Theory Matters | What Are We Teaching?

About this episode

Dr. Shauna McGill and Dr. Richard Bustin discuss the limitations of traditional education models and explore how a capabilities-focused curriculum can empower students.

Join Dr. Shauna McGill in a profound conversation with educator and author Dr. Richard Bustin as they dismantle the traditional "content-delivery" model of education. Drawing on Richard’s book, What Are We Teaching? Powerful Knowledge and a Capabilities Curriculum, this episode moves beyond the "knowledge vs. skills" binary to ask a more urgent question: How can what we teach truly empower students to navigate an uncertain world? Key Themes Explored : Defining "Powerful Knowledge": We dive into curriculum theory to understand why knowledge shouldn't just be a fixed body of facts, but a tool for liberation and intellectual depth. The Capabilities Approach: Richard argues for a curriculum that explicitly connects academic knowledge with the human capabilities students need to think, participate, and contribute to society. Social Justice & Opportunity: Why curriculum decisions are never neutral. We discuss how traditional academic hierarchies can exclude learners and how a capabilities-focused approach can expand student agency. Curriculum Coherence: Learn how a unified vision can help schools overcome the fragmentation caused by policy shifts and…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr Richard Bustin

Topics covered

• curriculum theory
• Powerful Knowledge
• Capabilities Approach
• social justice
• curriculum coherence
• future of schooling

Keywords

• education
• student agency
• knowledge vs. skills
• curriculum decisions

Mentioned in this episode

Products: What Are We Teaching? Powerful Knowledge and a Capabilities Curriculum

Books & works: What Are We Teaching? Powerful Knowledge and a Capabilities Curriculum

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