A Curriculum for Life: Schools for a Democratic Learning Society

"... a quality and 'mould-breaking' book which develops a coherent, continuous, authoritative argument, and expresses, with sustained and impressive clarity, the moral-political perspective that John Quicke has adopted ... There are few authors who could achieve the integrated reach that is achieved in this book."- Professor Andrew Pollard, University of Bristol* What kind of curriculum do we need for life in the 21st century?This is the central question which this book sets out to address. It is widely recognized that we need to reconsider the school curriculum. Schools need to teach literacy, numeracy and other skills but what else do children need to learn for life in present day and future society? The book seeks to counter the incoherence and fragmentation of much curriculum thinking. It has a clear rationale - an explicit political and ethical framework - which underpins discussion and draws upon theory and research in a number of disciplines - social science, psychology, philosophy and politics. A 'curriculum for life' is proposed as an alternative to the present National Curriculum. It is focused on themes like social development, thinking skills, parenting, citizenship and work related learning. How and what to teach about these and other themes is highly contested and in the book a number of such themes are explored in the light of a particular conception of society and democracy. In this way it is hoped that a morally and intellectually serious debate about the curriculum can be generated. The book will be of particular interest to teachers studying for advanced degrees, researchers and policy makers who are concerned with curriculum development in a changing society.

John Quicke is Professor of Education in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Sheffield.