ABSTRACT
Traditionally the classification of curriculum content has been in terms of subjects. This chapter starts with the most fundamental of the sources of curriculum content, knowledge itself, the term being used to denote the totality of human experience. Hirst sees the nature of knowledge as being the dominant factor in determining the content of the curriculum. The influence of the 'forms of knowledge' approach to curriculum content is evident in the publications of HMI and the DES which preceded the enactment of the National Curriculum. In primary schools it is acknowledged that the organization of curriculum content is not as strictly according to subjects as it is in secondary schools; much of the work is 'cross-curricular'. An alternative view is that the content of a curriculum should be based on a selection from the culture of the society in which the curriculum is set.
