「學」「用」問題一直是學校課程上的一個重要議題，尤其是在近代重視效率的工商業社會，更常將「學以致用」做為選擇課程的重要指標。在近代學校課程史上，一提及強調教育應為美好生活做準備的實用價值，便不能忽視Spencer的課程主張。他早於19世紀中葉，談論什麼知識最有價值的問題。他主張學校應仔細考量知識的相對價值，提出以「科學」為核心，選擇對學生最有價值的有用知識做為教材，培養適應民主社會並有能力改善生活的良好公民，他的實用課程觀影響當代課程的發展甚鉅。本文試敘述Spencer的課程觀及其在當代課程史上的重要性與影響。

"Learning" and "using" issues have been an important concern for the course selection in the history of curriculum, especially in the modern industrial society, the idea of how to apply the knowledge has been a key indicator for the curriculum. In the history of the modern curriculum, anyone who mentioned the education should be referred to prepare for complete living, he always considered Herbert Spencer is the pioneer. Spencer had already brought out the question about what is the most valuable knowledge for students in the middle of 19th century. He proposed that all schools should think about the relative value of knowledge and offered that "science" should be the core value of curriculum. Therefore, to select the most valuable knowledge for students as the teaching materials in order to make them have the ability to adapt to a democratic society and improve their life quality is the central idea. His opinion of pragmatic curriculum perspective plays a leading role in the history of curriculum. This article will discuss his curriculum perspective and the importance and influence in the contemporary history of curriculum.