ABSTRACT
This chapter explores national curriculum aims in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The chapter shows that the curriculum and its aims can be understood, structured and implemented in significantly different ways. Our thinking has been informed by two main lines of theory. The first line of theory comes from a philosophical understanding of the limitations of rationalism. Rationalism is represented in the chapter as the imposition of particular models of curricula on teachers and pupils by nation states, particularly objectives-led curricula. The second line of thinking underpinning the chapter is the categorisation of curricula as one of three main emphases: i) content-driven curricula; ii) objectives-driven curricula; iii) process-driven curricula.
