Studying,taming, and exploiting the micro

The chequered history of the development of the primary English syllabus in the Australian state of New South Wales, which was released to schools in 1994, suggests that current theoretical assumptions about curriculum change may need further interrogation. Throughout its long period of gestation every 'rule' for successful curriculum development and implementation was either ignored, broken or rendered unattainable due to particular circumstances. T he syllabus gained a degree of notoriety in the Australian context in that it acknowledged a controversial theoretical underpinning- a functional view of language- and was the first syllabus to incorporate national outcomes. T his paper argues that many of the conditions advocated in current educational theory relating to curriculum change are unrealistic in the present political and economic climate and that the politicization of education, the role of the media, as well as subject-specific factors, deserve more attention as significant forces in curriculum change. Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better. Richard Hooker (1594)     

Illusions of consensus: New South Wales stakeholders' constructions of the identity of history

This article analyses the relationships between the perspectives of stakeholders involved in the development of the 1998 New South Wales Stages 4–5 history syllabus. It examined four key issues that emerged in the debates about history education during the review and found that stakeholders' views diverged significantly on three of these issues. While loose coalitions formed around particular issues, stakeholders provided different rationales for their positions, and coalitions re-formed on other debates. The analysis highlights the divergence between stakeholders and between the Commonwealth and state governments and stakeholders on the desirable content and goals of history education. The findings indicate that consultation might not produce consensus, and that even the appearance of consensus can be grounded in substantively and philosophically different premises. In practical terms, the findings suggest that if the purpose of consultation as a method of curriculum development is to produce a syllabus that reflects the diverse perspectives held by stakeholders, then the syllabus structure needs to make provision for content options as well as common core areas of study.     

从教学大纲到课程标准:中职公共基础课程中国家教育意志的嬗变

课程标准是关于课程的基本规范和质量要求,是课程计划中每门学科以纲要形式编写的、有关学科教学内容的指导性文件。2017年教育部启动中职公共基础课程国家标准的修订,将过去一直延用的“教学大纲”改为“课程标准”。从教学大纲到课程标准意味着国家教育意志的意义嬗变,这种意义嬗变主要表现为作用载体从课堂教学转为课程建设,基本视域从关注教学过程转向注重学习结果,目标取向从注重三维目标转向培养学生的学科核心素养。国家教育意志的嬗变需要每个职教人的专业理解与实践,每个职教人应将国家的教育意志融入到每堂课的教学实践中、应用到每位学生的综合素养培育上,实现从教学大纲向课程标准的教学“转身”。     

新课程标准语文科高考大纲简析

新课程语文高考大纲与高中语文课程标准的联系和区别可以从考试性质、能力要求、考试内容三个方面进行比较。高考大纲内容与课程标准基本一致,然而,“考纲”的写作要求明显高于“课标”的必修课目标,加大了写作的考试难度,选考内容也值得进一步商榷。这促使人们反思:高中语文课程究竟该怎么改?怎么考?     

中学语文课程标准变化反思

从1978年至今,教育部对语文课程标准（教学大纲）做了四次大的修订和若干小改动.课程标准（教学大纲）主要从大纲的性质、教学目标、教学要求、教材编写要求、语文知识和教学评价六个方面来修订.修订后的大纲更加体现了学生的自主权,增强师生互动,但没有对具体教学内容作规定,语文知识的教学要求也较为模糊.因此,探究变化带来的成果及问题可以为语文教学改革明确方向.     

Tobephobia experienced by teachers in secondary schools: An exploratory study focusing on curriculum reform in the Nelson Mandela Metropole

Abstract

Because of its history from apartheid to democracy, the aspiration to reform schools is a recurrent theme in South African education. Efforts to reform education in schools based on the outcomes-based education (OBE) curriculum approach created major challenges for policy makers in South Africa. The purpose of this exploratory research was therefore to determine whether secondary school teachers lack the professional competence to cope with curriculum reform and whether this incompetence results in them experiencing Tobephobia (TBP). The qualitative research method was used to conduct this investigation. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 teachers in 25 public secondary schools in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. In terms of their responses, it was evident that the teachers’ concerns about their professional competencies associated with the OBE curriculum had a negative impact on their ability to implement curriculum changes in their classrooms. The comparison of OBE with the syllabus by the teachers evoked their bias towards the traditional syllabus approach in maintaining the quality of education for all learners. Because of the historical bag gage associated with the syllabus in South Africa, it is recommended that a standards approach to the curriculum be considered by the Department of Education to resolve the curriculum problems in secondary schools. The responses from the teachers in this exploratory study once again affirmed the existence of TBP in secondary schools.     

