Assembles essays addressing the recurring question of the 'subject,' understood both as human person and school subject, thereby elaborating the subjective and disciplinary character of curriculum studies.
I personally learned to know Ralph Tyler rather late in his career when, in the 1960s, I spent a year as a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. His term of office as Director of the Center was then approaching its end. This would seem to disqualify me thoroughly from preparing a Foreword to this "Classic Works. " Many of his colleagues and, not least, of his students at his dear Alma Mater, the University of Chicago, are certainly better prepared than I to put his role in American education in proper perspective. The reason for inviting me is, I assume, to bring out the influence that Tyler has had on the international educational scene. I am writing this Foreword on a personal note. Ralph Tyler's accomplishments in his roles as a scholar, policy maker, educational leader, and statesman have been amply put on record in this book, not least in the editors' Preface. My reflections are those of an observer from abroad but who, over the last 25 years, has been close enough to overcome the aloofness of the foreigner. Tyler has over many years been criss-crossing the North American con tinent generously giving advice to agencies at the federal, state, and local levels, lecturing, and serving on many committees and task forces that have been instrumental in shaping American education.
The acclaimed classic shows educators how to set classroom objectives, select learning experiences, organize instruction, and evaluate progress. In 1949, a small book had a big impact on education. In just over one hundred pages, Ralph W. Tyler presented the concept that curriculum should be dynamic, a program under constant evaluation and revision. Curriculum had always been thought of as a static, set program, and in an era preoccupied with student testing, he offered the innovative idea that teachers and administrators should spend as much time evaluating their plans as they do assessing their students. Since then, Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction has been a standard reference for anyone working with curriculum development. Although not a strict how-to guide, the book shows how educators can critically approach curriculum planning, studying progress and retooling when needed. Its four sections focus on setting objectives, selecting learning experiences, organizing instruction, and evaluating progress. Readers will come away with a firm understanding of how to formulate educational objectives and how to analyze and adjust their plans so that students meet the objectives. Tyler also explains that curriculum planning is a continuous, cyclical process, an instrument of education that needs to be fine-tuned. This emphasis on thoughtful evaluation has kept Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction a relevant, trusted companion for over sixty years. And with school districts across the nation working feverishly to align their curriculum with Common Core standards, Tyler’s straightforward recommendations are sound and effective tools for educators working to create a curriculum that integrates national objectives with their students’ needs. Praise for Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction “Tyler addresses the essential purposes of teaching in a way that still has relevance for contemporary students of education, and communicates to them how important and timeless the quality of the pupil-teacher interaction actually is.” —Times Higher Education (UK)
This book examines the Eight-Year Study, or "Adventure in American Education," which was a landmark experiment in curriculum reform in 30 American high schools from 1933 to 1939. The study not only investigated the college success of the graduates of the 30 schools that were engaged in revising their curricula, but also attempted to stimulate secondary schools to develop better college preparatory programs. After establishing the context for the study in an introductory chapter, the volume presents a detailed analysis, describing the lessons learned regarding the implementation of change in education. The research methodology and the pioneering work in developing instruments that were used in the study, though frequently overlooked in retrospective works, are examined at length, particularly as they relate to noncognitive components of education. Likewise, the book looks at the graduates of the 30 experimental schools and assesses how they compared in college with their paired control partners. An analysis of the state of secondary education during the 1930s is also provided. The concluding chapter reviews the major findings of the study and puts them into a middle-school perspective. It identifies 12 areas that the Eight-Year Study speaks to and how these relate to the middle-level education-reform effort. (RJM)