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Description of The Corruption of the Curriculum

This book argues that the traditional view of the subjects on the school curriculum as bodies of knowledge to be transmitted by teachers to pupils has been usurped in order to accommodate politically expedient targets and fashionable ideologies. The contributors, all of whom are writing from expert knowledge of their respective disciplines, cover English (Michele Ledda); maths (Simon Patterson); history (Chris McGovern); geography (Alex Standish); science (David Perks); and languages (Shirley Lawes). They argue that political interference in the curriculum is undesirable, and that teachers should be regarded as professional people, capable of responding to the needs of their pupils. An introduction by Frank Furedi frames the debate within the context of the way in which schools are being used to achieve goals like making children happy and healthy at the expense of academic rigour. The book represents as essential perspective that is both significant and timely during the growing debate on education in the UK media, and will appeal not just to those working in the sector but to anyone concerned about the education of Britain’s children.

Title Information

ISBN:

9781903386590

Pages:

156 pages

Format:

Paperback

Product Code:

243639

Publisher:

Civitas

Published:

11/06/2007

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About Shirley Lawes and Michele Ledda and Chris McGovern and Alex Standish and Simon Patterson and David Perks

Frank Furedi is Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent in Canterbury. His research is oriented towards the study of the impact of precautionary culture and risk aversion on Western societies. His writings express a concern with the prevailing regime of cultural confusion towards valuing intellectual and artistic pursuits and with the difficulty that society has in providing a challenging education for children and young people. His books include: Politics of Fear: Beyond Left and Right (2005); Where Have All the Intellectuals Gone: Confronting 21st Century Philistinism (2005); Therapeutic Culture: Cultivating Vulnerability in an Anxious Age (2004); Culture of Fear (2002); and Paranoid Parenting (2001); His new book Invitation to Terror is to be published in October 2007.

Robert Whelan is Deputy Director of Civitas. His books include The Corrosion of Charity; Involuntary Action: How Voluntary is the 'Voluntary' Sector?; Helping the Poor: Friendly visiting, dole charities and dole queues; and Octavia Hill's Letters to Fellow-Workers 1871-1911 (ed.). He is a director of the New Model School Company, set up under the auspices of Civitas, which aims to bring independent schooling within the reach of more parents, and he teaches English to Bengali students at a Saturday school in Bethnal Green.