Moral Education in a Plural Society: Malaysia

Abstract

Moral education is being phased into the state‐approved curriculum in Malaysia and is designed for non‐Muslim pupils in the school population. The stated aim of the curriculum is the development of a ‘morally‐mature’ person who will be able to make independent judgements in a moral conflict situation. This paper gives an account of the processes involved in the evolution of the moral education programme, while commenting on issues that impinge most centrally upon it.     

When the black box springs open: practical work in schools and the nature of science

The aim of this paper is not to bury practical work in school science but to (once again) reconsider it. We draw on three main areas of discussion: accounts of science and ‘school science work'; teachers and others’ views of the nature of science; and our own data on teachers’ reactions to ‘critical incidents’ and practicals which go wrong. We use this as a basis for re‐thinking the role of practicals. An account of practical work is suggested which has as its main feature diversity rather than a single model or template. Within this diversity we believe that teachers should be open and honest with pupils about which type of practical work they are doing and why. We advocate that students should be made aware of the different kinds of practical work they do and the purposes of this practical work. In short, teachers should explain to students what type of practical work they are doing and why. Our second message is that teachers’ views about the nature of science both inform and are informed by their classroom practices and experiences‐‐especially during lab‐work. To encourage, promote and support critical reflection of these classroom practices and experiences is therefore a vital part of teacher professional development; this in time will promote science curriculum development.     

History and philosophy of science in physics education

Physics education in the Danish upper secondary school system has undergone a major reform, starting in August 1988. The earlier science‐centred physics curriculum has given way to a presentation of physics as a human activity, one way of obtaining this aim being through a compulsory introduction to elements of the history and philosophy of science. Following a brief presentation of the main reasons for including the historical‐philosophical dimension in physics teaching, this article describes how this dimension‐‐which was unfamiliar to most physics teachers‐‐was implemented in daily teaching practice. The implementation took place in three steps: (1) the development of a comprehensive teachers’ guide, (2) a nationwide in‐service teacher training programme, and (3) the publication of a number of students’ books written according to the guidelines of the committee responsible for all aspects of the implementation programme.     

A study of Korean middle school students’ interests in biology and their implications for biology education

This study analyses middle school students’ interests in biology to provide information on instructional strategies and curriculum development in Korea. An instrument that measures interests was developed based on the middle school biology curriculum. It consists of 64 three‐point Likert‐type items (scores range from 0 to 2). The two components, ‘topic’ and ‘activity’, are composed of 64 items. The topic component and the activity component contain 11 domains and six domains respectively. Data were collected from 267 middle school students in Seoul (male: 169, female: 107). The levels of interest in topic and activity were almost the same and not high. The highest interest domains were ‘genetics’ in topics and ‘observing through a microscope’ in activities. The interest levels in the domain ‘plant morphology’ and ‘plant‐related activity’ were the lowest in each component. The interest level of the eighth graders was the highest found among students. Interest levels of females were lower than those of males in ‘environment and ecosystem’, ‘animal reproduction’ and ‘animal morphology’, but higher in ‘plant morphology’ and ‘plant related activity’ (p < 0.05). Among the topics, the ‘human biology’ domain correlated positively with the domains ‘genetics’, ‘environment and ecosystem’ and ‘respiration of animal and plant’. The correlation between the domains of ‘plant reproduction and nutrition’ and ‘plant development’ was significant in ‘activity’ (r > 0.50, p < 0.001). Consistencies in interests were suggested with respect to instructional strategy and curriculum design.     

The conceptualisation and impact of a post-graduate course in lesson and learning study

ABSTRACT

This paper tells a story about the design, development and impact of a post-graduate Masters-level module aimed at (1) enabling groups of teachers within schools to develop innovative approaches to teaching and learning on the basis of their own Lesson Studies and (2) creating a school network of excellence for Lesson Study in the area as a context for building a cumulative evidence-base, which focuses on identifying and resolving enduring problems of teaching and learning in schools.

The first part of the paper outlines the curriculum for the module and sets the innovative conceptual framework that underpins its design . This framework is innovative because it connects and unifies a number of distinct pedagogical perspectives. It links the methodology of Japanese Lesson Study with Stenhouse’s idea of ‘the teacher as a researcher’ and his ‘process model’ of curriculum development as an alternative to the globally dominant ‘objectives model’. Then in turn, the framework incorporates Marton and Booth’s pedagogical theory of ‘variation’.

