Curriculum as a Governing Practice: Thomas S. Popkewitz’s Perspective

Thomas S. Popkewitz is particularly concerned with how the construction of knowledge is intertwined with mechanisms of power, producing disciplinary and exclusionary effects within educational practice. He argues that education is never a neutral space for knowledge transmission; rather, it operates through a series of institutional practices and discursive constructions that shape subjectivities, classify differences, and reproduce social order. In the field of curriculum theory, Popkewitz offers a thought-provoking perspective on the “postmodern historiography of curriculum,” challenging traditional historical narratives centered on linear progress and rational development. He contends that it is essential to uncover the cultural-political logic embedded in curriculum reforms, particularly how these reforms define certain forms of knowledge, behavior, and subjectivity as “normal” or “ideal” educational goals. Through this lens, Popkewitz conceptualizes curriculum as a cultural-political practice and emphasizes the need to critically reflect on how reform discourses construct “the child who is to be made into a learner,” often marginalizing specific differences. This theoretical approach offers a new perspective for analyzing how educational systems reproduce inequality, while also urging educators and policymakers to reconsider the social and ethical responsibilities of educational change. Popkewitz offers a “governmentality” perspective that reveals the institutional arrangements and modernist logics underlying educational practices. This article aims to examine Popkewitz’s three core arguments on curriculum governance, with the intention of fostering a deeper understanding of his conceptualization of curriculum and its underlying principles.