Analysing curriculum change : some reconceptualised approaches

Curriculum developments in Australia.

It makes you realize, really, just how deep your subtext is : Literature, subjectivity and curriculum change

This paper draws on the notion of discourse to explore complex relationships between teachers and curriculum change. It uses poststructuralist views of discourse to explore ways in which school subjects, such as Literature, are discursively constructed across time, while teachers too are positioned within discourses that shape the ways they understand the subject and themselves as teachers of it. This paper reports on the experience of a small group of teachers of a new literature course in the Australian state of Victoria. Nine teachers were interviewed over 3 years, and the interview transcripts read for traces of discourses formative in shaping their response to the new course. I identified three discourses: Leavisite and New Critical formations of the subject Literature; charismatic pedagogy; and critical theory, which was embodied in the new subject's study design. These 3 discourses, together with the traditions and culture of the school, form the framework for analysis of the interviews. The paper explores ways in which the teachers' positioning within this mix of discourses and settings variously supported or undermined their preparedness to accept new configurations of the subject Literature as well as the implications of curriculum change not just for constructions of the subject but also for teacher subjectivity.

Reconstructing Aboriginal identity : a social-political case-study in curriculum change

This paper locates the development of Aboriginal Studies curricula within the context of Aboriginal political activism and 20th century reconstruction of Aboriginal identity in Australia. It is suggested that the incorporation of the reconstructed Aboriginal identity in Aboriginal Studies curricula institutionalised a radical conceptual change. Using the senior secondary Aboriginal Studies curriculum as an example, it is argued that unresolved tensions exist in the syllabus, the conceptualisation of community and the social process of identity formation inherent in recent reconstructions of Aboriginal identity. The question posed is whether these tensions will ultimately act as a form of oppression for Aboriginal people in the cross-cultural environment of contemporary Australia.

Curriculum theorising: examining the middle ground of curriculum

Using current data, this article examines the ways in which teachers enact new curriculum prior to classroom implementation. This is new and important research as few, if any, studies have further explored what Goodson termed the 'middle ground' of curriculum (1994). This article locates the middle ground of curriculum between the high ground of curriculum (the formal construction of the written curriculum) and its ground-level implementation in the classroom. A model of the middle ground of curriculum that helps us to understand curriculum change processes from the perspective of those most affected by them - teachers - is subsequently proposed.

SOSE curriculum structures : where to now?

SOSE curriculum structures have changed dramatically over the last few decades. Teachers who once taught history, geography and economics have found themselves teaching in the SOSE KLA which many perceive as a generic mish-mash of former school subjects. Some saw this as the death of their disciplines whilst others saw it as an opportunity to explore transdiciplinary and inter-disciplinary teaching and learning. Regardless of opinion, many teachers and tertiary education students often asked a familiar question - What am I supposed to teach and how am I supposed to teach it?

Whilst NSW retained a disciplinary structure for the teaching and learning of SOSE in secondary schools, all other Australian States and Territories adopted a Key Learning Area [KLA] approach. In recent years Victorian curriculum change has seen the re-emergence of a disciplinary approach to the teaching and learning of SOSE in upper primary schools and secondary schools and we can only wonder what curriculum change in other States and Territories will bring. In this paper we explore disciplinary, transdiciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to SOSE and critique these in relation to effective teaching and learning.

Social transformation and curriculum reform in Chinese physical education

This thesis examines how Chinese physical education teachers are experiencing curriculum reform within the context of broad social change. Using a qualitative framework the research findings reveal how structural, personal and cultural factors converge to limit the extent to which teachers are able to embrace and implement the new curriculum.

Physical education curriculum reform in Singapore (1997-2005)

Recognising physical education curriculum reform to be a complex and challenging process, the thesis provides new insights into such an undertaking in Singapore by providing an 'insider' perspective from the author as the designer and implementer of the new curriculum supported by the 'local voices of the teachers'

Internationalising the curriculum in Australian schools

In the Australian educational context, the International Baccalaureate Diploma has had a measurable effect on both state and independent schools. This globally recognised international program has fostered and encouraged national curriculum innovation through standardization in assessment, criteria based reporting, content rich staff development and whole school change.

Global education: stories from Australia

Students today are living in a global world There is a need for schools to educate students about this world This world needs to be seen through a range of perspectives - social, cultural, environmental,political, economic and spiritual In order to educate about this 'world', 'new' curriculum policy needs to reflect this globalised world This proposal will give an insight into the curriculum designed to prepare students for the future worlds they are entering with specific reference to Victoria, Australia.

Jack of all trades, master of some ...or none? Training teachers in Integrated Arts

This article reports on the integration of music with other ‘Arts’ in teacher training at a South African university where a challenge tertiary educators face is how to successfully integrate music within the Arts and Culture learning area of the school education system. The article firstly provides a brief background to the South African educational context. Secondly, it outlines current practices in the in the implementation of the integrated arts curriculum in schools and teacher training. Thirdly, it discusses pertinent issues and challenges in relation to team teaching, integration and curriculum change in teacher training. Given the constraints and opportunities that universities currently experience, this article investigates and reports on the issue of whether students should be trained as Jack of all trades and master of some…or none or Master of one trade and Jack of some with regard to integrating the Arts.

Contemporary PE reform in China : teachers' talk

Among the many changes occurring across Chinese society in the early phase of Y2K is the construction and implementation of a new physical education (PE) curriculum. Not unlike recent changes in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, this process has seen a heightening of the profile of health. Presented within a wider framework for making the school curriculum more relevant, PE is more closely aligned with China's emerging health concerns around young people. Foremost here are burgeoning social anxieties about decreased levels of physical activity, dietary practices, risk-taking tendencies, and a general decline of social cohesion/connection across the profile of contemporary youth. This paper reports on a study undertaken to explore the experiences of Chinese PE teachers as they engage with the new curriculum.

The data reveals a number of structural, personal and cultural factors that work against teachers taking up the opportunities presented in the new curriculum. Prominent here are; low professional status, an expanding generation gap, lack of training and the grip of deeply rooted cultural values. Juxtaposed against the like experiences of PE teachers in Australia and the UK the paper concludes with practical recommendations for nurturing curriculum change in China.