Cognition, co‐emergence, curriculum

Abstract

This paper describes a theory of curriculum co‐emergence by which the various components of curriculum action (e.g. students, teachers, texts and processes) are understood to exist in a dynamic and mutually specifying relationship. Drawn from studies in biology, ecology, cognition, phenomenology and contemporary philosophical hermeneutics, this theory of co‐emergence is used to analyse two classroom interactions: an elementary school lesson on fractions and a secondary school unit on the topic of anti‐racism. Through these examples, the co‐emergent and intertwining natures of knowledge (individual and collective) and identity (individual and collective) are explored. The paper concludes with a discussion of how a conception of curriculum as a co‐emergent phenomenon can help us to overcome the unhelpful dichotomies that tend to be enacted in both child‐ and subject‐centred pedagogies.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

A. Brent Davis

A. Brent Davis is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education in the Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, 2125 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4. He is interested in the implications for mathematics teaching of recent developments in ecological thought and curriculum theory.

Dennis J. Sumara

Dennis J. Sumara, an Assistant Professor of English language arts education and curriculum theory in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University, conducts research into the function of the literary imagination within school settings.

Thomas E. Kieren

Thomas E. Kieren is the Killam Annual Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Alberta. He conducts research into mathematical understanding, curriculum and cognition.