The National Curriculum and the Cultural Politics of Secondary Schools in England and Wales [electronic resource] / Gary McCulloch.
The National Curriculum, introduced under the Education Reform Act of 1988, has influenced the cultural politics of secondary schools in England and Wales. The National Curriculum began a new phase in the role of teachers developing school curriculum that is characterized by centralized control and...
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| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
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Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse,
1998.
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| Summary: | The National Curriculum, introduced under the Education Reform Act of 1988, has influenced the cultural politics of secondary schools in England and Wales. The National Curriculum began a new phase in the role of teachers developing school curriculum that is characterized by centralized control and external accountability. To many it suggests a crisis in teacher's professionalism. This paper considers the degree of departure in policy and practice represented by the National Curriculum and suggests commonalities that underlie the surface appearance of change. The paper also describes the curriculum policies prior to the National Curriculum from the 1950s to the 1970s and how curriculum has been affected by change. Accounts by secondary school teachers reveal the extent of their autonomy within the classroom as presented in the Dearing Review of 1994. Teachers do generally find a degree of latitude that appears to reflect a note of optimism and self-reliance in spite of wider bureaucratic constraints. One view of the National Curriculum describes, in positive terms, the decrease in potential abuses in pre-National Curriculum years known as the "secret garden." The paper also mentions the changes in public support for teacher autonomy of curriculum in the classroom. (Contains 42 references.) (RIB) |
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| Item Description: | ERIC Document Number: ED426446. ERIC Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Diego, CA, April 13-17, 1998). |
| Physical Description: | 14 p. |