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The concept of 'knowledge' is central to education, particularly when it comes to the school curriculum. This paper makes the case for engaging in conceptual analysis, and in particularly conceptual engineering, in educational studies. Conceptual engineering emphasises analysing concepts with their purposes in mind. To illustrate the importance of this sort of conceptual analysis in education, I track the educational impact of three concepts of knowledge: (1) the traditional philosophical concept of knowledge as justified, true belief; (2) Michael Young's concept of 'knowledge of the powerful'; and (3) Young's concept of 'powerful knowledge'. I argue that knowledge as justified, true belief is too abstracted from educational purposes to provide much guidance for curriculum planning. Young's 'knowledge of the powerful' prioritises the social role that knowledge can play over its value to individual students. Finally, 'powerful knowledge' is too unclear to provide appropriate guidance to policy makers and practitioners. By examining the interactions between these concepts of knowledge and historical policy and practice in education, I conclude that the focus of conceptual engineering on clarity about the purposes of education is central to good conceptual analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Michael Young’s work is central to debates about knowledge and the school curriculum. In recent years he has renounced his early argument that school subjects represent the ‘knowledge of the powerful’, arguing instead that access and equality for all students are dependent on ensuring that all get access to ‘powerful knowledge’. This paper provides an interpretation of Young’s work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite the ‘progressive’ influence of the English Plowden Report and Scottish Primary Memorandum on British primary curricula from the 1960s onwards, secondary education has generally continued to follow a more traditional subject-centred route and post-war educational theorists have not generally been favourably inclined to other than subject-based modes of curriculum planning and organisation. However, in the light of current curriculum reviews on both sides of the Scottish border – calling for more educationally meaningful curricula – the perennial issue of how school knowledge might best be ordered for the coherent educational experience of pupils seems worth revisiting. To this end, this paper examines some of the influential post-war philosophical arguments against integrated and interdisciplinary approaches to the curricular organisation of knowledge, concluding that they are not as compelling as they might formerly have seemed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of geography is declining in popularity at secondary school level and recent developments following the ‘cultural turn’ in Higher Education have had little impact in revitalising it. In this paper I explore the question: is there a problem with the school geography curriculum policy? After briefly sketching the history of the Geography National Curriculum policy (GNC), I focus on Caputo's (1997) commentary on Derrida and the idea of deconstruction and invention to explore the contemporary GNC policy text (1999) programme of study at Key Stage 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the sociology of knowledge and curriculum planning. People interested in problems of the curriculum of schools can be divided into two groups. The first group, by far the largest, is mainly interested in the practical problems of the curriculum, of which bringing about some desirable change in the curriculum might be one. The theoretical basis for much of the work in this particular volume is to be found in a sub-discipline of sociology known as the sociology of knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to provide some account of the sociology of knowledge and to explore the implications for the study of the curriculum of this particular viewpoint. The author proposes to do this first by looking at the sociology of knowledge as it was formulated by researcher Karl Mannheim. Although Mannheim was by no means the first to put forward a set of ideas as the sociology of knowledge, he is the thinker who made these notions through his writings accessible to the English speaking world. Mannheim drew attention to two other features of political and social theories.

Addresses the issue of the need for the development of a post compulsory curriculum adequate to the demands of the 21st century in British education. Qualitative and quantitative issues involved in the development of a 21st century curriculum; Circumstances that can influence curriculum development efforts in the country.

Discusses the factors being considered in national curriculum-making in Australia. Trends in the Australian economy; Costs of education in relation to the outcomes of schooling; Integration of education and youth policies.

Evaluates the effectiveness of planned curriculum change in Great Britain. Citation of the minimal impact of curriculum change on schools and colleges; Requirement of changes in the internal organization of the school; Involvement of teachers in decision-making.

This exploratory study presents an example of how a historical contextualization framework can be used to develop and implement a lesson unit on Cold War events. The effects of the lesson unit on students' ability to perform historical contextualization are explored in a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design with an experimental (n = 96) and a control (n = 73) condition. The students' answers on a historical contextualization test were analysed. The results indicate that students in the experimental condition increased their ability to perform historical contextualization and displayed less present-oriented perspectives in their answers compared to students in the control condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the state of the educational system in Great Britain. Conception of educational planning at national and local level; Developments in educational studies; Improvements of the curriculum policy.

In the study of the construction of curricular knowledge in Portugal between 1970 and 2009, we argue that the practice of the established curriculum guidelines has a close relationship with the personal dimension of its actors. Therefore, it is not possible to separate the life history of each actor from the curricular policy measures they developed. This means that we sought not only to identify who the political actors were, but also how they built their knowledge and the relationship this has with their life story, by making their social and cognitive map. The sources that we used were laws, reports and interviews with political actors. We conclude that the choice of political leaders for education is not innocent or even indifferent to their life policies, since the knowledge built by each one is integrated into their educational proposals. Although the agenda for education is defined at the supranational level, national policies take different directions. Thus, the study also suggests the need to research the relation between the collective and the individual in educational policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the impact of Nuffield 'A' level Physics Project (NAP) on curriculum development in the U.S. and Great Britain. Details regarding the establishment of the project; Introduction of NAP draft materials to preliminary trial schools; Criticism faced by the project; Launch of the project.

Comments on the philosophical principles underlying the curriculum and the libertarian attitude towards education in Great Britain. Reasons for the differences in the educational recommendations made by those who employ the libertarian argument; Justifications of the compulsory curriculum courses; Implications of the disagreements about the nature of freedom for important educational and social consequences.

Discusses the rationale for an approach to initial professional training in the postgraduate certificate education (PGCE) course teachers in Great Britain. Basic considerations in decisions on course design; Characterization of the professionalism required of teachers; Practical principles for PGCE courses.

Examines the development of a social studies curriculum in a state education system in Australia. Changes in the curriculum development within the state education system; Accountability of the curriculum; Role of teachers in curriculum planning and implementation.

Outlines the main details of the Associated Examining Board's philosophy syllabus and considers the problem of teaching philosophy in schools in Great Britain. Composition of two parts in the syllabus that concentrate on the history of philosophy and other various philosophical themes; Choice given to students to select two themes from possible areas like Our Perception of the External World and Faith and the Existence of God; Possibility that naive philosophical amateurs would be given a license to indulge in an undisciplined search for a philosophy of life.

Examines the problems with combining different disciplines in the production of a course about the theory of curriculum design at the Open University in Milton Keynes, England. Arousal of barriers-between-disciplines in the teaching strategies; Relationship between autonomy and needs-analysis; Importance of considering factors to promote cooperation between interdisciplinary teams.

The article presents information on the new determinants of Keele University in Staffordshire, England curriculum which paved the way for new University curriculum. From the first, demands for a University in North Staffordshire were made with an eye to the local industries. This early activity bore fruit not in a University College, but in a North Staffordshire Technical College. Yet subsequent demands for a University continued to have a peculiarly local flavour although from 1914 the Technical College was providing educational facilities related to the industries of North Staffordshire. There was a renewed and again unsuccessful demand for a local university in 1919 when the idea was canvassed in the local press by Tutorial Class Students, who emphasized that ones needs are peculiar to oneself and cannot adequately be met by facilities provided by other centers. It is hardly surprising therefore that when the idea of a North Staffordshire University was again broached in 1945 it represented a direct continuation of earlier demands for a North Staffordshire University. The 1943 Report of the Association of University Teachers emphasized on technology and social studies as two fields in which regional attachment' would provide a valuable stimulus. The Report also called for more active extension work by the Universities.