Patrick Slattery

This landmark text was one of the first to introduce and analyze contemporary concepts of curriculum that emerged from the Reconceptualization of curriculum studies in the 1970s and 1980s. This new edition brings readers up to date on the major research themes (postmodernism,ecological, hermeneutics, aesthetics and arts-based research, race, class, gender, sexuality, and classroom practices) within the historical development of the field from the 1950s to the present. Like the previous editions, it is unique in providing a comprehensive overview in a relatively short and highly accessible text. Provocative and powerful narratives (both biography and autoethnography) throughout invite readers to engage the complex theories in a personal conversation. School-based examples allow readers to make connections to schools and society, teacher education, and professional development of teachers. Changes in the Third EditionNew Glossary - brief summaries in the text direct readers to the Companion Website to read the entire entriesNew analysis of the current accountability movement in schools including the charter school movement.More international references clearly connected to international contexts More narratives invite readers to engage the complex theories in a personal conversationCompanion Website–new for this edition

This landmark text was one of the first to introduce and analyze contemporary concepts of curriculum that emerged from the Reconceptualization of curriculum studies in the 1970s and 1980s. This new edition brings readers up to date on the major research themes (postmodernism,ecological, hermeneutics, aesthetics and arts-based research, race, class, gender, sexuality, and classroom practices) within the historical development of the field from the 1950s to the present. Like the previous editions, it is unique in providing a comprehensive overview in a relatively short and highly accessible text. Provocative and powerful narratives (both biography and autoethnography) throughout invite readers to engage the complex theories in a personal conversation. School-based examples allow readers to make connections to schools and society, teacher education, and professional development of teachers. Changes in the Third EditionNew Glossary - brief summaries in the text direct readers to the Companion Website to read the entire entriesNew analysis of the current accountability movement in schools including the charter school movement.More international references clearly connected to international contexts More narratives invite readers to engage the complex theories in a personal conversationCompanion Website–new for this edition

A collection of images and captions.

Perhaps not since Ralph Tyler's (1949) Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction has a book communicated the field as completely as Understanding Curriculum. From historical discourses to breaking developments in feminist, poststructuralist, and racial theory, including chapters on political theory, phenomenology, aesthetics, theology, international developments, and a lengthy chapter on institutional concerns, the American curriculum field is here. It will be an indispensable textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses alike.