemmas and challenges, but also possibilities for discursive action. Altogether, a re-negotiation of teacher professionalism emerges in the discursive space.

University-based social innovation and entrepreneurship education in Hong Kong: a curriculum analysis

ABSTRACT Amidst the intensified discourse surrounding universities’ societal impact, social innovation and entrepreneurship (SIE) has emerged as a way to refocus universities’ engagement in sustainable development, particularly through their core mission of teaching and learning. Growing interest in SIE education over the decades has led to a proliferation of courses and programs offered in various disciplines by universities worldwide. Nevertheless, scholarly research unpacking the SIE educational processes remains scant and lacks multidisciplinary perspectives. Educators of SIE continue to face challenges in designing curricula and adopting appropriate teaching approaches. This study fills this gap by offering ample empirical evidence based on a documentary analysis of 53 syllabi from 43 distinctive courses accompanied by interviews with the academics responsible for the design of these courses across all eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong. The analysis identifies multiple patterns within two major themes: the changing scope and positioning of SIE education and the varying orientations of SIE curricula. The findings provide valuable insights and identify areas for further exploration for the design of impactful SIE learning experiences for students. Furthermore, by situating the examination of SIE teaching and learning within the lens of curriculum theory, this study establishes a foundation for future research to undertake systematic and rigorous comparative analyses of curricula in diverse contexts.

Teachers’ Facebook rebellion groups: sites for professional collegial deliberation?

ABSTRACT This study examines conversations in a Swedish teachers’ School Rebellion (SR) group on Facebook, a group that attracts members who wish to engage in activism for a different and better Swedish school system and improved conditions for teachers. The phenomenon of teachers’ Rebellion Facebook groups is relatively new. It has emerged in several countries over the past decade and clearly differs from traditional online teacher collaboration and professional development groups. Placing the Swedish SR initiative in the context of discussions on changing teacher professionalism over the last decade, the aim of this study is to examine what content is given presence in SR posts and how it is discussed by members, and to determine the extent to which the communication between the participating teachers has the potential to strengthen collective professionalism. To this end, curriculum theory and the concept of deliberative communication are combined to address questions of content and various relations between actors and levels, such as power and responsibility issues. The analysis shows that many topics related to teaching and education appear in the conversations, deliberative approaches vary from what is termed pre-deliberative to deliberative and even counter-deliberative. Although all participants have a voice, the administrators’ role is shown to be of special interest. Based on these findings, the administrators’ responsibility to maintain professional collegial deliberation is discussed as a complex mission of deliberation over political, pedagogical, and practical issues.

The Realistic Worries and Reconstruction Path of Integrating Leisure Education into Curriculum from the Perspective of Dewey's Curriculum Theory

In today's rapidly developing economy, the transition from a working society to a leisure society has made the importance of leisure education increasingly prominent. However, due to the narrow educational concept, leisure education has not received the attention it deserves, making it difficult to realize its true educational value. As a life oriented educational activity, leisure education urgently needs to be integrated into school curriculum. From the perspective of Dewey's curriculum theory, this paper explores the direction of curriculum in contemporary leisure education, examines the reflection of real-life concerns such as "cognitive degradation", "temporal and spatial alienation", and "the disappearance of contemplation" in the era, and explores the reconstruction path of integrating leisure education into curriculum based on the theory of activity curriculum.

The local governance of Swedish schools in light of a new educational policy landscape empirical exploration and theoretical elaboration

ABSTRACT In the Nordic curriculum theory (CT) tradition, questions linked to educational change and school governance have long been a crucial research issue. However, despite several decades of decentralized school systems, local school governance has been a highly neglected field of research. Considering the changing landscape of school governance in terms of re-centralization, where the state’s aim is to take stronger control of school outcomes, the conditions for local school governance have changed. Based on results from two research projects in two Swedish municipalities, and from a neo-institutional theoretical perspective, the aim of this article is to contribute to the CT research field by exploring and theorizing on local school governance. Four management strategies that local educational authorities (LEAs) employed to manage the schools could be distinguished: local school management via i) data use, ii) the standardization and formalization of schools’ quality assurance processes and routines, iii) quality dialogues, iv) professional learning and best practices. These management strategies and activities were mostly organized, and conducted within the scope of the LEAs’ quality assurance systems and were primarily built on normative and cultural – cognitive elements. A way to conceptualize this form of governance is through the concept of ‘local quality management’.

