It is frequently proposed that the curriculum of schools, colleges and universities should be more integrated. But what does integration, and in particular an integrated curriculum, mean? Previous accounts have not picked out the underlying philosophical issues. In this thesis I seek to identify the main logical and epistemological problems in integrating knowledge for purposes of learning. The thesis is divided into four parts . In part l, I introduce the problem by pointing to the logical difficulties in subjecting to philosophical examination the ordinary language by which we describe and promote practice. Curriculum integration is a particular instance of this - what is being integrated is by no means clear, and so there is need for preliminary distinctions between different curriculum definitions. In part II, I analyse what is meant by knowledge, especially by its differentiation into distinct kinds, in so far as this must enter into the division of subject-matter upon which the curriculum draws. In doing so, I examine two quite different objections, both of which enter into proposals for a more integrated curriculum. The first insists upon an undifferentiated unity to knowledge; the second insists that curriculum divisions are artificial, explicable simply by social and historical factors . In part III, I exarrane four ways in which, given the differentiation of knowledge, it might nonetheless be said to be integrated for particular purposes: in the logical connections between kinds of knowledge; in practical thinking; in the exploration of some central idea, theme or topic; or in the everyday language of commonsense. In part IV I exam1ne a conception of the integrated curriculum (integrated around the interests and enquiry of the pupil) which incorporates a radical departure from the analysis of knowledge 1n part II.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:630530 |
| Date | January 1974 |
| Creators | Pring, Richard |
| Publisher | University College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10019351/ |
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