Fundatn Stage Currculum - Essay Example

Fundatn Stage Currculum The nature f the prmary schl currculum and the clmate n whch schls functn changed qute dramatcally fllwng the passng f the Educatn Refrm Act n 1988. Nt nly was the Natnal Currculum ntrduced by ths Act but schls became much mre publcly accuntable fr ther actns and fr the ways n whch they have deplyed the resurces made avalable t them; fr example, the gvernng bdy f a schl and the parents f the pupls attendng that schl were gven ncreased rghts and respnsbltes regardng the currculum. Yu mght lke t cmple a mre cmprehensve lst f the changes that have ccurred snce the passng f the 1988 Act and the ways n whch schls have changed t accmmdate these new crcumstances. Because f all the changes that have ccurred t the educatnal system and the mpact these have had n schls, ths bk shuld prve t be essental readng nt nly fr anyne wh s new t teachng but als fr anyne wh s returnng t teachng after a break away frm a prmary schl classrm. wll further dscuss the ssues cncernng the Fundatn Stage n educatn whch are the ssues f prmary currculum where the chldren f 4-6 years ld are educated. The fundatn stage was ntrduced as a dstnct phase f educatn fr chldren aged 3-5 n September 2000. n preparatn, Currculum gudance fr the fundatn stage was dstrbuted n May 2000 t all schls wth nursery and receptn classes, and t early years settngs recevng nursery educatn grant fundng. Ths gudance sets ut sx areas f learnng whch frm the bass f the fundatn stage currculum. These areas are: Persnal, scal and emtnal develpment Cmmuncatn, language and lteracy Mathematcal develpment Knwledge and understandng f the wrld Physcal develpment Creatve develpment The sx areas f learnng cverng chldren's physcal, ntellectual, emtnal and scal develpment were gruped nt 13 categres. They shwed gaps f 12 r 13 percentage pnts between grls and bys n the persnal, scal and emtnal develpment categres, and a 12-pnt dfference n ther wrtng ablty. Each area f learnng has a set f related early learnng gals. Currculum gudance fr the fundatn stage s ntended t help practtners plan t meet the dverse needs f all chldren s that mst wll acheve and sme, where apprprate, wll g beynd the early learnng gals by the end f the fundatn stage. The Educatn Act 2002 extended the Natnal Currculum t nclude the fundatn stage. The sx areas f learnng became statutry, and the Act als specfed that there shuld be early learnng gals fr each f the areas. A natnal cnsultatn n the cntent f the early learnng gals as set ut n Currculum gudance fr the fundatn stage was carred ut n autumn 2002. Fllwng ths cnsultatn the early learnng gals, and use f the Currculum gudance as a gude, became statutry n March 2002. The data, based n receptn class teachers' assessments f fur and fve-year-lds n 2003, was publshed at the end f June 2004 by the Department fr Educatn and Sklls. t shwed that grls were ahead f bys verall, n that grls were ether meetng r wrkng beynd the Early Learnng Gals, whle mre bys were wrkng twards the gals. The Act als establshed a sngle natnal assessment system fr the fundatn stage, replacng baselne assessment schemes. The Fundatn stage prfle was ntrduced nt schls and settngs n 2002-3. TheFundatn stage prflehas 13 summary scales cverng the sx areas f learnng, whch need t be cmpleted fr each chld recevng gvernment-funded educatn by the end f hs r her tme n the fundatn stage. Legslatn relatng t the currculum and assessment n the fundatn stage s set ut n the fllwng Statutry nstruments, bth f whch are avalable frm HMS: The Educatn (Natnal Currculum) (Fundatn Stage Early Learnng Gals) (England) rder 2003 (Statutry nstrument 2003 N.391) The Educatn (Natnal Currculum) (Fundatn Stage Prfle Assessment Arrangements) (England) rder 2003 (Statutry nstrument 2003 N.1327) The fundatn stage s the frst part f the Natnal Currculum, fcusng n the dstnct needs f chldren aged three t the end f the receptn year (age fve). The fundatn stage s delvered n a range f settngs ncludng pre-schl grups, early years centres, nursery and receptn classes. Early years settngs n recept f Gvernment fundng t delver early years educatn are requred t delver the fundatn stage currculum thrugh planned play actvtes fr elgble three and fur-year-lds. Play s an ntegral part f the fundatn stage currculum. t recgnses that thrugh supprted play chldren can explre, develp and use ther cursty and magnatn t help them make sense f the wrld n a secure envrnment. They practce sklls, buld up deas and cncepts, thnk creatvely and magnatvely and cmmuncate wth thers as they nvestgate and slve prblems. A sclgcal perspectve emphaszes scal cntext and dfferences amng schls as sgnfcant factrs n decsns abut the qualty f the currculum ffered. The many cmplex factrs nvlved n makng judgments f qualty, cupled wth the dfferental effects f schls' scal cntexts make cmparsn between schls very dffcult. Perhaps the search fr strateges shuld be dne n rder t mprve schls frm wthn rather than search fr remedes frm utsde. Each schl has ts wn specfc make-up, hstry, tradtn and culture. mprtng apparently successful strateges r systems frm ther cntexts may fal because f nsttutnal and scal cntexts. T prvde pupls wth a cntextually relevant currculum whch als meets the needs f scety s clearly a dffcult task fr prmary schl teachers. There are many factrs t be taken nt accunt, bth nsde and utsde the nsttutn. Whether the natnal currculum successfully prvdes a currculum that s nclusve, cntextually relevant and prmtes equal pprtuntes fr all pupls s pen t questn. A sclgcal perspectve prvdes a crtque f the present currcular arrangements n Englsh and Welsh prmary schls. mplctly t als prvdes sme strateges that may lead t a mre relevant currculum n relatn t each schl's cntext. Hwever, ne cannt clam that the study f sclgy wll prvde easy answers t adpt a partcular perspectve aganst such an nterpretatn. What t des d s pse questns and pen up lnes f enqury that shuld be examned when cnsderng the cntextual relevance f any frm f currculum. Whle teachers at dfferent levels are blged t attend t state bjectves, assessments and dstrct admnstratrs, unversty prgrammes are nt s tghtly algned t state and lcal currcula. Unverstes are accredted by a natnal rgansatn and are much mre lkely t suggest that teachers pursue dverse phlsphes f educatn. n the last ten years, schlarly jurnals have explred cnstructvst frms f early chldhd educatn wth Amercan adaptatns f preschls n Regg Emla, prject appraches (Chard 1997), readng and wrtng wrkshps, dramatc strytellng (Cper 1993), mral develpment, use f technlgy (DeVgd 1995) and assessment (Mndes et al. 1996). Hwever, snce such cnstructvst appraches d nt always scre as hgh n the shrt term n standardzed assessments and snce they requre knwledge and skll n the part f the teacher, these appraches are dscuraged by admnstratrs and eventually frgtten by teachers. Dfferences n the vews f the prfessnal versus techncal nature f teachng defne the pstns whch als cause tensns fr teachers. n ths sectn, we see hw the teachers' nadequate cmpensatn as well as ther nablty t determne currculum and t prvde fr apprprate materals, all ndcate ways n whch scety presently tends t relate t teachers as techncans and nt as prfessnals. ne sgnfcant ssue fr many teachers has