Knowledge and the Future School: Curriculum and Social Justicee

Michael Young and David Lambert introduce the idea of a 'Future 3' curriculum for knowledge-led schools in a clear, accessible and concrete way. They show how the question of knowledge is intimately linked to the issue of social justice. The Future 3 School engages directly with the principles underpinning the English government's curriculum proposals and offers a constructive alternative for how 'access to knowledge' is at the heart of a school's purposes.
The Future 3 School is the first book that draws on draws on and explains recent ideas in the sociology of knowledge and shows their relevance for those in schools. It distinguishes three models of the curriculum, referred to as Future 1, Future 2 and Future 3 in terms of their assumptions about knowledge and links Future 3 to the idea of 'powerful knowledge' for all pupils as a curriculum principle for any school. The concept of powerful knowledge is elaborated and its implications considered in practical and concrete terms. The authors argue that debates about knowledge are every teacher's (and indeed every parent's) concern. It argues that all pupils are entitled to access to 'powerful knowledge' and that this is largely but not solely acquired through specialist subjects. Furthermore, this idea provides a forward-looking framework for headteachers and their staff and those training to teach to draw on their own expertise in developing the curriculum for their school.aThe book offers clear answers to the following questions- why should all schools should be 'knowledge-led'?why are subjects crucial to a knowledge-led school?Why are knowledge-led schools not necessarily elitist?Why is 'powerful knowledge' a useful starting point for the education of all pupilsHow is a Future 3 version of a knowledge-led curriculum different from the government's Future 1 model?Why should Headteachers and senior staff see themselves as curriculum leaders not just managers?