Education, globalisation and the ‘voice of knowledge’

Abstract

This paper argues that underlying the links being made between the need for educational change in responding to the knowledge economy is an evacuation of the content of curricula and a misplaced emphasis on ‘genericism’ and experience. As an alternative the paper draws on ideas from Durkheim, Vygotsky and Bernstein to make the case for the ‘differentiation of knowledge’ and in particular the differentiation between school and everyday knowledge as a principle for a future curriculum.