Theoretical Foundations for Comparative Analysis of Literature Curricula: A Review of Foreign Approaches

Abstract

There is a lack of evidence-based argumentation in Russian public and academic discussion about teaching literature at school and in comparative studies on literature curriculum in Russia and abroad as well as on ways of its possible reconstruction. In this review paper we represent key theoretical discourses: conservative approach, neoliberal technicist pragmatism, postmodern/ critical perspective, and social realism. We provide examples of how to approach aims and objectives of literature curriculum, school literature canon, teacher and student agency, role of various actors in its construction, conflict between knowledge-based and competence-based approaches. We presume that this theoretical framework may be relevant for in-depth analysis of Russian literature curriculum and suggestions on plausible alternatives in its transformation to overcome its problems and contradictions.

Keywords

• teaching literature at school
• curriculum
• curriculum studies
• educational standard
• curriculum research
• curriculum framework