ABSTRACT
What should be the focus of inquiry in the study of ‘international curriculum’? It would seem logical to break up the discussion into two parts, by first addressing the question ‘What is the curriculum?’ and then by considering the question ‘What is the international context for implementation of the curriculum?’ One response to the former question would be to propose that the curriculum consists of what is taught or learned in school. This is to argue that the curriculum comprises school subjects such as science, mathematics, languages and so on. From this perspective, the curriculum refers to knowledge and its acquisition by the learner. However, such a view may be criticised as being simplistic because it may also be argued that curriculum refers not only to what is taught or learned but how it is taught or learned. Such considerations point to the need to think about theories relating to the nature of knowledge and the nature of learning. Do the subjects in the curriculum stand apart from each other, or are there linkages and interconnections between them? There is also the need for a sociological approach to curriculum if it is assumed that learning constitutes a shared, social activity. Furthermore, theories about the curriculum are likely to be influenced by ideas concerning the aims and purposes of education and schooling. What is school for? Is it to socialise the child? To reproduce national or societal culture? To transmit specific knowledge and skills? To prepare the learner for higher education or paid employment? Or is it to inculcate a love of learning and to encourage the individual to develop as a lifelong learner? Such arguments are made more complex by the implementation of a curriculum in an international context. For example, to what extent is knowledge universal and common across all cultures, or are certain aspects of knowledge particular to specific cultures? How should knowledge be selected for inclusion in the curriculum? By what criteria should that selection be made? If it is acknowledged that important purposes of schooling include the socialisation of the child and the reproduction of culture, then it needs to be clear whose culture has been identified as worthy of reproduction, and on what grounds. Hence, the study of ‘international curriculum’ requires a critical perspective that questions not only the decisions that are made about selection and implementation, but also questions the assumptions underlying those decisions.
