About AATC

In the United States, most areas of scholarly investigation emerged as recognized fields of study about a hundered years ago. One of the events that made this possible was the founding of national learned societies devoted to the advancement of scholarship in their repective fields. Examples of the newly formed learned societies are the American Historical Association (1884), the American Economic Association (1885), the American Philosophical Association (1901), and the American Academy of Religion.

The scholarly field of teaching and curriculum, however, was not represented i the formation of the early American Scholarly organizations, even though university departments that encompassed both the scholarly and the professional study of teaching and curriculum had been established prior to the end of the nineteenth century.

This organization has a peer-reviewed journal with an internationally known Editorial Advisory Board (e.g., Steve Selden, Thomas Barone, Bill Reid, and Jean Calndinin), an annual conference with speakers (e.g., Michael Apple, Maxine Green, Elliot Eisner, and Bill Shubert), and an online forum for scholarly discussion.

An important historical event in the development of organizations dealing with the scholarly field of teaching and curriculum was the founding of the American Association fro Teaching and Curriculum (AATC) on October 1, 1993. The members of the AATC believed that the time was long overdue to recognize teaching and curriculum as a basic field of scholarly study, to constitute a national learned society for the scholarly field of teaching and curriculum. In the larger universities, faculty members identified with this field of scholarly study typically affiliated with departments of curriculum and instruction, because the first secretary-treasurer of AATC promoted the idea of scholarly study based in theoretical applictions at the K-12 level. AATC continues to serve scholarship in teaching and curriculum through its conferences, journal, and the interaction of its members.

The purpose of the organization as originally defined in Article 1, Section 2 of the AATC Constitution:

To promote the scholarly study of teaching and curriculum, all analytical and interpretive approaches that are appropriate for the scholarly study of teaching and curriculum shall be encouraged.