The paper argues that linking and fusing Lesson Study methodology with this wider context of pedagogical ideas unambiguously renders teacher research as learning study.     

Building key competencies into an environmental education curriculum using a modified Delphi approach in South Korea

Abstract

This study adopted the modified Delphi method to build key competence indicators for the course subject ‘Environment’ in the secondary school curriculum in South Korea. 15 Delphi panelists participated, and were provided a three-stage questionnaire survey. The findings classified eight secondary school ‘environment’ curriculum key competencies into three domains: intellect-oriented, personality-oriented, and relationship-oriented. The intellect-oriented domain includes ‘critical-thinking ability,’ ‘creativity,’ and ‘problem-solving ability’; the personality-oriented domain includes ‘autonomy,’ ‘ability to reflect,’ and ‘environmental sensitivity’; and the relationship-oriented domain includes ‘communication ability’ and ‘ability to manage conflicts.’ These environmental competencies were utilized to revise the current environmental education curriculum as part of the 2015 revision of the National Curriculum and set the key competencies for environment classes. The paper concludes with the significance of developments in theorizing and implementing environmental education curriculums in Korea and abroad.     

Foster Watson: 1860–1929

ABSTRACT

Michael Young’s work is central to debates about knowledge and the school curriculum. In recent years he has renounced his early argument that school subjects represent the ‘knowledge of the powerful’, arguing instead that access and equality for all students are dependent on ensuring that all get access to ‘powerful knowledge’. This paper provides an interpretation of Young’s work.     

Learning ‘Peace Talk’ in Northern Ireland: Peer Mediation and Some Conceptual Issues Concerning Experiential Social Education

Experiential learning is often seen as a central component of social education and pastoral programmes such as peer mediation; but the precise nature of experience as an educational, social and pedagogic/cultural process in schools is complex. This paper uses the notion of experiential learning to explore the impact of a peer mediation programme in a transforming integrated school in Northern Ireland. The programme was intended to mainstream the involvement of pupils in the process of creating a more integrated school ethos and was implemented by youth workers working as members of the school staff.

The paper begins with a review of the theoretical basis of experience as educational. This is followed by an interpretative review of the results of a survey of pupils' attitudes to peer mediation and semi-structured interviews with pupils and school and project staff about their perception of the impact of the programme on ideas of social learning. One issue is the extent to which developing pupils' capacity for interactive dialogue can be seen as an experiential process, like learning a foreign language – hence ‘peace talk’. Another is the process by which the perception of peer mediation training as ‘experiential’ constituted an enabling ‘pedagogic discourse’ which legitimized the programme for teachers and affirmed its beneficial impact on pupils.     

Community leaders' views of the purposes of science in the compulsory years of schooling

Accepting that scientific literacy is the primary purpose of science in the compulsory years of schooling leads to the question ‘What does scientific literacy mean in a particular community?’ This paper reports a study designed to provide some insight into that question. Data were gathered through interviews with a sample of community leaders, in the state of Victoria, Australia, about their views of the purposes of school science.

The data reveal that, although most of those interviewed had no formal post‐school science education, their life experiences provided them with useful insights into the question raised. The wisdom of such people could make an important contribution during the initial stages of curriculum development in science.

As people successful in their own fields, the study participants were lifelong learners. Consequently, their responses suggest that a primary focus of school science must be to provide students with a framework that will enable them to continue learning beyond schooling. This is not just a matter of knowledge or skills, but of feeling comfortable with science.

The methods used provide a useful example of how views about education can be gathered from thoughtful, non‐expert community members. In this instance, they allowed a reconceptualization of the purposes of school science. These community leaders argued for an education for ‘science in life’ rather than an education about science.     

Caring for the Pastoral Carers

Kevin McCarthy sees a slight irony in the idea of inspecting the spiritual dimension of education. Nevertheless, he argues strongly that schools' response to this should be creative. The resulting policy must be a whole-school one that involves both horizontal and vertical curriculum development. In the second part of his paper he describes how, in his own school, a programme is being developed which goes beyond the mechanistic approach to science typically found in examination syllabi. Starting from the students' own perceptions, this programme considers the big issue which underlies science: that of ‘the spiritual dimension’.     

