Curriculum Theory as Metaphor

One of the surest ways to kill a conversation on the subject of curriculum theory is to ask someone to name one. There appears to be so much disagreement and confusion on this subject that discussions revolve not so much around the merits of rival theories as on the question of what in the world we are talking about. My purpose here is to present one version of what a curriculum theory is and to indicate something of how it functions. In doing so, it would be futile to hold up an example of a theory drawn from the natural or social sciences and to assume that any legitimate curriculum theory must exhibit the same characteristics, although some insight into the nature of theory may accrue from comparisons. One has only to think of theories that exist in such fields as ethics, physics, political science, and psychology to realize that theories in those fields not only deal with different phenomena but also assume considerably different forms.