The Formation Of Michael F.D.Young’s ’Powerful Knowledge’ Thought

Michael F.D.Young of the School of Education of the University of London,is a leader in the field of curriculum sociology and the pioneer of ‘new’ educational sociology.He has devoted his life to the cause of education,fairness and social justice.In the early 1970 s,Young pointed out in his book Knowledge and Control:the Sociology of Education that curriculum knowledge in schools is not value-free but reflects the interests,tastes,beliefs and values of a specific group of powerful persons.Therefore,it is difficult for working-class students to succeed in school education.Young deeply criticized this and imagined revealing the power relationship behind the curriculum and enabling the knowledge of different groups to enter the curriculum to create a more democratic curriculum foundation.Although Yang’s Constructivism-oriented curriculum sociology thought points out that curriculum knowledge involves power and provides a liberating imagination,it ignores the objectivity of knowledge and regards knowledge as the interests of the powerful.There are obvious defects in theory and practice.In 1990 s,Young turned his research horizons to the field of educational practice,hoping to intervene in educational policies,and based on his understanding of the economic development situation,he proposed a curriculum of the future,but Young was based on the external conditions of economic development rather than the development of knowledge production.Curriculum ideas based on the consideration of internal dynamics of the school cannot bring real progress to education,nor can it effectively promote educational equity.Young’s academic accumulation of curriculum sociology from the 1970 s to the 1990 s provided the source and motivation for the formation of ‘powerful knowledge’ thought.Since the 21st century,Young has tried to solve the problem of over-interpreting the social attributes of knowledge and antagonizing the objectivity and sociality of knowledge in the early curriculum sociology thoughts based on his own educational practice experience in South Africa and the United Kingdom and reflections on early theories.Under the guidance of the knowledge view of social realism and curriculum theory,it transcends the social constructivism theory of education,and draws on the views of émile Durkheim and Basil Bernstein on the theory of knowledge differentiation.Recognize the importance of knowledge differentiation and boundaries,and gradually form the idea of ‘powerful knowledge’.Young’s thought of ‘powerful knowledge’ concentrate on the value of knowledge epistemology,believes that only by acquiring ‘powerful knowledge’ can students occupy a favorable position in the division of labor,and calling for the acquisition of ‘powerful knowledge’ is for all students The right to open up new ideas for the study of educational equity,play a guiding role in the realization of higher levels of educational equity in the field of educational practice,and promote the development of the concept of knowledge in the field of curriculum sociology.However,Young’s thought of ‘powerful knowledge’ is far from perfect.It ignores the problems of opportunities and degrees for students to acquire ‘powerful knowledge’,and some specific operational problems in the process of practice need to be further discussed and refined.