PERSPECTIVES ON SUBJECT CHOICE - THE CASE FOR A HUMANE LIBERALISM IN CURRICULUM PLANNING

The degree to which students in schools should be free to choose subje cts and courses has long been a matter of debate. In England and Wales , for example, a period of constriction in subject choice at 14 follow ing the introduction of the National Curriculum has now been succeeded by a return to greater choice from 1995. Much of the literature has d iscussed the degree to which students exercise individual freedom in t heir choices, as opposed to the degree to which their choices are cons trained by external factors. The outcome of such discussion remains un clear because different conclusions are reached by virtue of the adopt ion of different research paradigms and the differing value systems of the researchers. We are left, therefore, not with a solution to the p roblem of freedom of choice, but with a series of different perspectiv es on the processes. These perspectives are all useful in operational terms in that they allow school and college managers to develop and re fine their curriculum and guidance systems. However, the fundamental i ssue in terms of curriculum planning concerns the relative account to be taken of the perspectives of student, parent and teacher. It is arg ued that no one perspective must be allowed to monopolize, but that if it is an aim of education to develop citizens who are capable of maki ng responsible choices for themselves, this has certain implications f or the management of both curriculum and guidance.