Curriculum History: An Overview

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Curriculum History An Overview

• CI 476 -Curriculum Theory

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Three focal points for curricular decisions

• The nature of subject matter - Are some kinds of
  subject matter more intrinsically worthwhile then
  others?
• The nature of society - What knowledge is useful
  to apply in the world?
• The nature of the individual - Can the same
  curriculum be equally appropriate for all
  individuals?

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The Colonial Era and the Early United States

• Two assumptions were shared about education
• 1) Only a few people needed much formal
  education.
• Most needed learning occurred in the home, in
  apprenticeships, and through actions of daily
  living.

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Exception Massachusetts in
1647 passed a law for the establishment of Latin
grammer schools to teach rudimentary reading and
writing skills.
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2) Formal education should be
directed at bringing people into conformity with
the prevailing idea of what an educated person
should be, i.e., Christian religious training.
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Again, the Latin grammar school became
the model. The Latin grammar school was also a
medium to educate future clergy (teaching Greek,
Latin, and occasionally Hebrew).
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Both assumptions led to a
subject matter curriculum that provided access to
central and eternal truths of the Holy
Scriptures. Such focus on truths rather than life
in the world led to a development in America that
the activities of schooling, directed at
cultivating the mind and the soul, were separated
from the practical activities outside of schools
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A Failed Exception Franklins Academy

• Created by Benjamin Franklin in 1749

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A Failed Exception Franklins Academy

• Created by Benjamin Franklin in 1749
• Emphasized training in practical subjects.
  Franklin found the traditional curriculum too
  narrow

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A Failed Exception Franklins Academy

• Created by Benjamin Franklin in 1749
• Emphasized training in practical subjects.
  Franklin found the traditional curriculum too
  narrow
• Franklin included physical education, drawing,
  mechanical arts, mathematics, history, geography,
  civics, horticulture, science and religion in his
  curriculum.

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Though Franklins academy was
not successful, it introduced Americans to the
idea that the nature of society could also serve
as a focal point for making decisions about the
curriculum. His ideas also foreshadowed
developments in the 19th Century.
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The Nineteenth Century

• At the beginning of the century a few people were
  taught a few , well-ordered subjects. However,
  many Americans began to accept the notion that
  the masses could become educated.

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Perhaps the biggest influence of these ideas were
Americas experience with political
democracyDemocracy required broad political
participation and thus everyone needed some
formal education
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• Society also became more urbanized and
  industrialized.

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• Society also became more urbanized and
  industrialized.
• Curriculum became more practical and of social
  utility.

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• Society also became more urbanized and
  industrialized.
• Curriculum became more practical and of social
  utility.
• Compulsory school attendance laws were passed.

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By the beginning of the 19th Century Franklins
ideas of an academy was realized
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By the beginning of the 19th Century Franklins
ideas of an academy was realized

• to meet the needs of a growing middle class

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By the beginning of the 19th Century Franklins
ideas of an academy was realized

• to meet the needs of a growing middle class
• supported the idea that a natural aristocracy
  of virtue and talent should replace a ruling
  aristocracy based on wealth and birth

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Common School Movement

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