Sociological approaches to curriculum: Theoretical orientations and research perspectives

Abstract

In recent years, the sociological thought about the school has been renewed, in many countries, by the emphasis given to the issue of curriculum. I describe briefly, in the present artic\e, some of the approaches of this new area of research. I mention, firstly, the original and truly "foundational" contribution, in the sixties, of the writings of the British sociologists, notably those belonging to the "new sociology" perspective. I discuss, then, the writings (the French as well the foreign ones) which emphasize those elements which are called, sometimes, "real currículum" and "hidden currículum". Finally, I stress the possibility of a productive dialogue between historians, educators and sociologists of currículum, on the issue of school culture.