Critical Essays on Major Curriculum Theorists

Scott (educational leadership and learning, U. of Lincoln, UK) examines the work and thought of ten leading theorists of the last 30 years as he builds a case for a new model of curriculum, one which supports a conception of education as a public good. He assesses aspects of such leaders as Michael Apple, Basil Bernstein, Jerome Burner, Michel Foucault, Henri Giroux, Paul Hirst, W.J. Popham, Donald Schon, Lawrence Stenhouse, Lev Vygotsky, John White, commenting on their ideas about behavioral objectives, process curriculum, foundationalism, power-knowledge, structure, pedagogy, internalization, psycho-cultural views of learning, critical pedagogy, refection, autonomy, and postmodernism. In essence, Scott takes the best form of each and compares it to his own model. The result is like a lively conversation and very accessible even to those with little experience of curriculum theory. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)