Bulletin of Educational Research

Abstract

Justice is the most important virtue of social organizations, as truth is the most important element of the system of ideas. What humankind search for in educational activities is not only truth, but also justice. However, since Bobbitt proposed his curriculum theories in the 1920’s, the dominant cognitive-technical approach has paid closer attention to truth rather than justice.

In the 1970’s, critical pedagogy challenged the domination of curriculum theories and stood for a curriculum theory whose central subject is social justice. H. A. Giroux as the representative of critical pedagogy, has endeavored to develop a curriculum theory concerned about the minority and searched for social justice over long periods, which is the focus of this study. The author attempts to explore it from an earlier social critical period to a latter postmodern period. In social critical period, Giroux tried to build a critical pedagogy centered on schooling for democracy, and in postmodern period he tried to build a border pedagogy as a counter-text, counter-memory and the politics of difference. Furthermore, this study compares his social critical period with postmodern period and criticizes them in both aspects of theory and practice. In conclusion, the author puts forward several observations including teacher’s role, the form and content of curriculum, teaching method and the politics of curriculum which Giroux’s theories can inspire in us.

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