Taylor, P.H. & Richards, C.M. (1987). The scope and purpose of curriculum studies. In An introduction to curriculum studies (2nd edition) Windsor, Berkshire, U.E.: NFER-Nelson.
The purpose of this chapter of the Taylor and Richard (1987) book is to provide a foundation for the book's overall effort which is to introduce the student to the basics of curriculum studies. To this end, the authors focus on delineating, in the chapter, the general nature of the field. Among the topics presented and discussed are definitions of the term "curriculum" and its various components and delineations of the objectives, design, development and evaluation of curriculum studies.
The authors make several interesting points. One of the most interesting is that curriculum shifts with the changing views of education, views which are rooted in society's economic and social change. However, the authors also note that these factors are not the sole determinants of curriculum; other important factors include such things as the need to transmit cultural values and the differing views people hold regarding the proper aims of education.
Another important point made by Taylor and Richards derives from the fact that people do hold differing views of education. The authors refer to these views as frames of reference or theories and they note that the "most effective" approach to studying curriculum and its various operations and transactions is to derive the research from one or more of these theories. Such derivations, they state, will provide the researcher with explanatory support for the findings. Or, if no support is forthcoming for the selected theory/frame of reference, then the research will contribute to the overall determination of the general efficacy or validity of the frame of reference.
My assessment of this chapter is that it is sufficiently comprehensive so as to provide the reader with a good description and overall view of the fi...