Anatomy of curriculum: Digging to the core

This viewpoint commentary, written from the perspective of a teacher who has helped to educate students in a wide variety of educational environments, is a reaction to the article published in Anatomical Sciences Education on developing of core syllabuses for the anatomical sciences. After reflecting on the definitions of both curriculum and syllabus and their importance as roadmaps for effective instruction, the value of core knowledge and core syllabuses in anatomical sciences was explored. Encouragement for the pursuit of the project proposed in the original article was provided; however, the reminder to not allow any curriculum or syllabus to prevent instructional flexibility was emphasized. Several constructive questions (regarding democracy in curriculum development, the proposed rating scale, and the desirability of reaching local or national consensus before seeking global agreement) were advanced for consideration. Anat Sci Educ 7 326–328. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.     

化学课程标准与化学教学大纲在理念上的差异

新的化学课程标准,同过去的化学教学大纲相比,在很多方面都发生了相当大的变化,不仅在于名称上的不同和框架上的区别,更重要的是二者在理念上的差异。本文从课程观、课程目标、目标价值取向、课程内容、课程实施、课程评价等方面论述化学课程标准与化学教学大纲在理念上的差异。     

Australia’s 1988 Bicentennial: national history and multiculturalism in the primary school curriculum

As in many countries, such as Germany, Turkey, the United States and Japan the history/culture wars of the past two decades have increased public interest in what is taught in schools. This has resulted in rigorous debates in the general community, encouraged and sustained through regular media coverage. Partly as a response to this, History has been designated as a separate subject in the first wave of planning and implementation of the Australian National Curriculum. Two of the reasons for this include first, to recognise the importance of teaching historical skills as a distinct subject; and second there is an ongoing bipartisan political interest in privileging history disciplinary knowledge and content to ensure that national history narratives are taught to students. To contribute meaningfully towards the development and implementation of a National Curriculum, it is important to understand past curriculum constructions, so that the disciplinary knowledge and content of history remains independent, and not subsumed within current (or future) political trends. Based on examples of national history from the Queensland Social Studies syllabus and government endorsed sourcebooks in the lead-up to the 1988 Bicentennial of British colonisation of the Australian continent, this article examines the influence and role of multiculturalism in History teaching in primary schools. Particular attention is paid to Indigenous representations and British heritages, as an example of two groups that have often been represented as binaries to each other throughout Australian history. An analysis of the curriculum materials illuminates the differences between multiculturalism and history—highlighting how the two are merged at the expense of accurate historical knowledge and concepts, particularly in the area of national history. This study will demonstrate that as a result of the infiltration of multiculturalism into history content within the Social Studies curriculum, historical knowledge becomes silenced in the school curriculum – resulting in vague and sometimes historically inaccurate information being presented to students; and the privileging of certain types of multiculturalism.     

Historical thinking about sources in the context of a standards-based curriculum: a Swedish case

The increased interest in basing teaching on disciplinary thinking has had a profound impact on the syllabus for history in Sweden. Within this context, we examine how students demonstrate one aspect of disciplinary thinking in history, namely reasoning about historical sources. The material used is written answers to an assignment about historical sources in the national test in history for year 6. The analysis shows that many students are able to show at least some aspects of disciplinary thinking about sources, though the vast majority has problems with contextualising the source in the assignment. One explanation put forth is that the syllabus is not yet fully enacted in teaching practices.     

论欧洲母语教材的“多元因素”及其启示

欧洲各国的母语课标或大纲体现出共同价值为导向与多元价值的协调,语言教育为根本与多元智能的统一,本国文化为主体与多元文化的共存。欧洲母语教材中的"多元因素"具体表现为多元价值的相互映衬、多元智能的综合体现以及多元文化的经典荟萃。多元化的欧洲母语教材对我国母语教材编制乃至课程改革具有启示作用。     

新课程物理高考考试大纲与课程标准的匹配性研究

为考察课程标准与评价标准的匹配性,构建了检验的标准,包括教育的目标,知识的种类、知识的广度、知识的平衡以及知识的深度。通过对普通高中物理课程标准与全国高考物理考试大纲采用定性和定量的匹配性检验,说明了普通高中物理课程标准与全国高考物理考试大纲的匹配性是高度吻合的。     

