The Crisis and Renaissance of Curriculum Studies: A Reflection on the Positions of Wraga and Hlebowitsh
Abstract
This article is mainly a reaction paper that reflects on the views and positions of Wraga and Hlebowitsh (2003) concerning the crisis and renaissance of the curriculum field. In doing so, a brief critical review of the two authors’ views with regard to the ups and downs that the curriculum field has passed through, and most importantly, the crisis it faced as it went through its formative period was made. The article also endeavored to show the efforts of different curriculum scholars, including the proposals of these two authors, to rescue the field from its total collapse. Next to this, my reflections on the views and positions of the two authors vis-à -vis the current state of the field and the proposals they presented to solve its crisis are highlighted. The paper also tried to reflect on the current state of the Ethiopian curriculum field based on some personal experiences and observations. Accordingly, it revealed that many of the signs of curriculum crisis are prevalent in contemporary Ethiopia. Finally, concluding remarks and lessons to be learned from this article are included.
References
Amare Asgedom (2009). From knowledge acquisition to knowledge application: the case of curriculum inquiry in Ethiopia. Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Educational Research for Development, Vol. 1, May 13-15, 2009, College of Education, AAU. Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University Press.
Beauchamp, G. A. (1975). Curriculum theory (3 rd Ed.). The Kagg press: Wilmette, Illinois.
Connelly, F. M. (2009). Being practical with Schwab: Research and teaching in the foothills of curriculum. Proceedings of the Practical: An East-West curriculum dialogue, pp. 103–109. Beijing: Capital Normal University.
Deng, Z. (2013). The “why†and “what†of curriculum inquiry: Schwab’s the Practical revisited. Educational Journal, 41 (1-2), 85-105.
Derebssa Dufera (2006). Tension between traditional and modern teaching-learning approaches in Ethiopian primary schools. Journal of International Cooperation in Education, 9(1), 123-140.
Mulugeta Yayeh Worku (2017). Improving primary school practice and school–college linkage in Ethiopia through collaborative action research. Educational Action Research, DOI: 10.1080/09650792.2016.1267656
Ornstein, A. C. & Hunkins, F. P. (2004). Curriculum: Foundations, principles and issues (4 ed.). Boston: Ally & Bacon
Pinnar, W.F. (2015). Educational experience as lived: Knowledge, History, Alterity: The selected works of William F. Pinar. New York: Routledge
Pinnar, W.F. (1978). The reconceptualization of curriculum studies. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 10 (3), 205-214.
Reid, W. A. (2006). The pursuit of curriculum: Schooling and the public interest. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Schwab, J.J. (1969). The practical: A language for curriculum. School Review, 78 (1), 1-23.
Wraga, W. G., & Hlebowitsh, P. S. (2003). Toward a renaissance in curriculum theory and development in the USA. Journal of Curriculum studies, 35(4), 425-437.
Young, M. (2013). Overcoming the crisis in curriculum theory: a knowledge based approach. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 45 (2), 101-118.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
