Curriculum Foundations and Theory

Start with curriculum concepts

Begin with a Curriculum mind map to explore how curriculum can be understood. One map introduces curriculum theory as an interdisciplinary study of educational experience. Another includes curriculum design and the role of teachers. Look at the ideas in each map and note where their focus differs.

For another starting point, the Curriculum Sources mind map and the Sources and Elements of Curriculum mind map offer ways into the sources and elements of curriculum. These can help you organize the terms you encounter as you work through the page.

Explore the foundations

The Philosophical Foundations of Curriculum mind maps introduce philosophy and curriculum. One lists perspectives such as perennialism, essentialism, progressivism and reconstructionism. A separate map describes curriculum development in relation to beliefs, conceptions of learning and the demands of society.

Move next to a Psychological Foundations of Curriculum mind map. The listed maps cover psychology in relation to learning, behavior, attitudes and abilities, and include behaviorism. Compare the concepts in these maps with those in the philosophical maps to see the different foundations presented.

Use the quiz alongside a map

Curriculum: Planning, Assessing, Reporting includes a question about curriculum as an action or an object. It also asks about curriculum orientations and their functions. Try working through a relevant map before taking the quiz, then return to the map to check ideas you want to explore further.

Place the topic in its unit

Curriculum Foundations and Theory is a section of the Curriculum Development unit in Education and pedagogy (incl. teaching methods, curriculum, educational psychology). Within this section, you can move from sources and foundations to maps on curriculum history, ideologies and theoretical perspectives.

Try the quiz after exploring a map, or build your own mind map to organize the ideas.