My research: How is the geography curriculum made?

How is the geography curriculum made?Exploring the concepts of ‘curriculum coherence’ and ‘curriculum control’

David MitchellInstitute of Education, London

My research: How is the geography curriculum made?

My key positions

•‘curriculum’ as enacted

•Focus on teacher

•Theory of a society – curriculum power relationship

“The England National Curriculum is, in law, an expression of content, and of aims andvalues. It cannot do everything. To expect it so to do will most likely result in failure.”

Oates, 2011:134

Exploring the concepts of ‘curriculum coherence’ and ‘curriculum control’ for how the geography curriculum is made

Tim Oates (2011) ‘curriculum coherence’ & ‘curriculum control’

High Performing education system

Accountability

PedagogyTextbooks & materials

National Frameworks

Assessment & qualifications

NATIONAL CURRICULUM

ITE

High Performing education system

Governance

Tim Oates (2011) ‘curriculum coherence’ & ‘curriculum control’

“A system is regarded as ‘coherent’ when the national curriculum content, textbooks, teaching content, pedagogy, assessment and drivers and incentives all are aligned and reinforce one another.”

Oates, 2011:141

Selection & gatekeeping

Professional development

Inspection

National Frameworks (routes etc)

Funding

Accountability

Governance


Initial teacher educationPedagogy

Curriculum

Curriculum contentNC, Textbooks (& support materials)

curriculum ‘control factors’ (Oates, 2011)

Allied social measures

Institutional structures

‘Curriculum Coherence’ through ‘curriculum control’ (Oates, 2011)



Inspection


Funding

Accountability

Governance



Curriculum




‘Curriculum Coherence’ through ‘curriculum control’ (Oates, 2011)



Inspection


Funding

Accountability

Governance



Curriculum




“...need not be...‘top down’ control or exercised exclusively by the State.”(Oates, 2011:126)

Role for the GA

Collaboration between teachers (model of the schools’ council projects) (Pring, 2013)

A single body represented by teachers/ univs/ exam boards/ employers (& gov – but not

with total control)

(Pring, 2013)



Inspection

National Frameworks

Funding

Accountability

Governance

Assessment


Curriculum

Textbooks (& other materials)

curriculum ‘control factors’ (Oates, 2011)Current situation?

CurriculumCurriculum


curriculum entitlement(Geography)

Some potential tensions

•not enough ‘deep learning’ in the curriculum = teaching to the test•‘bloated’ specification = over-assessment•over-generic curriculum = unfair tests•progression in content wrong = odd patterns of failure and success•irrelevant content = loss of validity and confidence

Source: Oates, 2011:131-132

•Assessment for accountability confused with assessment for learning = corruption of teaching...‘Campbell’s law’....“When a measure becomes a target it ceases to become a good measure.”

Pring (2013) p. 124

TENSION

Over-generic centralised curriculum (means power over curriculum lies elsewhere)

“’pupils must understand ‘that there are patterns in the reactions between substances’...This statement essentially describes all ofchemistry. So what should teachers actually teach? What are the key concepts which children should know and apply? The concept of entitlement becomes seriously eroded, if not absent, from a National Curriculum formed of such generic statements.”

Oates, 2011:142

“GCSE specifications in Geography must require learners to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of: aspects of physical and human geography, and their associated processes, including relationships between people and environments.”

Ofqual (2012) GCSE Subject Criteria for Geography



Inspection

National Frameworks

Funding

Accountability

Governance

Assessment


Curriculum



Teacher – making (sense of) the curriculum



Inspection

National Frameworks

Funding

Accountability

Governance

Assessment


Curriculum



Teacher – making (sense of) the curriculum

Significant other points (Oates’ 2011)

1. Subjects to drive the curriculum

2. Essential subject content – concept led, not

context

3. ‘Deep’ subject knowledge

4. Less frequent centralised change in curriculum

(because contexts should no longer be specified)

5. Separates curriculum and pedagogy

6. role of teacher to ‘make the curriculum’ interesting

7. Wary of trying to copy other countries’ systems

“A national curriculum cannot specify and control all elements of the ‘real’ curriculum – and will run into terrible difficulty if it attempts so to do...It is vital to distinguish the role of national curricula in specifying conceptual and factual content, and the role of teachers in developing motivating teaching and learning.”

Oates, 2011:133

Teachers’ role as curriculum makers (up to a point)

Finally...Some issues raised

•Role of university geography – how is the ‘change in the structure and content of knowledge’ to be fed into the curriculum?

•How autonomous should teachers be in choosing content?

•What is the role of the child in curriculum choices?

•Is Oates’ over emphasising the power of the NC over the ‘real’ curriculum?

•Are different value & belief positions (which create difference in ‘real’ curricula) sufficiently recognised?

•How realistic is coherence in English education system?

We must not work alone...

References

• Mansell, W. (2007) Education by numbers. The damaging treadmill of school tests. Politico’s.

• Oates, T. (2011): Could do better: using international comparisons to refinethe National Curriculum in England, Curriculum Journal, 22,2, 121-150

• Ofqual (2012) GCSE Subject Criteria for Geography http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/qualifications-and-assessments/ online: last accessed 24.01.13

• Pring, R. (2013) The Life and Death of Secondary Education for all. Abingdon: Routledge

• Roberts, M. (1995) ‘Interpretations of the geography national curriculum: a common curriculum for all?’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 27,2, pp. 187-205

http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/qualifications-and-assessments/

Documents

My research: How is the geography curriculum made?