The Concept of Imagination and its Place in Curriculum and Instruction Reconsidered: The Case for Elementary Stage

پژوهش نامه مبانی تعلیم و تربیت

Article 1, Volume 011, Issue 1, September 2010   

Document Type: پژوهشی

DOI: 10.22067/fe.v11i1.1854

Author

mahmood mehrmohammadi^*

Abstract

The concept of imagination and different meanings associated with it is discussed briefly in the first section of the article. This will lead to the conclusion that comprehending this noble human capacity is not an easy task and must be considered as an unfinished agenda, especially for educators and policymakers who contemplate change in the education sector. One explanation for the uneasy grasp of the concept is mistaking hallucination, a negative and symptomatic concept with imagination. Following this introductory remark, the article discusses the application of imagination in the elementary school curriculum. Legitimization of imagination, it is argued, entails replacing the principle of “starting from where the children are” to “starting from what the children can imagine.” In the subsequent section, the discussion turns into addressing justifications for including imagination into the school curriculum and providing the ground for consolidating this noble capacity in the children. In the final section of the article the author names yet another unfinished agenda that must become the focus of attention. The project is aimed at identifying “mental blocks” as exercised in the schooling system. Findings will be employed to revitalize thinking oriented activities in its comprehensive sense.

Keywords

imagination; curriculum; Education; elementary stage