Toward a Grammar of Curriculum Practice

Provides a new conceptualization of curriculum and of curriculum planning that is clearer, more functional, more adequate than those previously available.

Curriculum planning can be conceptualized in various ways, and curriculum planners necessarily must adopt a particular approach in order to facilitate their thinking and decision-making. However, the history of curriculum planning suggests that existing conceptualizations are sometimes confusing, imprecise, or not as helpful as they might be. There is a need for a new conceptualization that overcomes the limitations of these earlier conceptions. Through conceptual analysis and concept development, the author presents curriculum planning as a form of educational practice distinct from other practices such as teaching, administration, and policy making. Short's "grammar of curriculum practice" describes a set of key concepts and the meaningful relationships among them that define the essential elements of curriculum and of curriculum planning.

Edmund C. Short is Professor Emeritus of Education at The Pennsylvania State University and Graduate Faculty Associate in the College of Community Innovation and Education at the University of Central Florida. His many books include Forms of Curriculum Inquiry (also published by SUNY Press); Leaders in Curriculum Studies: Intellectual Self-Portraits (coedited with Leonard J. Waks); and A Coherent Curriculum for Every Student: Curriculum Proposals for Possible Adoption.