Teachers as Fountainheads of Curriculum Making: Challenges and Possibilities

Joseph Schwab challenged the disproportionate force of policy makers in the development of subject matter that was then imposed on teachers and learners. Schwab argued that teachers should play a significant role in curricular decision-making due to their role as implementers of curriculum and their understanding of the learners in their classrooms. Schwab encouraged curricular decisions based on four commonplaces of: teacher, learner, subject matter, and milieu. This issue of Brock Education explores various dimensions of curriculum, particularly the fountainhead roles teachers can play in improving the lives of learners. The authors of the five articles, while hopeful, point to the many challenges and pressures facing teachers as curriculum makers.