Abstract:

A New Way of Thinking
The essence of curricular theory for education today is the conceptualization of curriculum for the 21st Century. “To change school practice, curriculum goals, materials, assessment policies, and teacher development must shift, without these changes, a new technology will merely be used to enact traditional practices” (Wiske, 2006, p.5). Not to diminish the goal of education, it is important that children learn complex and difficult disciplines in school. They need to be able to learn ways to improvise, innovate, and challenge themselves, and develop concepts, skills, and relationships which will allow them to explore the world beyond the community. To better facilitate learning, the educational experience must be viewed as a source of enjoyment, as well as a way to explore and discover the person within (Gee, 2005). “It is ironic that young people today are often exposed to more creative and challenging learning experiences in popular culture than they are in school” (Gee, 2005, p. 3).
Today, through the technological advancements of the past few years, the Internet offers a wealth of information that can only be described as a global electronic library. To manage advanced technology, students and teachers need to learn how to use an evolving array of search tools and strategies to access readily available information on any subject or discipline. At this moment in time we must realize that we are living in an era where the very nature, as well as the availability, of information has changed. From an educational perspective, in regard to theories of curriculum, our sense of what it means to be literate must also change (Warlick, 2005).

Conclusion
Curriculum design, like education as a whole, relies on the explanation of phenomena that theory provides, but is not, in itself, theoretical. The terms educational theory and curriculum theory may be employed only as a loose, nonscientific use of the word "theory." “At its most scientific, curriculum design is an applied science; like medicine and engineering, it draws on theory from the pure sciences, but itself develops not theory but operating principles to guide decision making in practical situations” (Pratt, 1980, p. 9, as cited by Hanson, 1995).
Teaching to the test and following rigid academic agendas will only satisfy the needs of state and federal governing agencies. It would be fool-hardy to think that such curricula will satisfy the demands placed on our current educational system. To say the curriculum presented in many of our Nation’s schools is outdated would be an act of kindness. Today's students need to learn the skills that will help them in today's global job market, as well as in today's society. Students of the 21st Century need to learn how to think independently and make decisions on their own, to work well with others, and sort through various sources of information. As we are all aware, it is a time of educational reform; our schools will certainly, as they have in the past, rise to the occasion to meet the needs of this new millennium (Funderstanding, 2001)