Process of Education, The

Authored by cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner, The Process of Education is a report of the Woods Hole Conference of 1959, a watershed event in the history of curriculum studies. This educational classic's stated intent was to discuss new efforts in curriculum design that had been spurred by federal funding in reaction to Russia's success with Sputnik. However, despite the meeting's focus, only three educators attended, the principal participants being scientists, mathematicians, and psychologists. Emphasizing the structures of academic disciplines [Page 687]as the organizing principle for the curriculum, Bruner's interpretation of the conference proceedings quickly became the foundational statement for a new national curriculum reform movement. In effect, the movement represented the transference of responsibility for curriculum development from curriculum professors and K12 educators to scholars ...