ABSTRACT
In contrast to the situation in the 1960s and 70s, and even parts of the 80s when the school was accorded a particular social role, the link today between curriculum and society has become profoundly uncertain. In the complex and crisis-ridden times we live in, it has become almost impossible to define a role for the curriculum in debates about the shape of the world we wish to inhabit. The making of this link between curriculum and society is rendered all the more difficult because of the absence of what we might call utopian visions.1 In the past we had access to utopian visions which spawned important social projects, such as socialism, which in turn inspired particular under standings of the role of the school in promoting social change.
