In designing or adapting curriculum, it is important to formulate a perspective of where your curriculum and teaching is situated in terms of various orientations and philosophical or theoretical frameworks (see previous pages on curriculum background. The following information may help you further define your own position or the position of curriculum documents with which you must contend.

The following figure depicts a three-dimensional grid that can allow you to examine how particular assumptions and values affect curricular outcomes. After looking at this figure, try to answer some of the questions listed below the figure.

1. What assumptions, beliefs, and values do you have about how people learn?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in students' language and actions?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in curricular standards, curricular content, instructional strategies, and school organization?


• How do your answers to the previous questions affect student and teacher identities, participation, meaning, relevance, access to knowledge, and access to skills?


2. What assumptions, beliefs, and values do you have about teaching?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in students' and teachers' language and actions?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in curricular standards, curricular content, instructional strategies, and school organization?


• How do your answers to the previous questions affect student and teacher identities, participation, meaning, relevance, access to knowledge, and access to skills?


3. What assumptions, beliefs, and values do you have about what knowledge means?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in students' and teachers' language and actions?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in curricular standards, curricular content, instructional strategies, and school organization?


• How do your answers to the previous questions affect student and teacher identities, participation, meaning, relevance, access to knowledge, and access to skills?


4. What assumptions, beliefs, and values do you have about student and teacher behavior?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in students' and teachers' language and actions?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in curricular standards, curricular content, instructional strategies, and school organization?


• How do your answers to the previous questions affect student and teacher identities, participation, meaning, relevance, access to knowledge, and access to skills?


5. What assumptions, beliefs, and values do you have about student and teacher thinking?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in students' and teachers' language and actions?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in curricular standards, curricular content, instructional strategies, and school organization?


• How do your answers to the previous questions affect student and teacher identities, participation, meaning, relevance, access to knowledge, and access to skills?


6. What assumptions, beliefs, and values do you have about assessment?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in students' and teachers' language and actions?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in curricular standards, curricular content, instructional strategies, and school organization?


• How do your answers to the previous questions affect student and teacher identities, participation, meaning, relevance, access to knowledge, and access to skills?


7. What assumptions, beliefs, and values do you have about nature of schooling?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in students' and teachers' language and actions?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in curricular standards, curricular content, instructional strategies, and school organization?


• How do your answers to the previous questions affect student and teacher identities, participation, meaning, relevance, access to knowledge, and access to skills?


8. What assumptions, beliefs, and values do you have about purpose of schooling?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in students' and teachers' language and actions?


• How do these assumptions, beliefs, and values manifest in curricular standards, curricular content, instructional strategies, and school organization?


• How do your answers to the previous questions affect student and teacher identities, participation, meaning, relevance, access to knowledge, and access to skills?


9. How do all of your responses relate to or differ in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, social class, perceived educability, and sexual orientation of students (and teachers)?

The following figure depicts how curricular approaches are situated within the dimensions of the individual, society, and knowledge. Take a few minutes to examine the figure, then try to position your own curricular approach or the curricular approach of your school within these dimensions.