Journal of Curriculum & Pedagogy: Mission Statement
The Journal of Curriculum & Pedagogy is positioned at the intersection of curriculum theory and teaching studies. We welcome papers and other products with a historical, philosophical, gendered, sexual, racial, ethnic, linguistic, autobiographical, aesthetic, theological, and/or international emphasis. Just as "best practices" in all teaching fields are deeply embedded in more general curriculum concerns and issues, so too are they embedded in more specific, and perhaps more immediate and robust curriculum concerns and issues. In particular, then, we welcome papers and other products that explore historical, philosophical, gendered, sexual, racial, ethnic, linguistic, autobiographical, aesthetic, theological, and/or international curriculum concerns and issues. In welcoming these many and varied modes of curriculum analyses, the editors acknowledge that there are a multiplicity of stories to be told and texts to be acknowledged in curriculum and pedagogy.
Scholarship, like teaching involves making choices, both theoretical and practical. We recognize that the moral consequences of each educational decision impacts all aspects of curriculum and teaching work, and we acknowledge that any one educational perspective, story, mode of instruction, or critical analysis is inherently incomplete and leaves other aspects of curriculum and pedagogy unexplored, hidden, silent. Thus, in examining the intersections between curriculum and pedagogy, we strive to address multiple, perhaps even contradictory forces by welcoming many and varied analytical concerns and issues. In light of this, the editors would like to actively seek papers and other products aimed at the intellectual and empirical questions inherent in the interplay among these robust forces. Autobiographical projects discussing the circuitous journey any one career can traverse in light of research, personal reflection, external policy, and legislation would be welcomed. Along these lines, we invite articles on the nature of gender and/or sexual orientation as related to the intricacies and issues that arise in enacting curriculum as well as papers probing diversity among various populations, cultures, and social issues at home or internationally. Finally, spiritual, philosophical, and aesthetic educational papers may serve as catalysts in the current political debate concerning legislative accountability and the validity of the profession.
The Journal of Curriculum & Pedagogy recognizes that the democratic relationship between curriculum and pedagogy can be found through investigations into the experiences of teachers and students. Furthermore, we acknowledge that teaching and learning are contextualized; and therefore, curriculum studies should reflect the characteristic ambiguity of the educational terrain. To this end, the editors of this journal seek to provide a variety of opportunities for documenting how knowledge is constructed and expressed in myriad ways. Currently muted by the monotonic clamor of technical rationality are the playful and inspired voices of those who would join the critical conversation surrounding curriculum and pedagogy through a wide range of interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and other unique multi-discursive and artistic languages.
We envision this journal as a dialogic forum through which scholars and practitioners representing various disciplines are invited to engage in opportunities to see that the conversation surrounding the relationship between curriculum and pedagogy functions ethically. The Journal of Curriculum & Pedagogy is committed to diversified educational research. In doing so, we hope to demonstrate that any singular approach to acquiring knowledge is an epistemological travesty that threatens the foundations of a democratic education and academic freedom. It is our intention to create challenging opportunities to further an understanding of the interrelated concerns from various epistemological viewpoints by eliciting the intersections of competing voices. The journal is a stage for improvisation — a lived and living conversation working toward understanding critical issues in education.
The Journal of Curriculum & Pedagogy will seek, pursue, and encourage scholarship that invites readers to consider multiple interpretations of reality and definitions of "meaningful truth." It will provide a kaleidoscope of views that represents the interdependent, interconnected reality of human education. A plurality of involvement in curriculum construction and pedagogical practices will be painted throughout. Cultural contexts demand multiple world-views. As the reader continues on this journey, the journal will follow a prime directive in education for over two centuries: a quest for shared knowledge. A prime consideration of curriculum and pedagogy is to construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct types and forms of experiences in which diverse members may form a "meaningful truth" individually as well as collectively. As a result, each member would see her/himself as a knowledge-seeker, knowledge-holder, and knowledge-constructor within the interdependent, interconnected learning community. The journal hopes to bring these multidimensional insights into the discourse of curriculum and pedagogy to be appreciated, celebrated, and enacted by all.
Finally, the Journal of Curriculum & Pedagogy will treat "curriculum and pedagogy" as a distinct multi-disciplinary field. We welcome contributions that theoretically clarify the complex, chaotic nature of this field. Though the journal is situated at the intersection of theory and practice, we recognize the importance of social theory in educational artistry.
In order to extend critical discussion and advance research that situates education in these contexts, the journal goals are:
- To increase the dialogue that must exist about all educational issues to provide for the continuation of the democratic process
- To open a public space where students, educators, educational political systems, and school cultures can "re-translate" and "re-negotiate" identities and responsibilities in the act of "educating" all members of society
- To guide and encourage readers, using themes and topics, to engage in pedagogical theory, investigating and learning more about changing educational trends
- To bring honest challenges to the curriculum and pedagogy in teacher preparation programs to identify problems, limitations, and conflicting realities under a socio-political scrutiny; and re-envision a socially responsible agency for public education in a democratic, pluralistic society
- To promote non-traditional research ideology and methods that hold profound capacities for uncovering unknown voices and realities in curriculum construction and pedagogical practices
- To provide disempowered scholars and researchers outside the dominant social order with a forum for advancement of ideology of socio-political constructs in diverse cultural contexts
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