been hw t reslve the cnflct arsng ut f the msmatch between ther persnal vews abut the ams and bjectves f prmary educatn and the rle schls play n meetng these, and the requrements placed n teachers by a gvernment that has very dfferent vews. Furthermre, the sgnfcance f many f these ssues can nly be apprecated fully after yu have tred t mplement a currculum fr whch yu have had lttle, f any, drect nvlvement wth durng ts develpment, and fr whch yu therefre feel n wnershp. f yu are ne f thse peple fr whm a Natnal Currculum s nt a cntentus ssue, then perhaps yur ntal vsts t schl as a begnnng, r a returnng, teacher may brng t yur attentn pnts f vew whch yu have nt cnsdered prevusly. Many nfrmed and readable crtques f the cncept f a Natnal Currculum fr schls, practcal as well as phlsphcal, were wrtten sn after ts ntrductn: snce these crtques g beynd the scpe f ths bk, whch s essentally abut mplementng the currculum and, thrugh the enqury tasks, enablng yu t thnk mre deeply abut the currculum and ts relatnshp t yur practce, why nt cnsult ne f them Fllwng a revew f the Natnal Currculum, (DES, 1989) the prmary schl currculum fr England may be descrbed by reference t the cmpnents lsted belw. (n Wales, Welsh s an addtnal Cre Fundatn Subject n Welsh medum schls and an ther Fundatn Subject n ther schls.) A Natnal Currculum cmprsng, Cre Fundatn Subjects (Englsh, mathematcs and scence); ther Fundatn Subjects (art, desgn and technlgy, gegraphy, hstry, nfrmatn technlgy, musc, and physcal educatn); Crss-currcular ssues, e.g., health educatn, persnal and scal educatn, cnsderatn f equal pprtuntes-gender and mult-cultural ssues; Crss-currcular cmpetences, e.g., language, lteracy, numeracy, nfrmatn technlgy sklls, applcatn f the 'scentfc methd', use f equpment; Crss-currcular themes, e.g., ecnmc and ndustral understandng, envrnmental educatn. Relgus educatn. ther (nn-statutrly requred) currculum materal, e.g., cntent utsde an exstng subject rder, addtnal subjects such as dance, drama, a mdern fregn language. The Natnal Currculum s accmpaned by natnal assessments. Prevusly, mst pupls, apart frm takng readng-tests, were well nt secndary schlng befre they came nt cntact wth a natnally standardzed examnatn. Nw a measurement s beng made frm the age f 7 abut the prgress that has been acheved. Many parents supprt ths dea. Ths s nt surprsng, as mst peple expect sme srt f feedback abut hw well ther chldren are dng. Typcal weekly classrm schedule n an average Amercan schl has the fllwng vew: Table 1 Typcal weekly classrm schedule Schl tme Mnday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Frday 8.15-9.45 Readng Readng Readng Readng Readng 9.45-10.00 Recess Recess Recess Recess Recess 10.15-11.15 Wrtng, spellng and handwrtng Wrtng, spellng and handwrtng Wrtng, spellng and handwrtng Wrtng, spellng and handwrtng Wrtng, spellng and handwrtng 11.15-12.00 Mathematcs Mathematcs Mathematcs Mathematcs Mathematcs 1.00-2.00 Scence Physcal educatn Scence Physcal educatn Scence 2.00-2.15 Recess Teacher reads a stry Recess Teacher reads a stry Recess 2.15-3.15 Scal studes Scal studes Art tme wth art teacher Scal studes Scal studes t can be argued that the currculum shuld be flexble enugh t allw dfference n chldren's cultural and scal needs t be accepted rather than cnsdered a prblem. The mst mprtant challenge presented by sclgsts s fr teachers t acknwledge, accmmdate and adapt t such dfferences, and ffer a currculum that s stll accessble, applcable, relevant and prvdes pprtuntes fr all chldren as future ctzens. Perhaps teachers themselves must rse t the challenge and fcus n develpng a scally relevant currculum