活动课程与师范生综合能力的培养

素质教育体系中的活动课程与通常所指的课外活动有着质的区别。活动课程有其自身完善的教学过程,结构,原则,内容及测评标准,其目的在于通过活动为学生提供一个自主,共同,综合的学习机会和空间,培养学生的组织协调能力,策划管理能力,创新思维能力,自我约束能力,自我评价能力及人际交往等综合能力。     

职业院校课程教学标准制订的思考

近年来,我国在国家层面制订了职业教育课程标准,从“学”的角度对课程作出了基本规范,代替原来从“教”的方面做出规定的课程教学大纲。职业院校应该依据国家课程标准和专业人才培养方案,坚持统筹兼顾、能力与素质本位、目标与成果导向、遵循规律等原则,制订课程教学标准,明确课程性质与任务、核心素养与课程学习目标、课程模式与课程结构、课程内容、考核评价、课程实施设计等。职业院校课程教学标准应遵循OBE理念,纳入职业技能等级证书的内容,做到“高内聚、低耦合”,强调现代教育信息技术与课程的学习深度融合。     

Community,culture and identity: geography,the National Curriculum and Wales

ABSTRACT

The 1988 Education Reform Act legislated for a National Curriculum not for one nation but for two, Wales and England. This article reviews the way in which attempts to develop a distinctive curriculum in Wales for one subject, geography, were thwarted by the dominance among key policy‐makers in England of views about the study of place which were unsympathetic to the idea of the school curriculum being a vehicle for the development of a sense of community and national identity. Drawing on evidence from a survey of secondary school geography teachers in Wales, it considers the extent to which the teaching of geography is seen by teachers as a means of achieving such educational goals.     

History in the National Curriculum: a lesson in curriculum devolution

This article will focus on an event in the educational history of Wales in the 1980s which still impacts both on school practice and on thinking about concepts of Welsh identity. That event was the creation of the History Committee for Wales which was charged with devising a history curriculum for Welsh schools in the wake of the 1988 Education Act. The story will be told largely by using evidence gleaned in elite interviews with the ministers, senior inspectors and civil servants most closely associated with the decision to support or accept the creation of this committee.

The significance of the decision will be assessed by charting the progress of curriculum devolution in Wales from the beginnings of state education and the implications of this for ideas of Welshness. This background will be briefly sketched, as will the background to the 1988 Education Act on a wider canvas. General reaction to that act in the Welsh Office will be discussed before the detailed implications for the subject of history will be explored in detail.

It will then be argued that wider discussions as to how schools should approach and reflect the history and culture of nations not only shed important light on devolutionary processes which were gathering pace at the time but also reflect the nature of Welshness as perceived by senior figures in the world of education policy-making.     

地方高校课程教学大纲编制存在的问题及改进对策

教学大纲是课程教学的纲领性文件,但编制时常常存在对其价值认识不足、培养目标指向不明确、教学内容选择缺乏整体性优化以及个性特色彰显不够等问题.教学大纲的编制,可以通过组织编制者学习理论知识、采用团队协作编写的形式、处理好大纲与人才培养方案及教材的关系、从课程和课程体系两个层面构建学科内容系统等采避免不足、提高编制质量.     

The politics are personal: The Australian vs the Australian curriculum in history

This article reviews the relationship between the conservative newspaper The Australian and the development of a national history curriculum in Australia. The lead author surveyed the major Australian press in the five-year period between 2007 and 2012 and found clear patterns of difference between The Australian and other press outlets in relation to education in general and history curriculum in particular. Using Jonathan Haidt's five-point model of moral values, the article analyses the behaviour of the press in Australia in relation to history education as a feature of moral preferences. Extending from this analysis, it then highlights a number of cases of press campaigns in The Australian targeted against individuals including one academic involved in the development of a national curriculum. The article demonstrates that a culture of aggressive conservatism exercised in this Murdoch press outlet reaches beyond the field of conventional political debate to constitute a serious and concerning influence in the dynamics of curriculum policy development.     

Howard's End: a narrative memoir of political contrivance,neoconservative ideology and the Australian history curriculum

In August 2006, Australia's conservative prime minister John Howard convened a history summit in Canberra. The purported goal of the summit was the framing of a nationally-acceptable curriculum in Australian history. However, as this article suggests, Howard's hidden intention was to use the summit as a device for introducing a narrowly traditionalist syllabus that would be personally pleasing to the prime minister. As it happened, Howard's plan encountered resistance from members of the history education community and, after several diversions and alarms, was discarded when the conservative coalition government was defeated in the general election of November 2007. The author was closely involved in these proceedings and this article constitutes a contextualisd memoir of events.