Promoting student agentic engagement through curriculum: exploring the Negotiated Integrated Curriculum initiative

Building on the various works of theorists pertaining to curriculum negotiation, the Negotiated Integrated Curriculum (NIC) initiative detailed in this article attempts to redress the imbalance within curricular decision-making whereby student voice and learner agency is largely absent. The NIC initiative enquires into students’ concerns about life and constructs a curriculum to address these concerns as a mechanism that can be shaped to make learning more meaningful through agentic engagement. Based on a longitudinal study of two primary schools, this small scale, exploratory research details the influence of this process on learners and educators and the challenges that were faced during its implementation. The findings of this study examine two main issues: the first is how student voice, particularly around the decision-making of pedagogical activities, can be practically implemented to enhance the perceived relevance of a curriculum; and secondly the process of negotiation between teachers and students to achieve this. Recommendations for the promotion of learner agency and further research are discussed in the context of Irish curriculum reform.     

Education for democratic citizenship in Malawian secondary schools: balancing student voice and adult privilege

In countries that embraced democracy after the fall of communism, education became a particular focus for policy change, particularly within their citizenship programmes. Schools that had been used to inculcate obedience to and unfailing support for authoritarian regimes were now being required to adopt citizenship programmes incorporating democratic values. This paper reports a study in Malawi that explored the school as a location where democratic citizenship is practiced. Using a multiple case study approach in three different kinds of secondary schools to explore students’ participation in school affairs, the study found that different forms of participation were being encouraged, with each school apparently socialising students to distinctive kinds of citizenship roles. The paper highlights a conflict between democratic values and traditional roles of schools leading to new and hybrid school cultures. Providing scope for student voice to be heard can lead to tensions and paradoxical practices.     

Implementing curriculum integration: The experiences of Korean elementary teachers

This study examines 1) how Korean elementary teachers implement curriculum integration in their teaching practice and 2) what Korean elementary teachers experience in implementing curriculum integration. Several issues evolved from the analysis of three teachers ’ experiences: firstly, the teachers ’ lack of theoretical frameworks for curriculum integration, secondly, the teachers ’ pragmatic approach to curriculum integration, and thirdly, the limitations on implementing curriculum integration. In order for curriculum integration to be properly implemented and sustained, teachers ’ roles in and understanding of the curricula are crucial. Thus, the implications of the findings are discussed in terms of teacher preparation and training.     

The national curriculum vs. the ideal curriculum: acknowledging student learning interests

For many students, school is a place that makes no sense; a place where students’ interests are not reflected in the curriculum. Using mixed methods research, we developed an instrument that identifies student interests. This instrument was applied in a pilot study that considered 10th-grade students from three schools in Santiago, Chile. We compared student interest and national curriculum for different factors and established how well aligned these are. The results reveal that private school students prefer subjects that require greater cognitive development, related to Young’s powerful knowledge. Students from voucher schools, on the other hand, prefer to develop their knowledge of the arts and physical education, both of which are subjects they tend to enjoy. These findings are coherent with Bernstein’s theories. This pattern is also repeated when comparing high-performing students with their low-performing counterparts, regardless of school type. The findings of this study not only help identify which subjects the students want to study, but also to understand the reasons behind their preferences. Understanding these reasons is key for developing a more contextualised curriculum that makes more sense to the students.     

论历史课程改革的综合化趋势

综合化是基础教育课程改革的重要特点 ,也是基础教育历史课程改革遵循的重要原则。作者从课程目标和课程内容入手 ,对历史课程改革的综合化趋势做了初步的分析     

Three dimensions of student-centred education: a framework for policy and practice

While the terms student-centred and learner-centred are used to describe a range of neo-liberal educational policies and practices around the world, the meaning is not clearly defined. This limits its utility as a concept in policy, research and practice. This article applies abductive reasoning to explore how student-centred education is theorised in academic literature and articulated within a sample of New Zealand school principals’ visions for their schools. The findings suggest that student-centred education can be synthesised into a conceptual framework that includes three overlapping dimensions; humanist, agentic and cognitive. The humanist dimension encompasses getting to know students as unique human beings, the agentic focuses on empowering students and the cognitive dimension considers each student’s learning progress. There was diverse understanding of what it meant to be student-centred by the principals with the humanist and agentic dimensions dominating. It is anticipated that educational outcomes for disadvantaged students would improve when the three dimensions are applied together. The proposed framework could be applied by policymakers, practitioners and researchers to enhance clarity of student-centred education policies and practices.     

Unleashing student potential through democratic participation in decision making: controversies and prospects

The idea of students participating in decisions that affect them as individuals, organisations and/or communities is recent and urgent. The participation of students in decision making has gained global support, yet it does not seem to be regarded as a main vehicle for promoting democracy in educational institutions. This conceptual paper aims at demonstrating the difficulties perceived to hinder student participation in educational institutions. It further proposes strategies that may favour the increased and improved involvement of students in decision making processes. The reviewed literature on student participation informing this article highlights positive outcomes from engaging students as decision makers in education.     

Leading curriculum innovation in primary schools project: a final report

This article provides the final report on a research project that investigated the ways in which curriculum innovation can be led successfully in primary schools. Data gathering included 40 semi-structured interviews in 10 successful primary schools in England of varying sizes and types and in a range of geographical and social locations. Findings suggest that in order for curriculum innovation to be successful, school leaders need to create an ethos for change that empowers teachers to experiment with the curriculum through the adoption of distributed forms of leadership, and that in-school and between-school cooperation is a key mechanism for change.     

