Spring, 2006

Professor Joanne Larson and Professor Jeannine Dingus

Time:   Tuesdays, 4:45 - 7:25 PM

Room: Dewey 1-160B

Office Hours: By appointment

Phone: 275-0900

E-mail: joanne.larson@rochester.edu; jdingus@its.rochester.edu

Course Description: 

This is a required doctoral course in which students will study the breadth of the literature on curriculum and change in education.  Curriculum theory and history will ground students’ future studies.  In addition, the research on educational change and reform will provide an historical context for understanding the field of education broadly defined.

Course Requirements:

1.     Research Paper (60% of grade): This assignment is designed to facilitate students’ depth of understanding of curriculum and change.  Each student will select a major curriculum framework/issue or school reform as the focus of research.  The student will trace the curriculum framework/issue or change effort historically, providing an interpretation of the underlying theory.  Using Foucault’s concept of genealogical study, students will analyze the curriculum/reform attending to the political, social, and economic relations at particular historical moments.  Questions may include: 1) How did this curriculum/reform develop? 2) What are the political, social, and economic consequences of this curriculum/reform? 3) How is this curriculum/reform “lived”? The project will do more than narrate “about” the selected curriculum/reform, but will attempt to describe its underlying discourses, how they are experienced, by whom, and with what consequences.  Students are expected to ground their analysis in a solid theoretical position. 

2.     Critical Commentaries (30% of grade): Students will be required to write three critical commentaries during the semester. Critical commentaries should be typed, double-spaced, and approximately 3-5 pages in length, and include references.  Commentaries should address important theoretical, methodological, and substantive issues that emerge from your reading of the texts, your research project, and class discussion.  These papers are not summaries, but should be a careful synthesis and analysis of the readings.  Commentaries will be used as a basis for class discussion.

3.     Class Presentation (10% of grade): Each student will present the results of his/her research to the class during the last session.

NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED

Required Texts:

Flinders, D. & Thornton, S. (2004). The Curriculum Studies Reader, Second Edition. New York/London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Fullan, M. (1994). Change Forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. London: Falmer.

Pinar, W. (1995). Understanding curriculum. New York: Lang.

Tyack, D. & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Additional readings may be accessed online using WebCT. 

Grading:

Research Paper:                    60 points

Critical Commentaries:           30 points

Class Presentation:                10 points

Total:                                     100 points

Class Schedule:

(1) January 24

Overview of the course

(2) January 31

Foundational Questions

Readings:

Pinar, Chapter 1: Understanding curriculum: An introduction

Tyack, D. & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform, pp. 1-39. Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press.

Eisner, E. (1992). Curriculum ideologies.  In P. Jackson (ed.). Handbook of Research on Curriculum.  New York: Macmillan.

(3) February 7

Postmodern questions

Readings:

deAlba, A., Gonzalez-Gaudiano, E., Lankshear, C., & Peters, M. (2000). Curriculum in the postmodern condition, pp. 1 – 22. New York: Lang.

Matus, C. & McCarthy, C. (2003). The triumph of multiplicity and the carnival of difference: Curriculum dilemmas in the age of postcolonialism and globalization. In W. Pinar (Ed.). International handbook of curriculum research, pp. 73 – 82. New Jersey: Erlbaum.

Scheruich, J. & McKenzie, K. (2005). Foucault’s methodologies: Archeaology and Geneology. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, Third Edition, pp. 841-868. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

(4) February 14

Hegemony of Change

Critical Commentary #1 Due

Readings:

Curriculum Studies Reader, Chapter 7: Goodlad: School Curriculum Reform in the United States, pp. 61-70.

Fullan, M. (1994). Change Forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. Pp. 1-41. London: Falmer.

Apple, M. (1990). Ideology and curriculum, pp. 1-25. New York: Routledge.

Fullan, M. & Hargraves, A. (1992). Teacher development and educational change.  In M. Fullan & A. Hargraves (Eds.). Teacher development and educational change, pp. 1 – 9. London: Falmer.

(5) February 21

Historical Roots

Readings:

Pinar, Chapters 2 & 3 Understanding curriculum as historical text: Creation and transformation, 1828-1927” and “Crisis, transformation, crisis, 1928-1969

Curriculum Studies Reader, Chapter 1: Bobbitt: Scientific Method in Curriculum-making, pp. 1-16; Chapter 2: Dewey: My pedagogic creed, pp. 17-23.

