This primary text provides the backbone for a basic curriculum course at either the senior or graduate level. The book shows how the parts of a curriculum fit together and helps students identify assumptions underlying curricula. In doing so, students develop the ability to determine why a curriculum proves better for some students than for others; what approaches to teaching are compatible with a particular curriculum; what difficulties a curriculum is likely to encounter during implementation; and what kinds of changes parents, students, and administrators are likely to demand.