wthut lwerng r narrwng pupls' pprtuntes and ther wn expectatns. T begn t d ths, we need t cnsder the wder cntext wthn whch teachers and schls perate. Recent trends n the sclgy f educatn have tended t avd attempts t establsh grand theres whch try t explan the relatnshps between schlng and currcula and scetes' nequaltes. ne f the mst recent attempts t defne a currculum relevant t a varety f cntexts has been put frward by Pllard (2001). He suggests that prmary schls plan n the bass f Ashtn et al.'s (1975) mdel cnsstng f three knds f ams-knwledge, sklls and qualtes-whch are brken dwn nt sx categres fr develpment: 1 ntellectual; 2 physcal; 3 aesthetc; 4 sprtual/relgus; 5 emtnal/persnal; 6 scal/mral. Teachers n prmary schls are encuraged t prrtse the ams and categres and then t plan cllabratvely, ncrpratng the Englsh and Welsh NC. The purpse f the apprach s t enable teachers t fnd a less tme-cnsumng way t ntegrate the ten natnal currculum subjects at prmary level and make them mre applcable t the 'sprtual, mral, scal, cultural develpment' f the chld. Central t cnsderatns f the currculum s an understandng f hw pupls learn, fr example, 'thrugh makng hs r her wn physcal and mental cnnectns wth the wrld, thrugh sensry explratns, persnal effrtscal experences . Whle t must be recgnsed that psychlgsts such as Vygtsky, Paget and Bruner have cncerned themselves wth understandng the nature f learnng t a greater degree than sclgsts, sme understandng f learnng has begun t emerge wth a sclgcal perspectve. Pllard (2001) argues that sclgy has tradtnally cncentrated n hw scety has created dfferences n pprtuntes, partcularly acrss race and gender lnes. Learnng prcesses have been a sde ssue t the majr cncerns wth hw dfferent sectrs f scety are frmed, typfed, and dfferentated. Lttle cnsderatn was gven t the sclgcal prcesses that nfluence the learnng f cncepts, knwledge and sklls. Reynlds (1994), hwever, dentfed three factrs whch affect learnng: the ntra-ndvdual: ne's wn understandng f the wrld frm a persnal perspectve; the nterpersnal: ne's wn understandng nfluenced by nteractns wth thers; the sc-hstrcal: ne's wn understandng nfluenced by experence f hstrcal and cultural tradtns; Pllard (2001) ntegrates Reynlds' analyss nt hs scal-psychlgcal mdel whch permts scal ssues t be addressed n relatn t chldren's learnng. The ntra-ndvdual and nterpersnal, he mantans, cannt be fully understd wthut cnsderatn f the sc-hstrcal. T establsh a lnk betweeen sclgy and psychlgy, Pllard draws n scal cnstructvst analyses f hw peple make sense f thngs, and symblc nteractnst sclgy whch s cncerned wth the dynamcs and cnstrants f specfc cntexts. Exstng mdels f learnng and related teachng are seen t be nadequate due t the lack f recgntn f cntext n the frm f scal-cultural stuatns. Pllard (2001) cnsders whether teachers can brng abut the scal cndtns f learnng whereby 'hgh rsk' and 'hgh ambguty' can be cped wth successfully t meet the demands f a scety that s hghly cmplex and fast changng. A relatnshp s expressed whch advcates an understandng f the 'ndvdual cntext and learnng: an analytcal frmula'. Fundng fr materals s als nadequate: teachers are mst ften prvded wth n chce f materals and are even expected t pay fr supplementary resurces ut f ther wn pay r ask students t cntrbute materals themselves. Gvernment prvdes a schl buldng wth a seres f textbks fr each subject area frm a lst f fve textbks. f teachers want, r feel they want, t use the mney spent n textbks n trade bks, sftware r ther mre apprprate meda, they must prceed thrugh a lng seres f bureaucratc apprvals and even then they may eventually be dened ther chce f