(6) February 28

Implementation, Control, and Resistance

Readings:

Tyack, D. & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform, pp. 40-84. Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press.

Foucault, M. (1975/1984). The means of correct training/Panopticism.  In P. Rabinow (ed). The Foucault reader, pp. 188-213. New York: Pantheon.

Evans, R. (2001). The culture of resistance. In The Jossey-Bass Reader on School Reform, pp. 510-521.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

(7) March 7 

Historical Perspectives continued

Readings:

Pinar, Chapter 4: Understanding curriculum as historical text: The reconceptualization of the field, 1970-1979

Curriculum Studies Reader, Chapter 4: Counts: Dare the schools build a new social order, pp. 29-35; Chapter 5: Kliebard: The rise of scientific curriculum-making and its aftermath, pp. 37-46.

(8) March 14

Controlling Discourses

Critical Commentary #2 Due

Readings:

Curriculum Studies Reader, Chapter 18: Controlling the work of teachers, pp. 183-197.

Tyack, D. & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform, pp. 85-109. Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press.

Goodson, I. (1996). Introduction: Studying school subjects.  In I. Goodson & C. Marsh (eds.). Studying school subjects.  London: Farmer.

 (9) March 21

NO CLASS: THIS WEEK’S CLASS SESSION WILL BE REPLACED BY THE SCANDLING LECTURE OF GENEVA GAY, MARCH 23 AT 7:00PM

The Political Challenge

Readings:

Pinar, Chapter 5: Understanding curriculum as political text

Curriculum Studies Reader, Chapter 12: Freire: Pedagogy of the oppressed, 125-133; Chapter 28: Gay: The importance of multicultural curriculum, pp. 315-321.

Fullan, M. (1994). Change Forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. pp. 42-83. London: Falmer.

(10) March 28 – Combined with March 21 readings and moved to April 4

Power and Ideology

Readings:

deAlba, A., Gonzalez-Gaudiano, E., Lankshear, C., & Peters, M. (2000). Curriculum in the postmodern condition, pp. 125 - 148. New York: Lang.

Foucault, M. (1990/1978). The history of sexualty: An introduction, pp. 81-102. New York: Vintage.

(11) March 30

Unpacking Marginalization and Inequity

Readings:

Pinar, Chapter 6: Understanding curriculum as racial text

Curriculum Studies Reader, Chapter 19: AAUW: How schools shortchange girls: Three perspectives on curriculum, pp. 205-228; Chapter 24: McNeil: Creating new inequities: Contradictions of reform, pp. 275-284; Chapter 27: Thornton: Silence on gay and lesbians in social studies curriculum, pp. 307-313.

Harris, V. J. (1996). Historic readers for African-American children (1868-1944): Uncovering and reclaiming a tradition of opposition. In M. Shujaa (Ed.). Too much schooling too little education: A paradox of Black life in White societies (pp. 143-175). Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.

(12) April 4

Deconstructing Power Relations

Critical Commentary #3 Due[1]

Readings:

Pinar, Chapter 9: Understanding curriculum as poststructuralist, deconstructed, postmodern text

Fullan, M. (1994). Change Forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. Pp. 84-103. London: Falmer.

Gore, J. (1998). Disciplining bodies: On the continuity of power relations in pedagogy.

(13) April 11

NO CLASS MEETING

Challenges of Implementation

Readings:

Curriculum Studies Reader, Chapter 17: McLaughlin: Implementation as mutual adaptation: Change in classroom organization, pp. 171-181.

Fullan, M. (1994). Change Forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. Pp. 104-147. London: Falmer.

Sikes, P. (1992). Imposed change and the experienced teacher. In M. Fullan & A. Hargraves (Eds.). Teacher development and educational change, pp. 36 - 55. London: Falmer.

(14) April 18

Challenging Futures

Curriculum Studies Reader: Chapter 26: Eisner: What does it mean to say a school is working? pp. 297-305.

Tyack, D. & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform, pp. 110-142. Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press.

Elmore, R. & Sykes, G. (1992). Curriculum Policy. In P. Jackson (ed.). Handbook of Research on Curriculum.  New York: Macmillan.

(15) April 25

Class Presentations

May 2

Papers Due by 5 PM