1. Building a full module on Curriculum by developing a structure around concepts covered in ‘How is knowledge organized in the curriculum?’

As a first step, working individually or collaboratively (hopefully the latter), one might begin by analyzing the overall structure of the book Curriculum. This has an introductory paragraph that provides a brief overview of Sections 1-5 up to this point.   The structure of the book is also outlined in the description page on http://www.oxford.co.za/pls/cms/oup.show_pub?p_isbn=0195987217 . 

It seems as if the book Curriculum covers content which is probably fairly typical of many such modules. Most curriculum modules would include:

• Curriculum as an expression of values and beliefs about the purpose of education. What is education for? This view is expressed formally in the notion of ‘Curriculum-as-plan’ or the ‘intended curriculum’ (found in national curriculum policies and statements, and syllabuses etc).
• ‘Curriculum-as-practice’ may be somewhat different to ‘Curriculum-as-plan’ because teachers may interpret the plan differently to the way policy makers intended, or they may misunderstand it or not have the resources to implement it, and so on. Teachers are also not just professionals – they are also people with their own values and belief systems. Learners, having their own unique interests and abilities, may also make sense of what they are taught in different ways. 
• The ‘hidden’ or ‘implicit’ Curriculum:  Students also learn what was not formally intended - from the way in which the school is organized, and in which learning takes place (e.g. is there competition or sharing?). This is sometimes expressed in terms of; learning that is ‘caught’ but not taught’; ‘the medium is the message’; or what Dewey called “the collateral learning of attitudes”.
• Models of curriculum planning: These would usually include ‘Curriculum-as-product’ (traditionally an objectives approach) and ‘Curriculum-as-process’ (a process of induction into knowledge, that according to Stenhouse (1989), is successful when it makes the behavioral outcomes of the students unpredictable). 

Regarding Section 6 itself, it is surprising that the writers chose to include Bernstein’s concept of ‘classification’ of knowledge – but not its twin sister, ‘framing’. Framing is focused on pedagogy, on how the legitimate meanings (i.e. what is ‘classified’) are put together. Framing covers teachers’ (or learners’ decisions about selecting the form of communication; the sequencing of what is to be communicated; its pacing (how fast or slow?); and our criteria for evaluation. Surely no view of the organization of knowledge in a curriculum can be complete without also considering these issues?

So, in moving forward, which curriculum concepts would we wish to cover in our module?  How do we structure, sequence and present these concepts (i.e. how do we classify and frame our module!)

2. Building a full but more focused module on curriculum by using the work of Basil Bernstein

This is probably a more controversial option.  Although Bernstein has many detractors, there is widespread agreement that he provides the most comprehensive, fully developed theoretical view of curriculum available to us. Very few writers on education have followed such a focused career trajectory, and Bernstein had a very long career.    

Some of Bernstein’s concepts, like classification and framing, are practically useful for practitioners making decision on how to organize and present their own teaching. These concepts and others provide an equally useful language for practitioners to reflect on their own practice. They can also be invaluable for an understanding of policy and critiques of policy. In South Africa, for example, the review of Curriculum 2005 used several of Bernstein’s concepts (even though, perhaps for strategic reasons, his name was not invoked!).

A module on Bernstein’s concepts could be used in different ways, and by research students as well as pre-and in-service teachers.  

Download ‘Outline of Basil Bernstein’s concepts’.

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