Tyler, Ralph W.

Ralph W. Tyler (19021994) was described in a 1977 issue of the Phi Delta Kappan as “Mr. Fix-it,” a moniker that is surprisingly insightful but also somewhat amusing as a way to depict the stoic statesman who many consider one of the defining [Page 905]figures for the field of curriculum studies and one of the more important educators of the 20th century. But Tyler's work in the field of curriculum studies can be best understood as that of an individual whose career was based on assisting others to solveto fixtheir problems. From the 1920s and 1930s and his involvement in the Eight Year Study through the 1940s and 1950s and the publication of his renowned treatise, Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction, to the 1960s ...