ABSTRACT
One of the surest ways to kill a conversation on the subject of curriculum theory is to ask someone to name one. There appears to be so much disagreement and confusion on this subject that discussions revolve not so much around the merits of rival theories as on the question of what in the world we are talking about. This chapter presents one version of what a curriculum theory is and indicates something of how it functions. In the case of a curriculum theory, these vague concepts arise when we attempt to address the question of what we should teach, and, in general terms, a curriculum theory is a coherent attempt to make those concepts somehow more comprehensible. The general idea of theory presented comes closest to the four senses of the term theory that Ernest Nagel has distinguished.
