1st Edition

Curriculum and the Specialization of Knowledge Studies in the sociology of education

By Michael Young, Johan Muller Copyright 2016
    252 Pages
    by Routledge

    252 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book presents a new way for educators at all levels - from early years to university - to think about curriculum priorities. It focuses on the curriculum as a form of specialised knowledge, optimally designed to enable students to gain access to the best knowledge available in any field.

    Papers jointly written by the authors over the last eight years are revised for this volume. It draws on the sociology of knowledge and in particular the work of Emile Durkheim and Basil Bernstein, opening up the possibilities for collaborative inter-disciplinary enquiry with historians, philosophers and psychologists. Although primarily directed to researchers, university teachers and graduate students, its arguments about specialised knowledge have profound implications for policy makers.

    Section one: Setting the scene

    Chapter one: Introduction

    Chapter two: Truth and truthfulness in the sociology of educational knowledge

    Section two: Knowledge and curriculum futures

    Chapter three: Education, globalization and the ‘voice of knowledge’

    Chapter four: Alternative education futures for a knowledge society

    Chapter five: Three educational scenarios for the future: lessons from the sociology of knowledge

    Chapter six: Curriculum and the question of knowledge: the legacy of Michael Gove and beyond

    Chapter seven: The future of knowledge and skills in science and technology higher education

    Section three: The idea of powerful knowledge

    Chapter eight: What are schools for?

    Chapter nine: On the powers of powerful knowledge

    Chapter ten: Overcoming the crisis in curriculum theory

    Chapter eleven: The promise and pathos of specialized knowledge

    Section four: Universities, professions, and specialized knowledge

    Chapter twelve: The body of knowledge

    Chapter thirteen: Disciplines, skills and the university

    Chapter fourteen: Every picture tells a story: epistemological access and knowledge

    Chapter fifteen: Towards the sociology of professional knowledge

    Biography

    Michael Young is Professor of Education at the UCL Institute of Education, London.

    Johan Muller is Emeritus Professor of Education in the School of Education at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.