From Prescription to Deliberation: A Reconstruction of the Activities of the National Society for the Study of Education’s Committee on Curriculum-Making

• In Event: Threats to the Discipline: Problematizing Progress

Abstract

This historical study reconstructs the 1920s activities of the National Society for the Study of Education’s Committee on Curriculum-Making. This study found that the original purpose of the committee was to review research to identify techniques for curriculum making. As disagreements emerged among members, the committee’s work shifted from prescribing specific techniques to proposing general principles in order to encourage deliberation among curriculum makers. This study also found that the committee did indeed achieve consensus on foundational curriculum principles. The principles the committee agreed upon remain relevant to educational policy in the 21st century, particularly with respect to the impact of assessment on curriculum and the caution against legislative bodies prescribing “the detailed contents of the school curriculum.”

Author

• William G. Wraga, University of Georgia