Schwab, Joseph

Joseph Schwab's major contribution to curriculum studies is the concept of “the Practical,” a unique orientation based on educational commonplaces coordinated by traditional problem-solving methods that use arts of the eclectic for modifying and coordinating competing theories to formulate and teach curriculum. From 1969 until 1988, Schwab wrote six articles, beginning with his scathing attack in Practical 1 on the ineffectual state of the curriculum field because of overreli-ance on limiting theories, often drawn from statistically based social sciences models. The cogency and energy of his presentations opened the cur-ricular field to a greater range of research focusing on issues of praxis, teacher narratives, teacher scholarship, and cultural concerns.

Schwab's Practical articles were the culmination of a career that affected many important curricular innovations of the ...