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Curriculum Design and Epistemic Ascent
Author(s) -
Winch Christopher
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of philosophy of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.501
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9752
pISSN - 0309-8249
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9752.12006
Subject(s) - hierarchy , curriculum , epistemology , descriptive knowledge , relevance (law) , body of knowledge , sociology , psychology , knowledge management , computer science , pedagogy , philosophy , political science , law
Three kinds of knowledge usually recognised by epistemologists are identified and their relevance for curriculum design is discussed. These are: propositional knowledge, know‐how and knowledge by acquaintance. The inferential nature of propositional knowledge is argued for and it is suggested that propositional knowledge in fact presupposes the ability to know how to make appropriate inferences within a body of knowledge, whether systematic or unsystematic. This thesis is developed along lines suggested in the earlier work of P aul H irst. The different kinds of know‐how and their relationships are discussed and it is suggested that they occupy different places and different relationships in any curricular hierarchy. The changing role that knowledge by acquaintance plays within this hierarchy is also discussed. Implications of this account for the current N ational C urriculum and for curriculum design more generally are discussed, looking at H istory, S cience and D esign T echnology as examples.