Valid Knowledge and the Problem of Practical Arts Curricula

This article argues that the meager existence of practical arts subjects in the curriculum comes about as a result of the persistence of the Platonic ideal of what constitutes valid knowledge. To illustrate this basic argument, the article first reflects upon Plato's conception of valid knowledge, as set forth in the The Republic, then it examines the ebb and flow of discourse on the nature and worth of knowledge. In particular, the article examines the hesitancy of response of formal education to industrial culture, even though this has been an important source of the expansion of human knowledge. Using illustrations from both sides of the Atlantic, the article shows that the curricular controversies (whether that attending prevocationalism in the United Kingdom, or education for “A Nation at Risk” in the United States) are traceable to the ancient conception of what knowledge is valid. The article concludes by arguing for dispassionate consideration of the curriculum—for a stance that views the practical arts in the same light as it does other areas of the curriculum.