CURRICULUM APPROACHES IN EUROPE
Prof. Jan van den Akker, SLO, the Neterlands
In this keynote presentation we will analyze commonalities and differences in curriculum policies and practices in various European countries. A common European curriculum does not exist. Moreover, there are many differences in curriculum approaches within Europe. Nevertheless, there are a number of trends and dilemmas that many countries have in common, not only at European level, but perhaps better interpreted from a world-wide perspective. An overall global lesson is that curriculum reform is very difficult, oftentimes raising more problems that achieving broad impact.
After this overview, we will focus on several key challenges for successful curriculum reform, for example:
· finding a proper balance between curriculum decision making at various system levels (national, provincial, local, school, classroom);
· orchestrating coherence and synergy between curriculum change and other components of educational development, e.g. teacher learning, school development, textbook development and assessment.
The concluding part will focus on how research and international cooperation may stimulate joint professional learning about curriculum reform.
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Chinese-Dutch Educational Expertise Center (CDEC) for School-Based Curriculum Development (SBCD), lessons learnt and future plans
Jenne van der Velde，SLO, The Netherlands
NCCT (National Institute for School Curriculum and Textbook Development) in Beijing, Northwest Normal University in Lanzhou, Leiden University (ICLON, Graduate School of Teaching), the Netherlands, and SLO, Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development started in
CDEC aims at providing high quality expertise on curriculum development, research and training. This overall aim grounds on supporting school-based curriculum development efforts. Such a process relies on integrated approach of curriculum development, professional development, and school development. Pilot project was implemented by North West Normal University in Lanzhou and three pilot schools in Lanzhou, Linxia and Biezang, in the Gansu province. The program focused on institutional capacity building, methods and processes of school based curriculum development, active teaching and learning, research to facilitate curriculum development and monitoring and evaluation.
The pilot project framed school based curriculum development’s dimensions and aimed at strengthening local and regional curriculum development efforts. At the same time the project capitalized the evidence-based curriculum research, development and training as effective processes for policy implementation.
Presentation will focus on capacity building approach, involvement of different actors, instruments and methods used, and project’s results. Main questions addressed will be:
· To what extent did we succeed in designing and implementing a program for capacity building on school based curriculum development?
· How effective is the teacher training program on teachers’ professional development?
· What is the impact of the teacher training program at the classroom level (students’ achievements, interactions and participation)?
· At the project level, what lessons did we learn during the pilot phase?
· How can we scale-up the positive experiences gained during the pilot project?
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Teacher Professional Development in the context of the school
Henk Frencken & Nico Verloop, ICLON, The Netherlands
ICLON, Graduate School of Teaching,
At ICLON, our research concentrates around teacher professional development in the context of the school and around the development of the professional knowledge base of the teacher. Our research program takes place in secondary and higher education in the
In the process of professional development of the teacher, his or her content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge are constantly renewed and integrated with his/her practical experiences in the teaching profession. Research shows that this process produces optimal results in contexts which have a good balance of professional autonomy, collegial cooperation and school support.
In our presentation we will include examples from Europe and from the CDEC project in
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Curricular debates informing process of capacity development: contributions from an inter-regional perspective
Renato Opertti, UNESCO-IBE
The presentation highlights a series of critical issues and challenges in light of implementing a comprehensive capacity development approach on processes of curriculum change and development. One mayor task lies in building up and sharing a common understanding of the curriculum and its development which can provide value-added to further enhancing the competencies of curriculum developers and specialists.
Firstly, we discuss different contexts and scenarios, called traditional and alternative ones, regarding processes of education and curriculum change. For example, understanding curriculum as study programmes made by knowledge and disciplinary content or conceiving it as a powerful tool of educational policies reflecting the type of society pursued, or teachers as delivering the curriculum or as co-developing it.
Secondly, we outline five key roles of the curriculum which inform a comprehensive understanding of its rationale, objectives, scope and implications. In light of this vision, and based on an international comparative perspective, we identify 10 mayor curriculum debates – solutions of compromise, density and flexibility as complementary, curricular gaps and diverse impacts, tensions between processes and outcomes, moving the balance of teachers / students relations, roles and teacher profiles for changes, more autonomous students, when implementation is a matter of design, school as learning environments and competency-based approaches: controversial and innovation.
Lastly, we point out 12 points for building up an inclusive curriculum which is understood as a tool of long-term educational policies to address the diversity of expectations and needs of all learners and with the view to enhance and democratize learning opportunities. Among other points, we mention the facilitation and encouragement of diverse curricular frameworks, environments, provisions and processes; the development of a glo-local curriculum; the articulation of a comprehensive vision of citizenship education; the personalization of education; the appreciation and transformation of traditional inclusive education practices into practices for all; the diversification of assessment criteria, strategies and contents; and competency-based approaches as a possible transversal axis of the educational systems.
