This book provides a broad perspective on the basic curriculum questions educators face in the schools regarding the purposes, content, design, and structure of educational programs. In discussing basic issues of curriculum theory, some questions are raised: (1) How have people structured educational programs and instruction in an attempt to serve certain aims? (2) Should curriculum be thought of as a set of subjects to be learned or as a set of experiences for people to have? (3) What questions should be considered during the process of designing a curriculum? (4) How do contemporary scholars who have studied curriculum of the past and present explain and critique curriculum? and (5) If we as a pluralistic society "aim" our educational programs, how can we do so fairly and justly? The final chapter provides a number of opportunities for preservice teachers to engage more fully in thinking about curriculum and aims in the context of classroom situations. (JD)