ABSTRACT
The term curriculum means many things to many people. In this chapter, curriculum refers to the content to be covered in a particular area-the ‘intended curriculum’ (Arthur et al., 1996)—as well as what actually happens throughout the day-the ‘emergent curriculum’ (Jones & Nimmo, 1994), which includes all elements of school life, rather than only what is taught. In this chapter questions will be raised about how we conceptualise the curriculum and how approaches to curricula are linked to beliefs about children. Discussions with young children reveal differences between what adults regard as being important to include in a curriculum and what interests or intrigues children. For example, Harriet’s (2 yrs 10 mths) reactions to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, raised some specific issues for her.
