A Review on the Concept of Curriculum as Content and Theories of Content Selection in the Field of Curriculum Studies

The aim of this research was to offer an analysis of the Concept of Curriculum as Content and theories of content selection in the field of curriculum studies. The method of this study is referencing to the historical and experts' views about selecting appropriate content for general education. The evidences revealed that there is a goal displacement in the practice of curriculum planners. In the other words, content as an instrument for attaining ideal purposes is transformed to an independent and inherently invaluable goal. This hypothesis is perceptible from the philosophical thoughts of Herbert Spencer to Elliot Eisner. Spencer introduced the concept of science as the human effort for understanding the whole nature of phenomena. Dewey avoided dictating content to teachers and tried to explain an interdisciplinary method for instruction on lessons such as geography and history. Hurst accepted the logical and psychological inconsistency of disciplines for school instruction. Eisner treated content just as a medium for achieving higher order goals of education. There is a critical view point about conventional and traditional conception of content in the theory and practice of Neill, Bruner, Phenix an Bloom. These experts tried to explain principles such as mastery, interest, depth, and structure in developing content, instead of mere selection of content according to disciplinary considerations. Critical pedologists like Apple, Giroux and Doll disclosed the ideological and economic aspects of classic perceptions of content and signify the limitations of this approach with regard to the oppressing teachers and learner's innovations.