ABSTRACT
Curriculum theorists engage in a great deal of meta-theory. That is to say, they theorize about the most appropriate way in which to conduct their theorizing about curriculum. The theme of this chapter are that certain questions about values are crucial to curriculum theory and that to some extent they are none the less ignored by curriculum theorists. The Curriculum theory must then draw on such research and seek to evolve principles that govern design, implementation, development, and evaluation in terms of being contributory towards achieving people's aims. The concept of need is itself value-loaded: the judgement that somebody needs something is partly empirical. Furthermore, in the case of curriculum, it is not simply needs that have to be met, but educational needs. In other words, if they are to base the curriculum on needs, they shall still have to work out and be guided by their conception of what it is to be educated.
