Introduction

The range of studies hint of course at a whole list of reasons why curriculum history might be expanding at the point in time. Of course, experiencing the salience of the academic examination curriculum and arguing for studies of its history is not a new insight or exhortation. In fact, however, the Science of Common Things appeared to lead in precisely the opposite direction towards a superior knowledge for the lower orders. The contradiction was plain and potent. Such contradictory gaps seldom last long; and the Science of Common Things was no exception. It does however point to the potential for unpredictability in the short run terrain of curriculum history, even if the long run configurations are all too clear. The Science of Common Things movement warns us of the continuing contestation over curriculum and of the possibility that at particular points in time, contradictory gaps do open up in these gaps consciousness may be changed.