Curriculum studies: what is the field today?

Abstract

This article offers a reflection on a central question: what is the curriculum studies field today? To answer this question we need to consider the state of the field as a powerful and analytical instrument to frame the curricular movements, namely from the contributions of the different authors, whose texts have been a strong influence on the construction of the curriculum field. Firstly, we identify some texts referring the state of the field of curriculum studies to then explore their connection with the historical periods in the field with, for example, the Tyler Rationale, Reconceptualization and Post-reconceptualization. Secondly, by analyzing the main texts of the four most knowledgeable curriculum theorists – Pinar, Apple, Goodson and Young - we observe the state of the field by discussing the importance of their ideas for an understanding of the changes within the curriculum field. Finally, we reflect, as others have claimed to do, about the worldliness of curriculum studies by focusing on its globalization and diversity, as two referents of the contemporary discourses about the curriculum. To synthesize our ideas we explore some notions of the curriculum and refer to questions related to the curriculum, such as the nature of the curriculum, elements of the curriculum and curriculum practices.