課程研究在高等教育領域一直沒有受到很大的重視，本文所探討的英國學者Ronald Barnett是少數能針對高等教育課程概念加以建構的學者之一，他相當重視課程的重要性，認為高等教育若不談課程，就好比〈哈姆雷特〉裡面沒有王子，他嘗試由社會哲學的分析方式，賦予高等教育課程新觀點。本文的書寫動機在於研究者認為他的課程理念值得加以探討，或許可以協助吾人深入思考高等教育課程的發展方向。本文首先介紹Barnett的主要著作與高等教育觀點，接著探究他的高等教育課程理念，最後評析這些課程理念的內涵，並以之思考大學的課程發展。

The research of curriculum theory has received less attention in the study of higher education. Ronald Barnett, however, is an England scholar who has endeavored to construct higher education curriculum theory for a long time. He considers curriculum is a vital element in higher education, and argues that we cannot discuss higher education without curriculum, as we cannot have Hamlet without the prince. Barnett attempts to analyze the idea of higher education by his new approach of ‘social philosophy.’ He creates a new perspective of higher education curriculum. This paper was motivated by a belief that Barnett’s concept could help deliberate on the future development of high education curriculum. In this paper, the author first introduced Barnett’s works and viewpoints of higher education. Barnett’s idea of higher education curriculum was then explored. Finally, the author offered a critique of Barnett’s concept and then a discussion about its implication on the development of higher education curriculum.