Eisner, Elliot

Elliot W. Eisner is widely regarded as one of the most prominent and influential U.S. curriculum theorists and arts educationists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Eisner's most significant contributions to the field of curriculum studies pertain to his interests in the cultivation of perception and the promotion of new conceptions of literacy within multiple forms of representation. These interests were central to his lifelong advocacy of the importance of aesthetics and imagination in the general school curriculum; in the curriculum design process; in teaching; in approaches to curriculum research, evaluation, and assessment; and in the transformation of the public school. This entry focuses on Eisner's academic training and educational positions, his primary contributions to curriculum theory, and the awards and honors he achieved.