Tradition,Authority and Disciplinary Practice in History Education

Abstract

The concepts of ‘tradition’ and ‘authority’ are generally understood to be problematical in history curriculum design. Drawing on MacIntyre’s account of disciplines as social practices, this article argues that, to the contrary, these are concepts that need to be incorporated into any curriculum theory that attempts to build a school subject on the foundations provided by an academic discipline. In history education, there is a strong consensus towards deriving the ideas of the history curriculum from the discipline of history, and this article argues that it is therefore necessary for history curriculum theory to account for the concepts of ‘tradition’ and ‘authority’ as they exist in disciplinary practice.     

The scientists: an experiment in science teaching

In an attempt to provide school science students with an appreciation and understanding of the work of scientists and the nature of scientific discovery, a project called ‘The Scientists’ was set up. The project is concerned with the development of curriculum materials which include biographies of scientists, instruction manuals and materials for carrying out experiments. The scope and nature of this project are briefly described.     

Sustainable Society and Environmental Education: future perspectives and demands for the educational system

This paper provides an overview of the OECD (CERI) programme on ‘Environment and School Initatives’ (ENSI). It describes the emergence and development of an ecologically‐driven agenda for school change, and its rationale, within a shifting policy‐context in which the environmental concerns of the public are being increasingly acknowledged. The programme can be interpreted as a policy response to public concerns. However, ENSI's agenda, the author argues, radically differs from a school improvement agenda based on economistic assumptions. The idea of ‘sustainable development’ as an education policy goal is examined in the light of these two agendas and found to carry ambiguous meanings. ENSI's agenda is concerned with transforming existing structures and processes of schooling to enable students to play an active role in shaping an ecologically sustainable social and economic order. The school improvement agenda is dominated by concerns about the economic performativity of individuals in society. It only appears to imply a ‘fine‐tuning’ of the traditional structures and processes of schooling rather than any radical transformation. The paper identifies conflicting trends within contemporary education policy contexts that carry very different conceptions of envimomental education for ‘sustainable development’. The author argues that in this situation there is a danger that the ENSI network will lose sight of its radical agenda and fail to sustain its previous momentum.     

A curriculum compromised

Abstract

Business studies has enjoyed a remarkable change of status in the 14‐18 school curriculum since 1986. This change has been interpreted by Williams and Yeomans (1994) as a case of the ‘new vocationalism’ put into practice. It is argued here that this transformation has been rather more complex. If a school subject changes its status in the academic/vocational spectrum it is pertinent to ask whether this is a sign of an overall change in the curriculum (e.g. the ‘new vocationalism') or the development of a single subject title within a broadly static curriculum structure and philosophy. These alternatives are summarized and the recent history of business studies is reviewed. It is suggested that the changing status of business studies reflects the way in which it has successfully responded to the academic values which dominate the secondary school curriculum in England and Wales. However, it has achieved this transformation while, according to a deputy head interviewed in this study, retaining the image of being ‘vaguely vocational’. This ambiguity has enabled the subject to flourish in vocational (GNVQ) as well as academic (A level) contexts, but it leaves it vulnerable in each sphere. GNVQ advanced business¹ teaching in schools can bear a very close resemblance to A level teaching, prompting the question of whether a ‘vocational course’ is really providing a distinctively relevant preparation for future employment. The association of business studies with the vocational curriculum leaves its academic credentials under question.     

Kaupapa Māori,Philosophy and Schools

Abstract

Goals for adding philosophy to the school curriculum centre on the perceived need to improve the general quality of critical thinking found in society. School philosophy also provides a means for asking questions of value and purpose about curriculum content across and between subjects, and, furthermore, it affirms the capability of children to think philosophically. Two main routes suggested are the introduction of philosophy as a subject, and processes of facilitating philosophical discussions as a way of establishing classroom ‘communities of inquiry’. This article analyses the place of philosophy in the school curriculum, drawing on three relevant examples of school curriculum reform: social studies, philosophy of science and Kura Kaupapa Māori.     

