EDCI 584: Secondary School Curriculum

Purdue University School of Education
Department of Curriculum and Instruction

EDCI 584: Secondary School Curriculum
Spring 2000 Course Outline

Instructor: Dr. JoAnn Phillion
Office: LAEB 4144
Office Phone: 494-2352
Home Phone: 420-7455
Office Hours: Wednesday 3-5, Thursday 10:30-12:30 (Other times by appointment)
E mail: phillion@purdue.edu
Home Page: http://www.education.purdue.edu/phillion/

Students with disabilities: Students with disabilities must be registered with Adaptive Programs in the Office of the Dean of Students before classroom accommodations can be provided. If you are eligible for academic accommodations because you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please schedule an appointment with your instructor as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

Orientation and Philosophy

The graduate studies experience is a special case of practitioner’s professional development. Participants in graduate studies have committed themselves to an unusually intense formal learning experience. They bring a wealth of personal and professional experiences and practical knowledge to their graduate studies. One of my assumptions is that deliberate attempts on our part to reflect on our personal-professional-practical knowledge will render graduate experiences more meaningful. By collaboratively sharing reflections on our experiences, and using them as a bridge to our developing understanding of readings, we can synthesize and create knowledge. Sharing these experiences helps to develop trust and build community in the class. I encourage students to draw on their personal and professional experiences in discussions, reflective writing on readings, presentations, projects, and final papers.

In this course curriculum is viewed as a practical field where curriculum programs express deliberate resolutions of ethical and political arguments and where teachers use these programs to meet specific situational demands. I see this course as one in which we are embarking on a journey of discovery of the foundation and expression of these arguments, and an exploration of issues of relevance in middle and secondary schools. As such an inquiry oriented philosophy permeates all aspects of the course. I see this journey as directly connected to our professional concerns, research interests, and inquiries. As such discussions, assignments, presentations and projects will be directly linked to class participants’ professional concerns and research interests, and class participants will be expected to focus on their concerns and interests in the research studies they undertake in schools to examine curriculum.

Participants will be encouraged to develop new understandings from an examination of what may have been previously taken for granted, that is taking aspects of schools and curriculum we may consider "familiar" and making them "strange" through careful observation, and in-depth critical analyses. I see our present concerns and interests as part of a continuum directly connected to historical issues and curriculum debates of the past. The assigned course readings provide a historical and theoretical orientation to secondary school curriculum. Many readings focus on possibilities for reform of curriculum. It is my expectation that class participants will use this orientation, or research their own, to develop an in-depth understanding of issues of particular concern to them as they engage in curriculum inquiry in schools and write about their findings and new understandings.

Course Objectives

There are four interrelated overall objectives for the course:

To develop an understanding of the historical debates about curriculum with particular reference to secondary schools in order to contextualize current debates about curriculum

To develop an understanding of various forms of curriculum inquiry and apply selected forms to specific curricular situations to both texts read in class and research done in schools

To link research and professional interests to class reading and writing, and to engage in authentic inquiry in order to develop a deeper understanding of selected topics

To develop a theoretical approach compatible with our philosophy of education and link it to our research and professional interests

Course Process We will begin by examining the history of curriculum and secondary schooling in the USA.

Using condensed review articles we will look at various perspectives on curriculum theory and forms of curriculum inquiry.

We will examine important curriculum theorists and alternate ways of viewing curriculum and schooling that focus on a holistic perspective.

As we begin to engage in authentic research we will also read accounts of secondary schooling that focus on potentials and possibilities of a democratic approach.

We will examine selected issues in our particular focus area.

We will read various theorists that have visions for reform.

Course Requirements (Detailed guidance on preparation of assignments will be provided throughout the semester.)

Participation (15%): This requires consistent attendance, and active participation in class discussions each week. Discussions will focus on personal experiences, course readings, and presentations. The expectation is that participants will be thoroughly prepared for class, i.e. will have read all required material, will thoughtfully participate in class, and will, in turn, assume responsibility for leadership of discussions. This leadership will consist of providing a series of discussion questions, creating small group interactions focusing on materials, and/or providing suggestions for alternate ways of discussing issues.; Discussions will be concerned with a recovery of meaning of readings (what the author is saying), with a reconstruction of meaning in the light of interpretations based on personal and professional experiences, (what your experiences and research interests lead you to think about the article), and with links to the broader field of education (how does it connect to other areas in education). Participants will discuss readings in small groups, then form a large group to discuss issues raised in small groups. There will be opportunities to discuss detailed, practical matters related to participants’ work. Class members may solicit feedback on their participation grade if they are unsure of the appropriate level of interaction required.

Personal reflective papers (20%): Participants are expected to bring brief responses to selected readings to class each week. These papers are a "personal reflection/learning journal", recording thoughts about/learnings from each set of readings (individually and/or as a set). There is no particular or required format for these papers; use whatever style of writing feels most comfortable for you. They will provide you with an ongoing record of your reactions to the readings, and will provide me with an ongoing record of the kinds of questions and issues which are developing in each class member, and which may be useful to present as questions or discussion topics to the class as a whole. They will be shared in small group or whole class discussions. (They will be treated as confidential if requested.) These will not be "marked"; however, final grades will be reduced as indicated in the chart below if they are not brought in when requested. They should be 2-3 pages in length, (more if you feel inspired), typed and double spaced, and will be collected periodically. I will read each paper, and comment where appropriate.

Comments to phillion@purdue.edu | Last updated 16 March 2004

Requirements	Value	Due Date
Participation	15*	Each class
Reflective papers	20**	Each class, beginning week 2
Presentation	20	Sign-up
Collaborative project/paper	45	March 29-April 12, paper TBA
* Full marks granted for active participation (feedback will be given upon request) ** Full marks granted for completion of all reflective writing (for each one missed, two points will be deducted)