ABSTRACT
Michael Young’s ideas about the school curriculum have proved to be enormously fertile, in particular his thinking about ‘powerful knowledge’ and his argument that the main function of schools is to enable all students to acquire knowledge that takes them beyond their experience. Young’s ideas are examined in this chapter, particularly in the light of John White’s long-standing views about the curriculum and his argument that the main aim of schools should be to promote human flourishing. I conclude that if applied inflexibly or naively, Young’s ideas could result in some students receiving an inappropriate education. Applied sensitively, they have the potential to complement the work of other educationalists, including John White, and enrich the education that schools provide. A start is being made on such fine-grained work - notably in respect of geography. It would be good to see such work extended to other subjects.
