Did There Exist Two Stages of Franklin Bobbitt’s Curriculum Theory?

Abstract

 Franklin Bobbitt is the founder of modern curriculum theory. There is a generally supported saying that Bobbitt’s theory went through two stages, the first focused on social efficiency with a mechanical and behavioral approach, and the second a more progressive approach, caring for the living experience of pupils. A close reading of his so-called turning point paper proves that this is a misunderstanding and that these two parts actually composed an organic unity in his theory from the very beginning. This misunderstanding happened mainly in the 1970s, with a tendency to criticize the Tyler Rationale as scientism. It influenced the canonical narrative in curriculum textbooks later and became a stereotype in our understanding of Bobbitt. It obscures the complexity of the history of educational thought.