Knowledge and the Future of the Curriculum: International Studies in Social Realism

Knowledge and the Future of the Curriculum: International Studies in Social Realism is about the central purpose of schooling - to provide students with equitable access to powerful curriculum knowledge that is ultimately capable of taking them beyond their experiences. This collection presents a social realist understanding of the role of knowledge as a progressive option in support of social and educational justice. It moves beyond mere critique by offering a rationale for determining what should be taught and how it should be taught. It is an account justified by a theory of knowledge that acknowledges both its social location and its emergent and objective properties. Each chapter argues in creative and innovative ways for a curriculum and pedagogy that will enable all students to access powerful knowledge.

This collection explores why powerful knowledge matters for social justice and discusses its implications for curriculum and pedagogy. The contributors argue that the purpose of education is to provide all students with access to powerful knowledge so that they acquire the means to move beyond their experiences and enhance their lives.

Brian Barrett is an Associate Professor in the Foundations and Social Advocacy Department, School of Education, State University of New York College at Cortland, USA. He also serves as Graduate Research Coordinator for Cortland's Urban Recruitment of Educators (C.U.R.E.).

 

Elizabeth Rata is Associate Professor in the School of Critical Studies at the Faculty of Education, The University of Auckland, New Zealand where she is the Director of the Knowledge and Education Research Unit (KERU). She is a Fulbright Scholar and the author of A Political Economy of Neotribal Capitalism and The Politics of Knowledge in Education.

1. Introduction: Knowledge and the Future of the Curriculum; Elizabeth Rata and Brian Barrett2. Social Realism and the Problem of the Problem of Knowledge in the Sociology of Education; Rob Moore3. On the Powers of Powerful Knowledge; Michael Young and Johan Muller4. Powerful Knowledge, Esoteric Knowledge, Curriculum Knowledge; John Beck5. Knowledge and Democracy: The Strife of the Dialectic; Elizabeth Rata 6. Risky Business: The Marginalisation of Knowledge in American Education Reform since A Nation at Risk; Brian Barrett7. The Missing 'Voice' of Knowledge in Knowledge and Skills; Chris Corbel8. Pathways to Powerful Knowledge: A Case for Music's 'Voice'; Graham McPhail9. 'Neither Existence nor Future': The Social Realist Challenge to School Geography; John Morgan10. Powerful Knowledge in History: Disciplinary Strength or Weakened Episteme?; Barbara Ormond 11. Sequencing Rules as a Condition of Knowledge Structure; Jeanne Gamble12. Building Knowledge: The Significance of Semantic Waves; Karl Maton13. Practical Knowledge of Teaching: What Counts?; Yael Shalem and Lynn Slonimsky