In this presentation, the authors attempt to approach the field of curriculum theory, development, innovation, and planning from the perspective of the basic principles of pedagogics. The authors use Sweden's development of a comprehensive school system as a case study of curriculum planning and development. This case study serves as an illustration of the basic issues discussed, but not as a normative model of curriculum planning and development. Through the use of this example, the relations between demands in the society, educational research, and curriculum on a concrete level are demonstrated. The first section deals with the development of the new school system and a new curriculum in Sweden, the second with pedagogical research and the Swedish curriculum reform, and the third with the foundations for curriculum theory and research. (Author/IRT)