Towards a Better Future

Recommendations

Info

Chapter Three: Curriculum curriculum required revision and re-formulation ‘in its aims, scope and content, in the manner in which it was implemented and in the way in which pupil progress was assessed’. It made a number of specific recommendations in relation to the use of Information Technology and it also recommended that a new Science programme be introduced. The report included specific recommendations about the implementation and resourcing of its recommendations and recommended an improvement in the overall funding of primary education. Primary Curriculum, 1999 Following the publication of the report of the Primary Curriculum Review Body, a further decade elapsed before a revised primary curriculum was published. As indicated in Chapter 1 of this publication, the 1999 curriculum was designed largely by primary teachers who played a major role on the relevant committees of the NCCA (O’Toole cited in Looney, 2014). The 1999 curriculum retained many of the features of the 1971 curriculum and was designed ‘to nurture the child in all dimensions of his or her life – spiritual, moral, cognitive, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social and physical’ (Department of Education, 1999). The general aims of the curriculum were almost unchanged from those of the 1971 curriculum, and were re-stated as follows: ■ ■ ■ To enable the child to live a full life as a child and to realise his or her potential as a unique individual To enable the child to develop as a social being through living and co-operating with others and so contribute to the good of society To prepare the child for a continuum of learning. The underpinning principles redefined the two basic principles of the 1971 curriculum as follows: ■ ■ Celebrating the uniqueness of the child Ensuring the development of the child’s full potential. The three pedagogical principles of the 1971 curriculum - activity and discovery methods, an integrated curriculum and environment-based learning - were subsumed into a wider range of learning principles. Guided discovery learning and active learning, promoting the active involvement of children in an imaginative and stimulating learning process, were emphasised. The overall vision was to enable children to meet, with self-confidence and assurance, the demands of life, both now and in the future. The curriculum aimed to help children to become lifelong learners and to develop the motivation and the skills that would enable them to do so. There was a strong focus on literacy and numeracy while at the same time the Arts, Science and Technology played an important role. — 29 —
Towards a Better Future: A Review of the Irish School System The curriculum was presented in six strands of learning, some of which were further sub-divided into subjects: ■ Language: Gaeilge and English ■ Mathematics ■ Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE): History, Geography and Science ■ Arts Education: Visual Arts, Music and Drama ■ Physical Education ■ Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE). In addition, a seventh strand - Religious or Ethical Education – was provided for, but this strand would be the responsibility of the different school patron bodies, not of the Department of Education and Skills. The 1999 curriculum documentation is impressive. When it was launched, it was made available in printed form, beautifully produced in a boxed set of more than 20 volumes. There were two volumes for each strand / sub-strand of the curriculum – one volume containing the aims, detailed learning outcomes and planning guidelines and the second (Teacher Guidelines) containing up to 200 pages of resource suggestions, guidelines and sample lesson plans with exemplars and illustrations. The curriculum was also made available in electronic form, accessible online. Printed copies of the 1999 curriculum are no longer available but the curriculum is available online and on a USB stick. The curriculum contains a balance of knowledge, concepts and skills, and in all subjects, assessment is regarded as an integral part of teaching and learning. One of its essential features is a recognition of the principle that there are different kinds of learning and that individual children learn in different ways. The curriculum articulates, therefore, not only the content to be learned and the outcomes to be achieved, but also a wide range of approaches to learning. Strong emphasis is placed on developing the ability to question, to analyse, to investigate, to think critically, to solve problems, and to interact effectively with others. In the light of recent debates about religious instruction and religious education, it is interesting to note that the 1999 curriculum referred to the seventh strand as ‘Religious or Ethical Education’- as opposed to ‘Religious Instruction’ - which had been used in all previous national curriculum documents, and in the Rules for National Schools. The 1999 Handbook also differed from previous curriculum documents in stating that responsibility for Religious or Ethical Education curriculum would be the responsibility of the school patron bodies, not the responsibility of the Churches, which had been the formal position before 1999. Notably, there is no mention in the 1999 curriculum of the integration of religious and secular education. Whereas in the 1971 curriculum it was stated that ‘the separation of religious and secular — 30 —
Page 1 and 2: Towards a BETTER FUTURE A Review of
Page 3 and 4: Published in Ireland by IPPN (the I
Page 5 and 6: Towards a Better Future: A Review o
Page 43: Towards a Better Future: A Review o
Page 95 and 96:
Towards a Better Future: A Review o
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
show all

Towards a Better Future

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?