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Analyzing the curriculum

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Abstract

The paper presents a general description of curriculum studies made in sociology of education and comparative education in the past decade. It discusses what the author thinks are examples of general areas of this research, falling under the headings of (1) structural/functional studies; (2) studies in the ‘new’ sociology of education; and (3) ethnomethodological studies. The author argues that the first two areas take, as resources, items which need to be made topics of study. He further contends that ethnomethodology provides the most heuristic approach to curriculum studies because it makes the ontology of the curriculum and all its features problematic.

Résumé

L'article présente une description générale des études sur le curriculum faites dans les domaines de la sociologie de l'éducation et de l'éducation comparée au cours de ces dix dernières années. L'auteur traite de ce qu'il estime être des exemples de domaines généraux de cette étude se rangeant sous les rubriques des (1) études structurelles/fonctionnelles; (2) études portant sur la ‘nouvelle’ sociologie de l'éducation; et (3) études ethnométhodologiques. L'auteur soutient que les deux premiers domaines utilisent comme ressources des points dont on doit faire des sujets d'étude. Selon lui, l'ethnométhodologie offre le moyen le plus heuristique d'approcher les études sur le curriculum parce qu'elle fait problématique l'ontologie du curriculum et de toutes ses caractéristiques.

Zusammenfassung

Der Autor legt eine allgemeine Beschreibung vor von im letzten Jahrzehnt von der Erziehungssoziologie und der vergleichenden Erziehungswissenschaften durchgeführten Curriculum-Studien. Er bespricht seiner Ansicht nach allgemeine Bereiche dieser Forschung unter den Überschriften: (1) strukturelle funktionelle Studien; (2) Arbeiten über die ‘neue’ Erziehungssoziologie; und (3) ethnomethodologische Studien und meint, daß die beiden erstgenannten Gebiete Themen zuhilfenehmen, die untersucht werden müßten. Die Ethnomethodologie bieten den heuristischsten Ansatz zu Curriculum-Studien, weil sie die Ontologie des Curriculums und alle seine Eigenschaften problematisiert.

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  1. Richard D. Heyman
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Heyman, R.D. Analyzing the curriculum. Int Rev Educ 27, 449–470 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00598141

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