In this assignment, I will be discussing the emergence of the National Curriculum for England, and how reforms have led to its evolution into the present framework. I will also be looking at current theories of teaching and learning, and how the National Curriculum 2014 for science reflects these. I will consider how the curriculum document structures how teachers should teach, and also what types of learning theories and teaching approaches might support the teacher in delivering the curriculum.
The first part of this assignment will focus on the English Curriculum for primary education. England has not always had a National Curriculum. Even after the Education Act of 1944, which introduced a tripartite system of free schooling for all children, there were no statutory requirements for schools other than the inclusion of religious education. In 1953, the first non-selective school opened and changes began to be made with the intention of modernising the primary and secondary school curricula (Arthur and Cremin, p.284). The Plowden Report of 1967 argued for a primary school curriculum that would allow children to live “happily and usefully”, stressing the importance of “other skills besides those of reading, writing and arithmetic” (Plowden, p186).
However, The shift to more progressive ideas of a child-centred curriculum led to accusations of a decline in educational standards, leading to a “turning point in modern educational history” (Davis 2002 p275), the William
It was in 1996 that the first UK curriculum was introduced which was called ‘Desirable Outcomes’. Within the document were learning outcomes to be achieved by all children by the age of five and being a centralised system, an inspection scheme was also introduced. In this article Soler and Miller (2010) highlight how these changes were perceived to be shaping the early childhood curriculum from the outside rather than from within the early childhood community.
Below is the structural educational framework for England’s children aged 0-5 years old, the things we should be focusing on developing:-
Education both influences and reflects the values and aspirations of a society. It is therefore important to recognise a set of common aims, values and purposes that underpin a school curriculum and the work of schools in a range of countries (DfE, 2008). This comparative study will explore the curricula of England and Finland - discussing the history, structure and contents; and consider which of the above are more useful in preparing young adults for life in the modern society. With reference to the modern society, it is important to understand that what makes a society modern is entirely a subjective ideology. This takes into consideration that the views and expectations of one modern society may differ from the views and expectations
Early childhood education curriculums are becoming a national curriculum in most countries. With more governments and society thinking about education of under-fives we are seeing shifts in thinking and education to meet the changing world. We are developing children skills for the future to create a society where children feel they belong and can contribute to society. Curriculums are being influenced my social, political, cultural, historical and theoretical issues that are impacting different curriculums in the world. I am going to explore and develop my understanding about three different curriculums to recognise the different influences affecting curriculums. I am going to explore the curriculums of Te Whāriki: New Zealand, Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and Curriculum for Excellence: Scotland. This will allow me to develop an understanding of other curriculums which I have not heard about to discover other way to education that I have not been taught in teacher’s college.
Every child matters agenda and the childcare act 2006, it become an entitlement of all 3-4 year olds in England to receive a free part time early years education of up to 12.5 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. Early year’s provision in school is about supporting very young children it is distinct from key stage 1 in each country within the UK and is best on the concept of learning through play rather than more formal education Play has been show to be an important part for children learning. In Scotland the curriculum is focused around the document curriculum for excellent. This document concerns the curriculum for 3-4 years
In this essay I will outline the curricular systems for the 0-5 age group in England and Scotland. I will examine in detail the planning and assessment provisions of these systems which allow early years practitioners to gain insight into children's learning and to aid them in that regard. I will draw comparison between the practices of these two countries where possible, and provide criticism of each.
The Education system of England and Wales underwent a number of important changes since 1944. This essay seeks to concentrate on these major changes describing the rationale and impact they had on the British education system.
This case history is about the 1944 education act which was an attempt to create the structure for post-war British education, it also raised the school-leaving age to 15 and provided universal free schooling in three different types of schools; grammar, secondary modern and technical. The case study will analyse the schooling and educational opportunities in the context of debates about the 11+ examination; which determined what school you would attend. The Tripartite System was the arrangement of state-funded secondary education between 1945 and the 1970s in England and Wales. It examines Mrs. Q’s childhood and education specifically in relation to the Education Act 1944 and her experiences of the tripartite system.
This assignment will discuss the challenges and benefits for pupil’s learning when Mathematics is connected to Science. This cross-curricular link has been chosen as I wish to further deepen my understanding of Science and its cross-curricular links to Mathematics. The essay will explain what role Mathematics and Science play within the National curriculum, what cross-curricularity means followed by the discussion of the challenges and benefits including examples of how these are applied in work-based practice at primary school within upper key stage 2.
This assignment is based upon my understanding of child development and children’s learning, considering the curriculum for the Early Years and the curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage/Key Stage One. I propose to outline a rationale for effectively continuing children’s learning, from the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage into Year One and include strategies to support transitions, effective curriculum delivery and links between the EYFS and the National Curriculum. Throughout the assignment I will refer not only in general but also to how my research has help me as a practitioner help my setting to effectively continue children’s learning.
The education of children has existed since the beginning of time as parents have taught and molded their children into the young adults they desired them to be. Initial training of children was not in a formal setting, although history would see numerous settings, purposes, and methodological changes. Philosophies of education have also changed through the years as various voices have seemed to grasp the purpose of educating the next generation, thus laying out objectives to reach those goals of teaching children.
Brady and Kennedy (2010) define the term curriculum as ‘the means by which young people and adults gain the essential knowledge, skills and attributes they need to be productive and informed citizens in a democratic society.’ However the term has many varied definitions, it can be described as being the subject matter, the overall plan for teaching or the outcome of what is taught (Wiles, 2005). Marsh and Willis (cited in Marsh, 2009, p. 3) break curriculum down into three individual areas of ‘planned curriculum’, the objectives and aims, ‘enacted curriculum’, how the objectives are
Schools also have a hidden curriculum in which values and norms of behaviour are transmitted. For example, wearing a school uniform and keeping to a set timetable can all be seen as activities that encourage particular standards of behaviour which could be viewed as producing disciplined future workers. Therefore the hidden curriculum implies that pupils not only learn formal subjects such as English or physics but also receive hidden messages about their class, ethnicity and gender from their experience of schooling. Through the choice of teaching strategies and characteristics chosen to be employed by educational institutions it indirectly conveys to students the norms, values and expectations. This is what we refer to as the hidden curriculum. As we will later explore there are many that argue the hidden curriculum and processes within schools help to produce inequalities between children of different social classes. Whitty and Young (1976) view the
Rewind to circa 2005, I was still living in England and I was attending primary school in a small town on the outskirts of Oxford. I was a relatively timid child and, as a result, often found it daunting to ask questions/seek help in lessons. As a result, I was often behind compared to my peers. My school noticed this and assumed I had various learning difficulties. They actually placed me in separate classes aimed towards those whom needed additional help. Against this background, it came as a surprise to me when science lessons were more heavily introduced to the curriculum, and I found that it was something I not only understood, but also enjoyed. A large part of this was
“The period between 1965 and the end of the 1980s witnessed significant developments, not only in the provision of post-primary schooling in Ireland, but also in the way in which schooling was understood.”