Approaches to developing and evaluating the curriculum Curriculum Studies - Session 5

What stimulates/initiates Curriculum Development? Developments of fields of knowledge Dissatisfaction with the old Economic pressures Societal pressures Political pressures Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Who are all these people? Curriculum envisioners? Curriculum influencers? Curriculum designers? Curriculum developers? Curriculum mediators? Curriculum interpreters? Curriculum facilitators? Curriculum receivers? Curriculum evaluators? Curriculum improvers? Curriculum enforcers? Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Curriculum Development in the UK Government agencies (Schools Council) Charitable bodies (e.g. Nuffield Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Gatsby Foundation) Educational publishers Awarding Bodies (examination boards) Industry/business Educational ‘businesses’ (e.g. IB, Fieldwork) Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Changing the curriculum Strategies for change: empirical-rational normative-re-educative power-coercive Chin & Benne, 1969 Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Curriculum Studies - Session 5 Empirical-rational The fundamental assumption is that people are rational and keen to be efficient. They will adopt a proposed change if it appears rational and seems to be a better way of doing things. It has been suggested that for a person to respond, he or she would need to be invulnerable to the opinions of associates, the values exposed during their life, and the ideologies of their occupational group. Changes then result from a personal, wholly intellectual judgement. Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Normative-re-educative This assumes that people are rational and intelligent, but assumes that behaviour is affected by habits, values and attitudes. The change strategy therefore involves more than making people aware of technically more efficient ways of doing things. It involves changes in attitudes, values and norms so that the practitioner is a voluntary participant in the change process. Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Curriculum Studies - Session 5 Power-coercive This strategy is based upon the assumption of power and compliance. The underlying notion is that those who are less powerful will comply with the plans, directions and leadership of those with greater power. Curriculum Studies - Session 5

What’s your experience? From your own experience, can you give examples of curriculum change that fits into these three models? From the perspective of different stakeholders, can you suggest the advantages and disadvantages of each? Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Models of curriculum dissemination Centre to Periphery Proliferation of Centres Shifting Centres Schon, 1971 Research, Development, Diffusion Social Interaction Havelock, 1971 Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Curriculum Studies - Session 5 SBCD ‘School-based curriculum development’ An alternative perspective in the 1980s (Malcolm Skilbeck) in response to the failure of the large-scale centre-to-periphery projects of the 1960s and 70s. Curriculum Studies - Session 5

A ‘Periphery to Centre’ model The Secondary Science Curriculum Review (SSCR) An attempt to provide a different approach to developing the curriculum that involved teachers centrally in the process at all levels. Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Evaluation as measurement Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Evaluating the curriculum ‘Measurement’ of whether objectives have been met curriculum evaluation = assessment of learner outcomes Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Evaluation as research Curriculum Studies - Session 5

‘Scientific’ curriculum evaluation Methods drawn from agriculture Control and experimental groups Measure ‘yield’ Look for statistical differences Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Evaluating the curriculum Is this enough? Problems? What does this sort of evaluation enable us to do? What does it miss out? Unintended outcomes Judgements about process Multiple perspectives Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Evaluating the curriculum Evaluation for accountability or Evaluation for improvement Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Evaluating for improvement Iluminative evaluation (Parlett & Hamilton) Holistic evaluation (MacDonald) Responsive evaluation (Stake) Curriculum Studies - Session 5

Evaluating for improvement How? (what range of methods?) More emphasis on qualitative data collection and analysis? Who should be involved? How do you evaluate your curriculum? Curriculum Studies - Session 5