Pinar documents that the field of curriculum studies in the United States is in the early stages of a second paradigm shift, this time stimulated by present political circumstances. He explains why their acceptance in contemporary scholarship signals their conceptual exhaustion and how recent work in the field begins to surpass them.
"What William Pinar accomplishes in this text defines the present state of the field and offers both a hope and a method for the continued development of the discipline of curriculum studies . . . Texts that follow after and from this work will arrive into the nest Pinar has created here." - Alan A. Block, Professor of Education, University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA "Pinar . . . advocates reconceptualizing US public education to focus on understanding, not just implementing or evaluating, curriculum . . . Recommended." - Choice