Embodied Curriculum

• In Event: 67.038 - Light in Curriculum Studies: Reflections on William Schubert's Five Decades of Curriculum Theorizing and Praxis

Abstract

This presentation focuses on graduate and undergraduate teacher education curricula that emphasizes embodying central curriculum questions, living them (Tillett, 2017). The authors discuss the value of writing and living speculative essays (Schubert, 1991) which focus on the use of literary sources, such as poetry, other imaginative literature, the arts, and invention strategies exemplified by Schubert in MEd and PhD classes. Presenters draw upon Schubert’s work on (1) the arts as a basis for curriculum and teaching (Willis & Schubert, 1991); (2) “recommendations for reflection” at the end of each chapter in his synoptic curriculum text (Schubert, 1986/1997); (3) postmodern reflection on curriculum history (Marshall, Sears, Allen, Roberts, and Schubert (2007); and (4) Schubert’s many writings about activities that enable teachers and students to imagine arrays of curriculum possibilities and the consequences of acting on them (e.g., Schubert, 1990).

This presentation and dialogue with other presenters will draw upon the following background illustrated with anecdotes:

William Schubert is Professor Emeritus of Curriculum and Instruction, University Scholar, former Coordinator of the Ph.D. Program in Curriculum Studies and the M.Ed. Program in Educational Studies, and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where he worked from 1975 to 2012. He served as Chair of Curriculum and Instruction (1990-1994; 2003-2006). The Ph.D. Program in Curriculum Studies (1982-present), which he founded and has coordinated, has ranked fifth, first, and third in the U.S. by Academic Analytics, based on faculty productivity. Recently, he was named Guest Professor at Beijing Normal University.

Authors

• Patrick Roberts, Northern Illinois University

• Wade Tillett, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater