Emerging International Trends in Curriculum

Sinnema, Claire; Aitken, Graeme

doi:10.5040/9781472553195.ch-008

Cited by 88 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Since 2010, teachers in Scotland have been officially required to use CfE as the basis for classroom practice. How science teachers are responding to this challenge is an important topic for educational research, since CfE represents one of several new international curricula based on 21st century skills (Sinnema & Aitken, ). Internationally, some curriculum designs place more emphasis on performance outcomes for mastering content and skills, leaving the “how” up to the teachers, while others place more emphasis on suggested teaching methods (e.g., inquiry), leaving the particulars of content and performance up to the teachers (Achieve.Inc., undated; New Zealand Ministry, undated; Sinnema & Aitken, ).…”

Section: Nature Of and Perspectives On The Scottish Curriculum For Exmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…How science teachers are responding to this challenge is an important topic for educational research, since CfE represents one of several new international curricula based on 21st century skills (Sinnema & Aitken, ). Internationally, some curriculum designs place more emphasis on performance outcomes for mastering content and skills, leaving the “how” up to the teachers, while others place more emphasis on suggested teaching methods (e.g., inquiry), leaving the particulars of content and performance up to the teachers (Achieve.Inc., undated; New Zealand Ministry, undated; Sinnema & Aitken, ). Authors of Scotland's CfE have taken a centrist approach with some direction for content elements and teaching approaches specified, yet still leaving many of the details up to teachers (Humes, ; see sample curriculum objective, Appendix A, Education Scotland, undated).…”

Section: Nature Of and Perspectives On The Scottish Curriculum For Exmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Secondary science teachers as curriculum makers: Mapping and designing Scotland's new Curriculum for Excellence

Wallace

Priestley

2016

J Res Sci Teach

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scotland is one of several countries to have recently implemented a new national curriculum to highlight 21st century educational priorities. Teachers have been mandated to follow the new curriculum guidelines, known as Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), since the fall of 2010. The purpose of this study was to use a phenomenological lens to investigate how Scottish secondary science teachers are experiencing their work of curriculum development, including daily lesson design and more broadly, curriculum mapping within the context of reform (Remillard [1999], Curriculum Inquiry, 29: 315–342). We probed seven science teachers’ experiences to create both a composite profile of conscious thoughts about curriculum design and individual profiles that highlight interactions between the curriculum mandates, beliefs, and agentic orientations. The study indicated that changes to curriculum development required accepting new cognitive commitments including: (i) analyzing the CfE document to discern the most significant principles underlying change; (ii) reflecting on the ways that science teacher curriculum development is a problem‐solving endeavor; (iii) undertaking the complex processes of curriculum mapping, from primary school all the way through national qualification exams; and (iv) recognizing that the epistemological frame for students’ science learning has changed and providing opportunities for students to create and apply knowledge. Two significant findings include the unpacking of these cognitive activities as part of a transformation toward a new epistemology of pedagogy, and the assertion that official curriculum documents can promote change, albeit with caveats concerning individual beliefs, agentic orientations, and possibilities for agency within school contexts. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54: 324–349, 2017

show abstract

Section: Nature Of and Perspectives On The Scottish Curriculum For Exmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nature Of and Perspectives On The Scottish Curriculum For Exmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secondary science teachers as curriculum makers: Mapping and designing Scotland's new Curriculum for Excellence

Wallace

Priestley

2016

J Res Sci Teach

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is borne out by accountability pressures, combined with prescribed curriculum standards and standardised testing (Hanushek and Raymond, 2002), and reactions to international surveys such as PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) (OECD, n.d.). Recent trends towards competence-based curricula as vehicles to improve teachers' practice, ensure equity among students and develop their competences (Sinnema and Aitken, 2013) are also proof of this.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The fusion of school improvement and leadership capacity in an elementary school

Sigurðardóttir¹,

Sigþórsson²

2015

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The article reports the findings of a qualitative case study in one elementary school in Iceland. The aim was to investigate the level of leadership capacity within the school, and how this had evolved through the school's improvement. Information was gathered over one school year about planned improvements that had taken place in the school over the 10-year period prior to the study. Data was collected through observations, document analysis, semi-structured interviews, informal conversations and a survey. Participants came from all sectors of the school community. A conceptual framework developed by Lambert (2003a) was used to analyse the leadership capacity within the school. The findings show that the leadership capacity of the school, and of groups within the school, had grown considerably during the period under study and was connected to the degree of involvement in school improvement work. The findings indicated an interactive relationship between school improvement and the building of leadership capacity during the period under study.

show abstract

“…Science educators, however, have more reasons to be optimistic for despite the presence of various country-specific emphases in aims, topics, coverage, and teaching methods (Schmidt et al, 2001), primary science curricula have experienced a remarkable worldwide convergence over the last four decades. These commonalities have included a focus on life-relevance, enjoyment, and fun during science learning; engagement with diverse young learners; and the provision of multiple hands-on, problem-solving activities among other positive features (see Atkin & Black, 2003;Jenkins, 2003;McEneaney, 2003;Sinnema & Aitkin, 2013). While planning such accessible, coherent, and interesting curricula that nurture scientific literacy is beyond dispute (Porter, 2006), our claim in this paper is that few studies have examined arguably one of the most fundamental aspects within any curriculum-the cognitive and knowledge demands that it makes on learners.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Intellectual Demands of the Intended Primary Science Curriculum in Korea and Singapore: An analysis based on revised Bloom's taxonomy

Lee

Kim

Yoon

2015

International Journal of Science Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While there has been a remarkable worldwide convergence in the emphases of primary science curricula over the last four decades, the cognitive and knowledge demands that they make on learners have not been well-researched. Without knowing what these intellectual or epistemic requirements are when learning science in school, issues concerning curricular alignment and access to abstract disciplinary knowledge are also likely to occur. To highlight the value of such forms of analyses, we examine the intended primary science curricula from Korea and Singapore using revised Bloom's taxonomy, as well as describe some of their general features for teaching. The results contribute insights into the complexities of the science curriculum among two similar yet different educational systems that have performed well in international science achievement tests at primary levels.

show abstract

Emerging International Trends in Curriculum

Cited by 88 publications

References 0 publications

Secondary science teachers as curriculum makers: Mapping and designing Scotland's new Curriculum for Excellence

Secondary science teachers as curriculum makers: Mapping and designing Scotland's new Curriculum for Excellence

The fusion of school improvement and leadership capacity in an elementary school

The Intellectual Demands of the Intended Primary Science Curriculum in Korea and Singapore: An analysis based on revised Bloom's taxonomy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About