Inquiring Into The Theory Of Local Curriculum Development In Primary And Middle School

In our country reforms have been carried out in elementary education curriculum, aiming to set up a three-level curriculum management system that enhances the adaptability of the curriculum to locality, school and student and changing the state of over-centralized curriculum management. One of the keys to achieve the objective is the development of local curriculum. The establishment of local curriculum is undoubtedly a structural breakthrough in elementary education curriculum system, but its maturation and development needs a process during which there exist many theoretical problems worthwhile to be probed into. Based on the limited materials the article makes a further inquiry into the theory of local curriculum development in primary and middle school.Since there still has been no clear definition about nature and field of local curriculum development given in any kinds of authoritative curriculum papers, and guidance papers concerning local curriculum development, such as local curriculum development and management guide (which will be published in the fall of 2003), are still being written, so far, many educational workers are not quite clear about what is local curriculum and how to develop it, etc. which leads to many deviations in the process of curriculum development, for instance, the validity of developed local curriculum is insufficient. So it is necessary for us to make further study of local curriculum development.The article first expounds the significance of local curriculum development, and then approaches the theoretical problems respectively, such as, the concept of local curriculum, the types of local curriculum, the basic characteristics and function of local curriculum and so on, which, in a sense, gets a preparation in theory for the development of local curriculum in primary and middle school, and makes it clear that what is local curriculum on earth, on the basis of which the theory of local curriculum development is set forth from the angle of curriculum essential factors, that is making an inquiry into the objective orientation of local curriculum, selection and organization of local curriculum content, implementation and evaluation of local curriculum, thus lays the theoretical foundation for local curriculum development.There are two directions in the study of the basic theory of curriculum development. One direction lays emphasis on basic ideology, another on highly technical theory. But the highly technical theory is always based on the basic ideology given in curriculum. The purpose of this article is to discuss the basic theory of local curriculum from the point of view of the basic ideology not the technical theory. As the theoretical study of curriculum development is a very complicated task and much remains to be studied in depth, my article here is just to cast a brick to attract jade.