Constructing 'powerful' curriculum theory. Issue 2 (4th March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Deng, Zongyi
• Is Part Of: Journal of curriculum studies. Volume 53:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 179
• Page End: 196
• Publication Date: 2021-03-04
• Subjects: Powerful educational knowledge -- curriculum theory -- bildung-centred Didaktik -- pädagogik -- the Practical -- schwab; Education -- Curricula -- Periodicals; 375.001
• DOI: 10.1080/00220272.2021.1887361
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-0272

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article addresses how 'powerful' curriculum theory might be constructed from the perspective of the German Didaktik tradition—highly compatible with Schwab's the Practical. To start with, I scrutinize Joseph Schwab's model of curriculum planning and Wolfgang Klafki's model of lesson preparation and examine two theories of content that underpin the two models. Invoking the German Didaktik tradition, I next explicate a distinctive form of theorizing that yields powerful curriculum/ Didaktik theory. I argue that Didaktik, together with the Practical, provides a viable way of constructing powerful curriculum theory—exemplified by a theory of knowledge and a theory of content—in the current context. I conclude by drawing implications for our understanding of the powers of professional educational knowledge and for tackling the current crisis in educational theory.