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A recipe for success? Localized implementation of a (flexible) National Curriculum
Author(s) -
Cowley Trudy,
Williamson John
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
the curriculum journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.843
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1469-3704
pISSN - 0958-5176
DOI - 10.1080/0958517970080107
Subject(s) - curriculum , national curriculum , context (archaeology) , curriculum theory , curriculum mapping , curriculum development , pedagogy , interpretation (philosophy) , mathematics education , sociology , psychology , computer science , geography , archaeology , programming language
National Curriculum frameworks are now in place in both England and Wales and Australia. Those in England and Wales are seen as prescriptive and rigid, whereas those in Australia are more flexible. Based on case study research as part of the OECD's Innovations in Science, Maths and Technology Education Project, the authors found that the Australian model of national frameworks with localized interpretation and implementation has worked well. Even though Ministers of Education might equate curriculum with content, the authors found that teachers had a much broader view of curriculum and saw it not only as content, but also as including professional development, pedagogy and student‐teacher relationships. Consequently, as a result of adapting the National Curriculum to suit the local context of the school, teachers were changing their pedagogical practices. The data indicate that overprescription with national curricula at the system level should not be attempted and, instead, a more flexible implementation at the local level will result in continuity in curriculum across states, systems, schools and grades, but with a contextualized focus.