Curricular Rationales: Celebratory & Critical Dimensions

1. Curricular Rationales: Celebratory & Critical Dimensions Typologies by systemic function, structure and aim.

2. Items for Consideration Admissions Placement Gain in Status Applied Math GRE’s Career Counseling Internships Class Rank Knowledge gained Convocations Liberal Arts Credits &Diplomas Mandatory PE Engineering courses Non-Appl. Math Job Placement Seminars Mixers Special Scholarships These are part of the typical college experience. This is “curriculum” in broadest terms.

3. Focussing on the System We can consider an educational institution to be a system and look at curriculum in any of three functions: the necessary resources for • Input optimizing output • Output Note: Outputs may not be the same as goals. Process procedures operating on inputs results of procedures

4. Input Focus Items commonly rationalized as part of the institutional input are: Convocations Class Rank Special Scholarships Admissions Placement Career Counseling Mixers Items rationalized in this way are typically vulnerable to the challenge that: • they have no important effect on outcomes, or • they are unduly costly options .

5. Process Focus Items commonly rationalized as part of the institutional process are: Seminars Mandatory PE Applied Math Sequence Non-applied Math Sequence Liberal Arts Courses Internships Items rationalized in this way are typically vulnerable to the challenge that: • they have no important effect on outcomes, or • they are unduly costly options .

6. Output Focus Items commonly rationalized as (pursuing) sought after outcomes are: Credits & Diplomas GRE’s Knowledge gained Gain in Status Engineering Courses Job Placement Items rationalized in this way are typically vulnerable to the challenge that • they are generally not attained • they are unduly costly.

7. Curricular Structure We can rationalize some items in terms of certain possibilities of internal structure: • Logical • Pedagogical • Disciplinary • Institutional Note: these structures may conflict with one another.

8. A: Logical Structuring A curriculum can be rationalized as having a logical structure to the extent that it is: • Built up from simple elements to complex items by • Some rules of combination. pno bp ho

9. Examples of and Challenges to A Items commonly rationalized as logical curriculum sequencing are: Admissions Placement Math Course Sequencing Gains in Status These items are typically vulnerable to the challenge that: • the “logical rules” are inappropriate, or • pedagogical concerns are violated, or • moral concerns are violated.

10. B: Pedagogical Structuring A curriculum can be rationalized as having a pedagogical structure to the extent that it is: • Organized so as to make teaching and learning efficient.

11. Examples of and Challenges to B Items commonly rationalized in terms of pedagogical organization are: Seminars Internships Mandatory PE ( mens sana in …) These are typically vulnerable to the challenge that: • they are costly options , or • organizational needs are overlooked, or • moral concerns are violated.

12. C: Disciplinary Structuring A curriculum can be rationalized as having a disciplinary structure to the extent that it is: • Organized according to the claims of different interest groups (i.e., academic disciplines) having expertise about it.

13. Examples of and Challenges to C Items typically rationalized as disciplinarily organized in the curriculum are: Special Scholarships Credits & Diplomas Liberal Arts Studies GRE’s Engineering These are typically vulnerable to the challenge that: • they are costly options , or • institutional needs are overlooked, or • pedagogical concerns are violated.

14. D: Institutional Structuring A curriculum can be rationalized as having an institutional structure to the extent that it is: • Organized so as to expedite the functioning of an institution.

15. Examples of and Challenges to D Items commonly rationalized as serving institutional functioning are: Career Counseling Credits & Diplomas Convocations Mandatory PE GRE’s Such items are typically vulnerable to the challenge that: • they are costly options , or • individual needs are overlooked, or • moral concerns are violated.

16. Comparing Focus and Structure Math Admissions Sequencing Placement Knowledge gained Engineering Special Liberal Arts “skills” Scholarships “skills” Admissions Placement FOCUS INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT Structure Gain in Status Logical Diplomas Convocations Seminars Pedagogical Mixers Mandatory PE Disciplinary Diplomas GRE’s GRE’s Mandatory PE Institutional Diplomas We can see two dimensions of rationale and vulnerability!

17. Curricular Aims Randall Collins (1978) proposes that all curriculum can be understood as aiming at three general outcomes: • Status an increase in positionally, often intrinsically, valued benefits. • Vocation an increase in extrinsically valued benefits: e.g. job skills. • Social an increase in conformity to social expectations. Control Note: these categories are primarily critical, hardly celebratory.

18. Status Aims Convocations Seminars Special Scholarships Admissions Placement Liberal Arts Mixers These are typically vulnerable to the challenge that: • they are unjustly exclusionary • they are costly options Understandable as status items are:

19. Vocational Aims Internships Career Counseling Engineering GRE’s Applied Math Knowledge gained These are typically vulnerable to the challenge that they are: • socially ( or ethnically ) biased, or • occupationally inappropriate. Understandable as vocational items are:

20. Social Control Aims Items that can be understood as having social control aims are: Class Rank Admissions Placement Mandatory PE Convocations Job Placement Special Scholarships Gain in Status Career Counseling Such items are typically vulnerable to the challenge that: • they are undemocratic, or • they support status quo inequities

21. Comparing Focus and Aims Career Counseling Admissions SOCIAL Placement CONTROL FOCUS INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT AIMS Liberal Arts STATUS Convocations Diplomas Seminars Engineering VOCATION Internships GRE’s Diplomas Mandatory PE GRE’s

22. Comparing Aims and Structure SOCIAL CONTROL Status Non-Applied Applied Math Rankings Math Sequence Sequence Special Status Scholarships Rankings Admissions Placement AIM STATUS VOCATION Structure Logical Seminars Mandatory PE Pedagogical Internships Disciplinary Engineering Liberal Arts Convocations Mandatory PE Institutional Diplomas Mixers GRE’s

23. The Three Dimensions Combined Every potential item has 3 dimensions of rationale and 3 dimensions of vulnerability! social control vocational Structure status INPUT PROCSS OUTPT logical Aim pedagogical disciplinary Focus institutional

24. Programming Consequences 1. A real example for every conceivable classification (36) of focus, structure and aim may not, in fact, exist. 2. The more classifications an item fits into, the greater its potential vulnerability to criticism. 3. The more classifications an item fits into, the broader the rationale that can be constructed for it.