The process approach to curriculum

The process approach to curriculum development was extended after Stenhouse originally laid it out, morphing into the praxis approach, which added the element of commitment to curriculum development. This approach advocates a shared idea of the common good and the goal of informed and committed action to the model of curriculum development. Even more recently there has been an emphasis on the context of curriculum and the notion of curriculum as a social process in which personal interactions within the learning environment take on considerable significance. [For more information on curriculum as product, process, and praxis, see the article by Smith (2000) on the following website: http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm.] Last, it should be mentioned that developmental theorists continue to have a strong influence on how curriculum should be structured. Wildman (2007), for example, advocates curriculum built around what is known about development and the Vygotskian concept of scaffolding, or what Wildman calls “assisted performance.”