Explanation of Explicit and Implicit Aspects of Values in Curriculum Theory and Curriculum Development

The purpose of this paper is to explain the roles that values play in curriculum theory and curriculum development areas. To achieve this goal and to answer its related questions, analytical-explanatory method has been used. After the introduction, there is a discussion on the presence of values in education and other scientific fields. Then, in addition to introducing the views supporting the presence of values, the role of values has been investigated in curriculum theory in several aspects: the crystallize of values in the form of curriculum theories based on theological beliefs; the idea of balance between different values or concern for lack of aesthetic and ethical values; considering curriculum theorizing in the form of knowledge, reality and value oriented propositions; the emphasis on the interrelationship between descriptive and normative theories and the value aspect of the epistemological beliefs and attention to the values derived from ethical principles as a criterion for the desirability of curriculum theory. In the areas of curriculum development, two ideas have been proposed: criticizing of Tyler Rational in terms of the delay in paying attention to the role and place of values and from value free perspective to a value oriented view of curriculum conception as technology. In the final section, implications and results have been presented.