Review Essay

Abstract

Teachers and university professors hold strong, and often different, views on school subjects and academic disciplines. This paper explores the meanings of subjects and disciplines for teachers and university professors who have different subject or disciplinary affiliations as these emerge within discussions about curriculum in a professional development context. It describes a group of university professors and secondary school teachers who met to discuss new developments in research in the humanities and social sciences and their impact on school curriculum. The professors brought their expertise in their academic disciplines and their teaching experience to the conversations. Teachers brought their varied disciplinary knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and a deep understanding of schools. They perceived their primary goal as making ‘translations’ and ‘transformations’ between university and school. There were many bridges to cross within these complex and multi‐layered conversations. The possibility of bridges was enhanced by sharing common experiences in dealing with dilemmas of teaching. However, it demonstrated the importance of exposing the key structures and arguments of the disciplines as a first step in building bridges among subject communities and between universities and schools.     

Developing special needs provision in an international school

Abstract

Although all multicultural, multilingual, and multinational students in international schools can have special needs, the International School of Brussels wanted to increase support for particular ‘at risk’ students. This population seemed to include: students who passed standardized English as a Foreign Language tests but were not literate enough for regular classes, students with learning problems not identified in previous language or culture, and students who experienced temporary learning disabilities because of a discrepancy between what they brought to the school programme and what the school programme asked of them. The existing secondary school options included English as a Foreign Language and English as a Second Language (EFL/ESL) to prepare students for entry into regular classes, and also small group or individualized instruction to support students with special needs in regular classes. Adapting Curriculum‐Based Assessment (CBA) in an international school caused staff to review: curriculum offerings, examinations and activities, enabling objectives and minimum competency skills, and multinational approaches to special needs. The CBA philosophy supported an emphasis on local needs and the development of a school‐appropriate standard of performance for students despite culture, language, or nationality.     

Advancement of Low Achievers within Technology Studies at High School

Abstract

Upper secondary education in Israel is divided into a ‘general track’ and a ‘technological track’. About half the students in the ‘technological track’ sit matriculation examinations. Mechanics studies, at the non‐matriculating level, suffers from a negative image and poor students’ motivation. A 3 year experiment was carried out with the goal of helping low achieving high school students progress to matriculation level. Class activities consisted of: project oriented studies; use of modern computerised machines (i.e. instructional CNC); use of computers for design, drawing and simulation; gradual progress while giving the student continual feedback. The pilot class (tenth grade) contained 13 students. In the second year two further schools joined the programme and in the third year it was expanded to six schools with 86 students, starting in tenth grade and progressing through grades 11 and 12. Data were gathered by interviews and follow‐up on achievements in school and state examinations. The results showed a change in the class atmosphere and students’ self image and motivation improved. In parallel to the growth in the number of students participating in the programme, the number of high achievers in technology studies in mechanics at the same schools rose, and the number of non‐matriculating students decreased. The technology studies united the class as a group and affected their motivation at general studies like Hebrew and English studies     

Curriculum coherence and teachers’ decision-making in Scottish high school history syllabi

Abstract

Debates over which historical content should be compulsory for study in the school curriculum are a common feature of education systems across the globe. These debates invariably weigh the perceived benefits to social cohesion of a ‘common core’ of knowledge against the perceived risks to democracy of government-sanctioned ‘official knowledge’. Scotland has, perhaps, taken an extreme position on this debate by specifying no mandatory historical content in its social studies curriculum. This paper uses 21 interviews with Scottish history teachers to explore how schools use this curricular autonomy: which historical periods they choose to teach and why.

?The paper suggests that, without access to theoretical debates about the nature of historical knowledge, schools fall back on instrumental justifications for content selection within the curriculum. The result in many cases is an extremely narrow and fragmented syllabus in which pupil preference, teacher interests and the logistics of timetabling guide content selection.

?The paper concludes that the formulation of coherent school-level history curricula is dependent on the fostering agency among a theoretically-informed teaching profession.     

The Role of the Form Tutor: Some Research Findings

This paper describes how a school has sought to create a more inclusive ethos and improve standards of behaviour through the introduction of a structured programme, ‘Discipline for Learning’. The writer sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme through case studies of three specific pupils. These did not provide a full evaluation of the programme but threw considerable light on a range of issues that related to it and suggested that, given the full commitment of staff, the programme could make a positive contribution. Equally the case studies identified a number of failures in the way that the programme had been implemented and was operating.