Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction

Few single publications have so influenced the field of curriculum studies, both positively and negatively, as Ralph W. Tyler's Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction, published in 1949 and still in print today. Philip Jackson referred to it in the Handbook of Research in Curriculum as the Bible of curriculum making. In what arose from a 1940s course syllabus, Tyler developed a rationale for understanding the principles of educational programming and classroom problem solving. He maintained that his intent was never to construct a curriculum theory, but merely to outline questions that should be asked by educators when examining their practices. His series of questions, a common communications tool that he had developed during his career as an educational consultant and program evaluator, became known ...