Knowledge  photos by Tom Langdon MCC one room school house in Cherry County, Nebraska

(What)  Traditionally, knowledge of con- tent has been at the heart of cur- riculum. Most curricula divide a field of knowledge or skill into stepped portions called courses which are interrelated in various ways to ensure mastery of the larger area or skill(s). The materi- als below address the following sorts of questions: How do we identify a body of knowledge or skill? Does a body of knowledge or skill have a unity? What is meant by mastery  or competence in a field or skill? What criteria are used to determine how to divide a field or skill into courses? On what basis do we decide to integrate or interrelate courses? Should liberal arts be taught in technical skills courses or should they be taught separately? Should the liberal arts be a part of a technical training program? How do liberal arts and technical programs support the overall sense of community?

Nike of Samothrace                The Louvre

Reconstructing a Modern Definition of Knowledge: A Comparison of Toulmin and Dewey by Jeanne Connell

Toulmin, Dewey, and the Modern by Emanuel I. Shargel (response)

From the "Learning -Centered" Rhetoric of School Reform: A Philosophical Commentary by Xiaodan Huang

Transformimg Schools in a Nation of Workers/Consumers by Craig A. Cunningham (response)

The Dichotomy of Liberal Versus Vocational Education: Some Basic Conceptual Geography by David Carr

Distinctions, Dualisms, and Deweyan Pragmatism: A Response to David Carr by James Garrison (response)

For further information, contact Frank Edler fedler@mccneb.edu or John McGaha jmcgaha@mccneb.edu