What Should Be the Purpose of the curriculum?
Alternative beliefs about the purpose of the curriculum are described by Miller and Seller(1985) as orientations to curriculum. They describe three metaorientations, or positions:
In the transmission position the function of education is to transmit facts, skills, and values to students. Specifically, this orientation stresses mastery of traditional school subjects through traditional teaching methodologies. (pp.5 and 6) (emphasis supplied)
In the transaction position the individual is seen as rational and capable of intelligent problem solving. Education is viewed as a dialogue between the student and the curriculum in which the student reconstructs knowledge through the dialogue process. The central elements in the transaction position are an emphasis on curriculum strategies that promote problem solving, ….application of problem solving skills within social contexts in general and within the context of the democratic process, ...and development of cognitive skills within the academic disciplines.(pp. 6 and 7) (emphasis supplied)
The transformation position focuses on personal and social change. It encompasses... teaching students skills that promote personal and social transformation...(and) a vision of social change as movement toward harmony with the environment rather than an effort to exert control over it. (p. 8) (emphasis supplied)