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From Curriculum Framework to School-Based Curriculum: the Journey
Dr. Kate Lin(Yu-Hao), IBO
Abstract
By working collaboratively with a worldwide community of schools and educators, the International Baccalaureate (IB) offers three distinctive, high quality and challenging educational programmes aiming to create a better, more peaceful world through the development of intercultural understanding and respect. IB World Schools are expected to develop their own curricula within the IB programme frameworks that are appropriate to their unique contexts. Embarking on this, the potentials and challenges throughout the transformational journey of educational change have been recognised, especially in those contexts that differ from those based on Western traditions. Accordingly, this presentation intends to draw attention to possible changes and challenges that may come together in the ongoing development process of school-based curriculum. These include the discussion of issues faced in adapting Western frameworks to multicultural situations, the role of curriculum leaders, the importance of building shared understanding within a school community, shifts of teaching paradigms and learning approaches, the balance between written, taught and assessed curriculum as well as different achievement standards. Following this, how the IB supports World Schools in terms of providing clear guidelines for curriculum implementation and evaluation, developing authentic curriculum support materials and supplying workshops for continuing professional development appropriate to diverse educational and cultural environments will be exemplified. Lastly, to increase better understanding of how those perspectives work in context, a case study on a school’s journey of implementing the IB education in China will be examined.
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Need for Systemic and Participatory Forces in Curriculum Change: Insights from the Netherlands
Nienke Nieveen ,SLO, The Netherlands
A crucial challenge for more successful curriculum renewal is the need for a systemic and participatory approach from the very beginning. Almost by definition, curriculum renewal is a vulnerable endeavor involving: 1. many stakeholders with specific drives and perspectives (e.g. interest groups, policy makers, curriculum developers, textbook publishers, test developers, teacher educators, inspectorate, support agencies); 2. the design and development of good quality curricula at multiple layers of the educational system (e.g. national, regional, local, school, classroom, student); and 3. the anticipation on diverse implementation contexts of schools (e.g. student backgrounds, teacher experiences, school ambitions, availability of resources and support). Moreover, no curriculum renewal is alike: Some curriculum innovations deal with for instance the implementation of a new school subject, whereas others deal with the innovation of subjects with a long-standing history in schools. Some renewals are compulsory for schools and teachers, whereas others can be implemented voluntarily. Some start from a common understanding among all stakeholders, whereas others commence from separate perspectives of those involved. And, as a consequence of school autonomy, there will be local variations in the way curriculum renewal will be put forward by schools and teachers.
To prevent curriculum innovations from falling apart, bridges need to be build between the various stakeholders, links need to be placed among the various system levels, quality of the curriculum frameworks and specifications needs to be fostered and the various actors (especially in curriculum development, textbook publishing, teacher education and assessment) need to combine forces and tune their contributions in order to –in the end- assist schools and teachers in their efforts of school-based curriculum development.
This contribution addresses these issues by illustrating curriculum change from a Dutch perspective and by discussing promising directions initiated by SLO (Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development).
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Curriculum development and implementation: What we can learn from international experiences.
Mr. Jan Berkvens, SLO, The Netherlands
Scotland, New Zealand, China, South Korea, the Netherlands, Surinam, Uganda; Basically every country has recently reviewed or established its basic education curriculum, or feels the need to do so. Why not develop one curriculum worldwide? That would save a lot of money, time and inventing the wheel all over again. Or not? A qualitative high curriculum fits its context, in the sense that the effectiveness of a curriculum goes as far as its practicality. Although certain curriculum content is quite similar, other aspects are more specific and differ from nation to nation, from program to program. How could the foundations for a curriculum be established, while combining state of the art curriculum knowledge with local needs and wishes?
Developing curriculum is one thing, however, implementing is another. All over the world the implementation of curriculum is a challenge. On paper curriculum innovations look brilliant, consistent, and sometimes even effective. In practice, many problems can usually be identified. How could such implementation challenges be overcome? What preparatory steps could be introduced in the development process that could diminish implementation challenges?
This presentation/workshop will try to identify general issues and possible solutions to curricular issues from our own experiences in international curriculum projects.
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The common base of knowledge and competencies
for the compulsary school in France: a deep change in the curriculum
Professor Maryline Coquidé，Institut Français d’éducation - ENS Lyon
Abstract
The case of the common base of knowledge and skills shows the several changes in progress in the French curriculum policies. The inscription of the common base in a law is a true national stake of the curriculum question in the compulsory education, for all future citizen, in particular those of a culture and the acquisition of the basics.
The shape of the base, with the introduction of competences and the obligation of results of the school system shows an internationalization of the educational questions. We find, in the contents of the base, a form of French particularity with the emergence of a humanistic, scientific, or general “culture”, in opposition to a European listing of keys competences.
The base is a national project. The re-writing of the various national disciplinary programs in relation to the contents of the base remains under the central responsibility of the Ministry of national education. Its effective implementation is left only on the initiative of local professors and head of institutions. It must enable local adaptations and we can verify here that a form of responsibility and a development of school autonomy are being reinforced.