The School Curriculum Ten Years Hence - UCET: Universities ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Another concept which ran through the discussions was that of values. While, not surprisingly, there was general support for valuebased curricula, there was concern about whether, in an age of few shared moral certainties, we could ever be specific enough for the concept to be helpful. Few demurred from the view that the imperative governing education at the beginning of the 21st century was an economic one, and that the balance had swung too far away from the needs of the individual. There was some optimism, though, that forceful arguments for the rights as well as the responsibilities of individuals in a democracy, and for social justice and inclusion, could, if continuously pressed, begin to have an influence on curricular development. Many had been encouraged by the willingness of the General Teaching Councils to make clear statements about professional values and felt that these could be carried forward into the area of curricular reform. The substantial discussion of information technology probably produced the highest level of agreement in the groups. Frank Pignatelli had shown that technology could be used in radical and imaginative ways to support initiatives that nevertheless had values and teaching at their heart. The groups agreed that this priority was the right one; once the purposes of education had been clearly established, technologies, including perhaps some not yet envisaged, could support them. A frequently mentioned anxiety was that, in a situation where teachers were in short supply, governments might be tempted to see technologies as substitutes. The view was that such developments should be resisted strongly. Since the symposium was substantially about the implications of all these issues for the education and training of teachers, it is not surprising that this theme permeated the discussions. If anything, the symposium seemed to confirm the convictions that many brought to the event that: the education of teachers needed to be seen as life long and continuous - any suggestion that the kind of teacher implied by everything above could be ‘produced’ in a year would be seriously misleading; ‘good practice’, though clearly important, was not enough – scope for reflection on principles and purposes had to be available from the start of initial training, as apart from anything else, it was an important element in motivating teachers to remain in the profession; professional development needed in future to include significantly more attention to the requirements of the alienated groups so clearly identified by those who addressed the symposium. Finally, it was heartening for the organisers that participants felt that they had gained from being able to discuss all these issues, some of them intractable, with colleagues from the five countries of
these islands. The main benefit derived from the fact that, while the challenges were similar and familiar, responses to them differed – significantly on some matters. There was general agreement that such meetings should continue and, if possible, be broadened to include teachers working in schools.
Page 1 and 2:
OCCASIONAL PAPER No. 14 December 20
Page 3 and 4:
from 19th-century attitudes, values
Page 5 and 6:
to make the task of the supervisors
Page 7 and 8:
provide the young with a wider visi
Page 9 and 10:
the teacher, always bearing in mind
Page 11 and 12: School Improvement’ in School Eff
Page 13 and 14: consequent crisis of values within
Page 15 and 16: different social and economic conte
Page 17 and 18: social sciences, of linguistics and
Page 19 and 20: The curriculum of the future, there
Page 21 and 22: essentially a meeting of minds - th
Page 23 and 24: curriculum, not as an escape from t
Page 25 and 26: • supporting and tracking learner
Page 27 and 28: and ‘work related learning’ - n
Page 29 and 30: 16 age group is the provision of wo
Page 31 and 32: in schools 1997-1999. (HMI 219). Lo
Page 33 and 34: The National Assembly for Wales Cir
Page 35 and 36: arose in part from work already sta
Page 37 and 38: continued professional development
Page 39 and 40: This is an effective vehicle for de
Page 41 and 42: • They use a range of strategies
Page 43 and 44: The Revision to the DfEE Circular 4
Page 45 and 46: would tie in better with the planni
Page 47 and 48: social inclusion in terms of the ra
Page 49 and 50: ensure that such an approach is not
Page 51 and 52: producing excellent results as they
Page 53 and 54: II. Professor Ian Menter 1. Democra
Page 55 and 56: phases of schooling, the processes
Page 57 and 58: central. These aspects could includ
Page 59 and 60: The session opened with a recap of
Page 61: workers, career teachers and others
show all

The School Curriculum Ten Years Hence - UCET: Universities ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?