Full Description
The rise of a radical 'new' sociology of education during the early 1970s focused attention on the nature of school knowledge. Although this new approach was set to revolutionize the subject, within a few years, many people considered these developments an eccentric interlude, with little relevance to curriculum theory or practice.
First published in 1985, this book offers a more positive view of the new sociology of education and its contribution to our understanding of the curriculum. In doing so, it argues that some of the radical promise of the new sociology of education could be realised, but only if sociologists, teachers and political movements of the left work more closely together.
Contents
Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part One: From Theory and Research to Policy and Practice; 1. Sociological approaches to the school curriculum 2. The curriculum as ideological practice 3. Curriculum studies and the sociology of school knowledge 4. From academic critique to radical intervention; Part Two: Current Curriculum Conflicts in a Sociological Perspective; 5. The Great Debate and its aftermath 6. The politics of public examinations 7. Continuity and change in social and political education 8. Sociologists and political movements - a resumé of the current issues; Notes; References; Name index; Subject index