materals. Fnally, publc elementary schl teachers are prly cmpensated fr ther effrts. n the Unted States teacher pay averages $36,400 cmpared t $37,224 mean salary fr ther types pf wrk wth a fur-year cllege degree requrement and $56,105 fr alternatve ccupatns requrng advanced degrees (US Census Bureau 1996a). n addtn t ther mdest remuneratn teachers are asked t pay fr ther wn requred unversty nservce educatn and cntrbute twards the cst f ther wn health nsurance. f all thse n the land f 'lberty and justce fr all', chldren are the least pwerful and mst deservng f the prtectn and educatnal gudance. Chldren deserve prfessnals wh seek t meet the needs f students n a far and equtable manner. Ther teachers deserve a market place f cmpetng educatnal deals n whch they can draw t meet ther needs. n many ways, parents, as the prmary guardans f chldren, d ther best t prvde what they can. The dynamc nature f scety has prvded new challenges fr Englsh educatrs f yung chldren. Many experence the land f plenty whle thers experence neglect. Dvergent vews f the wrk f teachng as a prfessn r a techncal skll smetmes prvde cnflct and ther tmes supprt fr teachers. The mblty and ethnc dversty f ts ppulatn als creates tensns and relatnshps between scety's demands and chldren's needs. Dfferent levels f gvernment, schl ffcals and prfessnal rganzatns have unladed gals and purpses f schlng t teachers, whch are t many n number and t cnflctng n nature. All f these challenges requre ur nbred pneer values f hard wrk, nnvatn and self-suffcency t reslve. And thugh ndvdual slutns wll prvde hgh qualty care fr many, prvdng qualty care fr all chldren wll take the effrt f all Englsh. Fr we knw that the prmse f England future rests n the qualty f educatn f all ts yung chldren. Bblgraphy: 1. Angus, L. (1993) 'The sclgy f schl effectveness'. The Brtsh Jurnal f Sclgy f Educatn 14(3), 333-345. 2. Blm, B.S. (ED). (1956). Taxnmy f Educatnal bjectves: Classfcatn f Educatnal Gals. Handbk : Cgntve Dman. New Yrk: Lngman, Green & C. 3. Chard, S. (1997) Engagng Chldren's Mnds: The Prject Apprach. Nrwd, NJ: Ablex. Avalable http://www.ualberta.ca/schard/projects.htm 4. Cper, P. (1993) When Stres Cme t Schl: Tellng, Wrtng, and Perfrmng Stres n the Early Chldhd Classrm. New Yrk, NY: Teachers and Wrters Cllabratve. 5. Dearng, R. (1993), The Natnal Currculum and ts Assessment: An nterm Reprt NCC and SEAC). 6. Fullan, M. (1992) Successful Schl mprvement. Buckngham: pen Unversty Press. 7. Halpn, D. (1990) 'The sclgy f educatn and the natnal currculum [1]. Brtsh Jurnal f Sclgy f Educatn 11(1), 21-35. 8. Hendrck, J. (ed.) (1997) Frst Steps Tward Teachng the Regg Way. Upper Saddle Rver, NJ: Prentce-Hall. 9. Markley, M. (1996) 'Search fr qualty educatn'. Hustn Chrncle nteractve. ctber. Avalable http://www.chrn.cm/cntent/chrncle/metrpltan/96/ 10/13/schls/qualty.2-l.html 10. Maths, N. (1997) 'Clntn calls fr "crusade" n educatn'. Hustn Chrncle nteractve, February. Avalable http://wwwl.chron.com/cgi-bin/auth/story/content/chronicle/pagel/97/02/05/sou-main.html. 11. NCC (1992), Startng ut wth the Natnal Currculum ( Yrk). 12. lmsted, P.P. and Sennnger, M.M. (1995) 'A natn-by-natn lk at the fndngs'. n P.P. lmsted and D.P. Wekart (eds.) The EA Pre-prmary Study: Early Chldhd Care and Educatn n 11 Cuntres. Tarry twn, NY: Pergamn. 13. Pllard, A. (2001) Twards a sclgy f learnng n prmary schls'. Brtsh Jurnal f Sclgy f Educatn. 11(3), 241-256. 14. Reynlds, D. (1994) 'Schl effectveness and qualty n educatn'. n P. Rbbens and E. Burrdge mprvng Educatn. Lndn: Cassell. 15. Wggns, G. (1998). Educatve Assessment. San Francsc, CA: Jssey-Bass Publshers. Read More