The regenerative power of curriculum theorising: feminine wonderings/wanderings (without)

AbstractUbuntu-currere, resonates with Catherine Malabou’s concept of plasticity (inspired by the figuration of the salamander) in the sense that they are both regenerative processes although the former might be viewed as a macro-process and the latter a micro-process. Ubuntu-currere concerns the (ongoing) unfolding/becoming of the human in intra-action with other humans and more-than-human world - a re/generative process of mind-body-soul. In this article, author 1 narrates her story of becoming-woman through weaving together her engagement with the work of Catherine Malabou, including the notion of plasticity, and Le Grange’s ubuntu-currere. After the autobiophilosography of author 1, we draw on the concept curriculum as complicated conversation whereby author 2 engages in a diffractive reading of author 1’s autobiophilosography, through conceptually experimenting with Malabou’s references to wondering (French: admiration) and Barad’s notion of wondering/wandering (imagination). Curriculum as complicated conversation concerns processes in which curriculum scholars engage in open and frank intra-actions, by listening to others for the purpose of self-criticism. We propose that wandering/wondering could add yet another dimension to the notion of complicated conversation and contribute to thinking of alternative possibilities for the field and for the becoming of pedagogical lives.

Impact of Situational Analysis on Implementation of Educational Innovations in Kenya: The Case of Competency Based Curriculum (CBC)

Educational innovation is inevitable in every society. A shift from 8:4:4 to 2:6:3:3:3 (CBC) system of education is ongoing and the new curriculum is taking a centre stage. Situational analysis is a prerequisite for an effective implementation of a new curriculum. However, gaps have been exhibited that are impediments to its effective implementation. The Purpose of this paper was to assess the impact of situational analysis on implementation of CBC. The objectives were to establish the extent: to which curriculum needs assessment were done towards CBC, to which necessary interventions have been taken to address the findings of the situational analysis and to find out the effects of curriculum needs assessment on implementation of CBC. This study reviewed relevant empirical literatures whose meta- analysis was guided by the work of Ferrer (1998). The study established that situational analysis was done towards dispensation of the CBC curriculum but some gaps remained that needed to be addressed before its roll out and continuous support where necessary. This study would necessarily illuminate on policy issues concerning curriculum theory and practice in Kenya.

Reconceptualization of curriculum studies: A brief history and personal memories

The article presents a brief history of the reconceptualization of curriculum studies based on documents and my own memories. Reconceptualization has had a significant impact on understanding the curriculum not only as goals and instructional actions followed by evaluation but as a complicated, interdisciplinary conversation. Reconceptualization originated in the USA in the 1970s, when a new generation of curriculum researchers challenged the dominant Tylerian perspective on curriculum.The first years of reconceptualization were, however, turbulent. Reconceptualists presented critiques of managerial perspectives in curriculum theorizing but, according to critiques, had no clear theory to replace the mainstream. In the 1980s and 1990s, reconceptualist scholars focused on understanding curriculum, presenting extensive pieces of work, such as Pinar’s and his colleagues’ book titled Understanding Curriculum. Also, William Doll made a significant impact on describing the postmodern context for education and curriculum. During the last 20 years, reconceptualization has taken steps towards discourses with the educational practice. This same perspective is also evident in the Finnish research on curriculum studies. In addition to being a complicated conversation, education should focus on promoting autobiographical and identity-related processes. Arts is often proposed as a context for expanding imagination and creativity. Despite the general practical perspectives, reconceptualization is still a critical movement against simplistic, technocratic models in which curriculum is prescribed and measurable learning objectives dominate.

The stability and acceptance of the “system of competency‐based curriculum design” framework: Perspectives of teachers

AbstractThe “System of Competency‐Based Curriculum Design” (SCCD) framework was developed to meet the requirement for reform in competency‐based education and overcome the limitations of Understanding by Design (UbD). This comprehensive framework, incorporating knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values, aligns with competency ingredients as defined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and integrates diverse curriculum theories. It provides educators with clear steps and empowers them to make iterative calibration while designing units/courses, ensuring a dynamic and responsive approach to curriculum development. To assess the stability and acceptance of the SCCD framework, a research instrument was developed, encompassing five stability subscales with a total of 25 items and an additional acceptance subscale featuring five items. A total of 455 participants who participated in SCCD training workshops were involved in the study. The research outcomes affirm the robustness of its theoretical foundation. Additionally, the unequivocal endorsement of its concept by teachers from diverse backgrounds serves as further validation of its integrity. The study concludes with recommendations derived from the obtained results.

How might we do it better? Applying educational curriculum theory and practice in talent development environments

ABSTRACT Although Talent Development is a key function for sports organisations, too little work has focused on the establishment of evidence-grounded methods for optimising progress. Drawing principally on the work of Tyler (1949) and Kelly (2009), our aim is to examine constructs from the field of curriculum studies to establish a range of educational concepts and frameworks that would support talent pathway coaches. Using four fundamental questions concerning curriculum design suggested by Tyler (1949) as a frame, i.e. purpose, content, methods or procedures, and evaluation, we present a range of tangible and robust frameworks and ideas that might be applied to talent pathways. Additionally, we have found accordance between several concepts from curriculum theory and practice and existing practices within talent development pathways. Having an awareness of when and where congruency exists would afford practitioners and scholars the opportunity to refine and cultivate more coherent, purposeful and justifiable talent development environments.