Explaining the disciplinary capabilities of curriculum and determining its position in the classification of academic disciplines

Abstract: In this paper, effort has been made to investigate the capabilities of curriculum as an academic discipline (CAD) and the question to be answered was whether curriculum could be seen as an academic discipline? This question has been answered in two parts. In the first part, the criteria of scientific disciplines were presented from the perspective of experts and after extracting the agreed criteria, they have been explored in CAD. In the second part, various classification of academic disciplines were presented, then disciplines that are congruent with CAD have been identified and linked with it. Discussions of part two have led to this result that curriculum is a soft, alive and functional discipline. This discipline has philosophical, social and organizational perspectives. In summary, three views were discussed. Two of these three points of view imply that education and curriculum are not considered as an academic discipline. At the end, the definition of curriculum as an academic discipline has been presented.