信息技术与课程整合存在的问题及对策

信息技术与课程整合是我国基础教育研究中的一个热点问题,但是整合的步伐却十分缓慢,不论是宏观学校指导还是微观课堂教学都存在问题。学校应指导教师加大对教育信息硬件设施的使用,鼓励教师开发优质的软件资源并向教师提供充足的信息技术培训;教师在课堂教学中应根据教学对象、学科特点进行整合。     

学期课程统整与教师专业素养提高

随着“二期课程改革”的不断深入,“以学生发展为本”、“以教师发展为本”与“统一教材”、“统一课程方案”矛盾冲突不断出现。面对这种现实问题,文章在遵循国家课程标准的前提下,对统一教材进行二度开发（教材统整）和三度开发（课堂设计）,改变课堂教学模式。从中总结的经验为同仁提供借鉴作用。     

Disability,curriculum and integration in China

ABSTRACT

Current data indicate that there are six million young people of school age with disabilities in China. Of these, only about 50 per cent attend any form of schooling, with approximately 220,000 of them enrolled in special schools and classes. The remainder attend regular classrooms. This means that there are about three million students with disabilities who at present lack any access to education. In May 1996 it was declared that in order to improve this situation, over the next five years, China plans to provide school places for 80 per cent of its disabled youngsters. In order to achieve this goal, the Chinese central education authorities have announced a significant change in policy direction towards integration. Instead of their previous commitment to the establishment of increasing numbers of special schools, it is now planned that the current number of about 1,400 special schools will be increased to 2,000, so that all regions of the country have access to at least one. At that point, no more special schools will be built. The extra places needed to increase the school attendance rate of youngsters with disabilities will be created in regular classes in regular schools. This paper gives an overview of the curriculum arrangements in China's four types of special schools, including their historical development, subjects taught, teaching arrangements and management. A number of difficulties confronting China's special education policy‐makers are canvassed and reasons suggested for their increasing commitment to a strategy of integration. It is proposed that China enjoys three advantages in the pursuit of an integrated school system.     

Addressing the crisis in curriculum studies: curriculum integration that bridges issues of identity and knowledge

Many people from non-dominant backgrounds or believers from various religions want their children to acquire the best modern knowledge and to remain open to their home cultures and beliefs. However, this double aspiration poses complex challenges, and most scholars have either stressed the importance of addressing identity (and diversity) issues, or claimed that the key is to give everyone access to powerful knowledge. Beginning from curriculum studies’ alleged crisis and its relation to this dichotomy, this paper suggests that bridging concern for diverse identities and access to powerful knowledge implies devising curricula that allow for issues that are transversal to the disciplines without collapsing the boundaries between them. Since this has been generally difficult to develop, the paper reflects on the kind of curriculum integration that is needed, arriving at the idea of interstitial curriculum or connective tissue amid the disciplines. Subsequently, unique features of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) are presented to exemplify these curricular interstices, and how they help to deal with the epistemological challenges posed by the initially mentioned double aspiration of many families at present.     

当代课程的自主品质与自律途径

民主与协商 ,是当代学校教育的基本特点与重要途径 ,也是今日我国学校教育、课程与教学改革的重要内容与依据之一。本文通过对对话中心课程、协商式学习与非等级评价理论与实践的分析 ,阐明了当代学校课程建构与实施的蕴含与路径     

计算机技术与中学英语教学整合的思考

随着我国素质教育和新课程改革的不断推进，计算机辅助教学也得到了深入的发展。本文就是在这种背景下，在教学实践的基础上对计算机技术与中学英语教学的整合进行研究。本文从计算机辅助教学的优点、计算机技术在中学英语教学中的具体运用、在英语教学中运用计算机技术对教师的具体要求和在英语教学中运用计算机技术的几点注意事项四个方面，提出了新课程改革下计算机技术与中学英语教学整合的一些思考。     

病原生物学课程整合中实验教学的融合与创新

为加快病原生物学课程整合,在实验教学中对实验教学的内容、教学场地及教学方法的选择、师资队伍建设等方面进行了改革与创新,实践证明实验的有机融合有助于学生临床观念的建立与实践、创新能力的培养。     

新课程理念对职业学校教研的影响

职业教育作为我国教育事业的重要部分,如何将新课程理念贯彻在职业教育中,实现以就业为导向,提高职业技能为核心,深化教育教学改革的目标?本文从教学研究的角度进行了初步的探讨和研究,以期对我国职业教育改革的进一步深化有所裨益。     

基于文献计量的我国信息技术与课程整合研究

以CNKI的中国学术期刊网络出版总库为数据源,对我国信息技术与课程整合的研究文献从发表年份分布、期刊分布、作者分布、机构分布、研究内容等方面进行定量统计分析,以了解我国信息技术与课程整合研究的现状,并对该领域的进一步研究提出建议.     

数学新课程实施中学生合作能力的培养

培养学生的合作学习能力可通过合作＂做＂数学、＂思考＂数学、＂体味＂数学等途径实施师生合作,而在学生之间的合作应特别培养合作的主动性、和谐性和交互性。     

高师课程的革新:应对中小学课程综合化的思考

在新课程改革推进过程中,中小学课程综合化趋势日益凸显出来,教师素质成为现今关注的重点之一,而专门培养新教师的高等师范教育则成为新课程改革中的重要一环。本文以某部属重点师范大学数学与应用数学专业(2004级)为例,参考和借鉴外国及本国其它院校改革的实践经验,提出调整高师课程体系、加强实践性课程和通识课程比重,合理调整实践时间、落实教材建设等几点切实可行的建议。