UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA UNIT: School of Education
AT GREENSBORO DEPT: Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations
COURSE SYLLABUS
1. Course Prefix and Number: ELC 686-01
2. Course Title: Curriculum Theory
3. Credits: 3
4. Course Prerequisites/Corequisites: Graduate Standing
5. For Whom Planned: Elective course in the Masters of School Administration, the Ed.S. and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, the Ph.D. in Cultural Foundations, and other departments in the school of education.
6. Instructor Information: Dr. Kathleen Casey
234 Curry
(336) 334-3461
7. Course Purpose/Catalog Description: A study of the nature of theory and of theory building. The course focuses on the application of theoretical criteria to the field of curriculum.
8. Teachers Academy Conceptual Framework Mission Statement: The mission of professional education at UNCG is to prepare and support the professional development of caring, collaborative, and competent educators who work in diverse settings. This mission is carried out in an environment that nurtures the active engagement of all participants, values individual as well as cultural diversity and recognizes the importance of reflection and integration of theory and practice. UNCG's professional education programs are guided by shared commitments to: (a) equity and excellence in teaching, research, and service; (b) professional integrity and ethical deliberation in dealing with students and colleagues (university-based, school-based, and community-based); (c) the construction of a professional knowledge base through collaboration and collegiality; and (d) the dissemination of professional knowledge, skills and dispositions through the preparation and continuing professional development of teachers, principals and other school personnel.
9. Course Goals and/or Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes: Instructor's statement of learning outcomes OR goals/objectives from state or national professional standards (please identify the organization, e.g. DPI, CEC, etc.)
10. Teaching Strategies: For example, lecture, class discussion, group work, conferences, student presentations, electronic chat room, etc.
11. Evaluation Methods and Guidelines for Assignments:
Course Requirements:
(1) to agree to guidelines for discussion
(2) to attend and participate in every class
(3) to hand in summaries of readings on time
*Regular attendance and conscientious participation based on course readings is essential. You are expected to hand in summaries on the date listed on the syllabus.
*Students wishing to receive an A in the course, must, as a minimum, attend all class meetings, participate in all class discussions, and hand in all assignments on time. Please also remember that a grade of A is for exceptional work.
*All papers must be typed, double-spaced, with conventional margins. Do not shrink print smaller than what is on this page (12 point); I cannot read it. A staple in the upper left had corner is the cheapest form of presentation, and the one which is easiest for me to handle.
*In the one place on the syllabus where articles are marked with an asterisk (*), you are expected to map out relationships among the frameworks presented in articles by Huebner, Kliebard (two articles), and Eisner and Vallance. You need to hand in the map.
*In the one place on the syllabus where articles are marked with a cross (+), you are expected to list the elements of each metaphor and describe its relationship to the others. You need to hand in your descriptions.
*In places on the syllabus where articles are marked (a) or (b), half of the class will write about one article, half, the other. [You need to read both articles.] your summary should be two pages long.
*You are not expected to understand everything in an article on your preliminary reading; work with whatever parts make some sense to you. Take special note of the author’s major concept(s), metaphor(s), definition(s). Read between the lines. Remember that your are not reading for detail, but for patterns: explicit and implicit expressions of values within each piece, correspondences and contrasts between them.
12. Required Text(s)/Readings/References:
13. Topical Outline:
8 January What is Theory?
*Huebner, Dwayne. (1975). Curriculum Language and Classroom Meanings. In Pinar, William, (Ed.). Curriculum Theorizing: The Reconceptualists. Berkley, CA: McCutchan.
15 January Martin Luther King’s Birthday
22 January Paradigms of Curriculum
*Make a map showing the relationship of different frameworks to each other.
Historical currents of curriculum:
*Kliebard, Herbert. (1985). Three Currents of American Curriculum Thought. Current Thought of Curriculum: 1985 ASCD Yearbook. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Recent conceptions of curriculum:
*Eisner, Elliott & Vallance, Elizabeth. (19740. Five Conceptions of Curriculum: Their Roots and Implications for Curriculum Planning. Conflicting Conceptions of Curriculum. Berkley, CA: McCutchan.
Metaphors of Curriculum:
*Kliebard, Herbert. (1975). Metaphorical Roots of Curriculum Design. In Pinar, William (Ed.). Curriculum Theorizing: The Reconceptualists. Berkeley, CA: McCutchan.
29 January Metaphors of curriculum (cont.)
+List the elements of each metaphor and describe its relationship to the
others
+Casey, Kathleen and Apple, Michael W. (1989). Gender and the Conditions of Teachers’ Work. In Acker, Sandra, (Ed.). Teachers, Gender, and Careers. New York: Falmer.
+Casey, Kathleen. (1990). Teacher as Mother: Curriculum Theorizing in the Life Histories of Contemporary Women. Cambridge Journal of Education 20, 3.
5 February What is technical valuing? Scientific valuing? How do they relate to curriculum?
Rose, Hillary. (1983). Hand, Brain, and Heart: A Feminist Epistemology for the Natural Sciences. Signs: A Journal of Women in Culture and Society 9, 1 (Autumn).
12 February Scientific valuing…
(a) Wirth, Arthur. (1977). Philosophical Issues in the Vocational-Liberal Studies Controversy (1900-1917): John Dewey vs. the Social Efficiency Philosophers. Curriculum and Evaluation. Berkeley, CA: McCutchan.
14. Other Information: Any other items you normally include on your course syllabus such as Academic Honor Code, Attendance Policy, Additional Requirements, etc.
15. Recommended Text(s) and/or Readings: A bibliography or list of references highlighting recent scholarship (pedagogy and research) in the subject area
16. Alignment with State and National Standards: Attach a matrix aligning the course goals/objectives with INTASC and/or NBPTS, DPI guidelines or competencies, standards of your professional organization (CEC, NCTM, NCTE, NCSS, NASD, etc.). See the CUI 553 matrix as an example. If these were included as part of the course goals/objectives listed #9, you do not have to repeat them in a matrix.