Setting's Creative Approach to the Delivery of the Foundation Subjects and Religious Education - Literature review Example

A Critical Evaluation of the Setting’s Creative Approach to the Delivery of the Foundation Subjects and RE with Reference to Current Policy and Practice Introduction The national curriculum sets out the subjects that children should pursue when they enroll in school. The foundation years in education are very important in setting the pupils’ ability to acquire knowledge and nurture their ability in later years. According to Gearon (2002, p. 23), a smooth transition from the early years in school up to secondary years ensures that the child is able to utilize all the skills and knowledge acquired. The current curriculum is subject based and there has been a need to review it for it to focus on the development of the child from their early years. The proposed new national curriculum is under review to enable teachers decide on the best way to teach their pupils effectively. It gives them the power to design the curriculum according to the needs of their students (Boyle and Bragg, 2006, p. 10). Theoretical and Research Findings According to Giddens & Griffiths (2006, p. 13), the foundation years in the curriculum are important on the ability of children to acquire skills and knowledge that can be used in their primary and secondary years. The current curriculum is seen as subject based with little emphasis on cross-curricular activities. The core subjects taught in Key Stage 1 and 2 are English, Mathematics and Science, and the non-core subjects are Design and Technology, ICT, History, Geography, RE (Religious Education), PE (Physical Education) and Modern Foreign Languages. A study was conducted to measure whether the standards of English and Mathematics were rising or dropping with the subject based curriculum (Boyle and Bragg, 2006, p. 12). The results indicated that teachers spent over 40% of teaching time on English and Mathematics, compared to the other foundation subjects. Teachers allocated more time to these two subjects due to policy requirements. The focus on Mathematics and English may explain why Science was not selected by pupils by the time they were in secondary school (Craft, 2000, p. 13). The foundation stage was initially introduced using a play based curriculum. As it developed, emphasis was on the subjects taught such as Mathematics and English, in order to meet national targets. The focus on certain subjects affects the curriculum as a whole, as there is no emphasis on the other subjects (Craft, 2000, p. 13). According to Stephen (2005, p. 15), when children play, they focus their mind and energy to whatever activity they are involved in. Research has shown that this type of focus sharpens their ability. Education policy makers, foundation stage teachers and parents need to understand the importance of the foundation years in a child, as this has an effect on the child in later years. In this respect, a teaching guideline for the starting stage or phase was developed as a guideline for foundation educators, and has been used in the current curriculum. Political pressure has increased the need to improve standards of education, with some policies being made based on the fact that teaching children earlier increases the standard of education (Stephen, 2005, p. 17). Programmes such as the Desirable Outcomes Program have been launched to improve education standards. The guidance on foundation stage has not been very effective, with foundation year teachers experiencing pressure from key stage teachers to prioritize and concentrate on numeracy and literacy. According to Staples & Rebecca (2008, p. 23), there is an urgent need for coordination and a smooth transition between the foundation years and the key stages. Pupils have also shared their experiences on the national curriculum, considering it to be based on passing exams, getting grades and advancing to the next level. As pupils advance to other stages in the curriculum, the enjoyment of learning starts to go down. They perceive teaching as too much writing and facts. Pupils want learning to be fun, active and participatory, and have a practical application (Staples & Rebecca, 2008, p. 24). Good Practice A curriculum is the planned experience offered to the learner under the guidance of a school. The children must undergo a learning experience with the planned content using a certain teaching method, and be evaluated at the end of that experience. As Richard (2002, p. 11) argues, a good practice acts like a quality indicator to determine if the required standards, goals and objectives of the curriculum have been met. These quality indicators are what are known as best practices. A primary curriculum’s objective is to develop children’s skills so that they may implement and use the skills and knowledge acquired in their foundation years in later years. Learning is not only about grades and passing exams, but it needs to be diverse. The aim of the revised curriculum is to challenge the subject based teaching of the current curriculum together with cross-curricular activities. According to Eevan (2012, p. 23), schools need to look at new ways of teaching if the current activities are not meeting expectations. Best practice for the curriculum means that it needs to be clearly defined and refined through repeated delivery. The current curriculum through this good practice indicates that subject based teaching focusing on Mathematics and English may not be the way to go, hence the need for the revision to input cross curriculum themes and have a more creative curriculum. The revised curriculum caters for the different needs of children and is able to develop their ability and skills in different areas (DFEE, 1999, p. 17). The revised curriculum focuses on three core areas: literacy, numeracy and ICT. The best professional practice is required in teaching the essential skills of reading, writing, numeracy and ICT. These need to be utilized and applied across the curriculum. Reading, writing, listening and speaking are the essential skills required in any academic field. If a child is gifted in Science, Mathematics or the Arts, it would be difficult to nurture those talents without any communication skills in their foundation years (DFEE, 1999, p. 18). As Peter (2003, p. 10) argues, teaching should go beyond molding a child; it should provide an opportunity for the children’s all round development. A curriculum needs to promote a child’s personal development to equip him with life skills. This includes the spiritual, physical, mental and social aspects. Programmes such as SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) were introduced to cater for this. The programme is useful in dealing with society issues such as drug abuse, violent behavior and sex. The revised curriculum proposes the introduction of foreign languages at key stage 2, encouraging schools to focus on teaching one or two foreign languages. This is part of putting more emphasis on cross-curricular activities. In order to ensure best practice in curriculum delivery, the curriculum must be developed and reviewed continuously. Current curricula need to be reviewed in terms of what areas they have failed in and whether the goals have been achieved (Peter, 2003, p. 14). Statutory Guidance There are 9 subjects taught in the current curriculum. Some of these subjects are required to follow statutory guidance while others do not. Religious Education (RE), ICT, Citizenship and Modern Foreign Languages do not follow statutory guidance. ICT no longer follows statutory guidance since ICT schools are free to teach their own curricula to suit their particular students’ needs. In the revised curriculum, ICT will be one of the three core areas that have to be taught throughout the curriculum, from foundation years to the other key stages. Based on the recommendation of the revised curriculum, the national curriculum will be a statutory requirement (OFSTED, 2012, p. 15). Advantages and Constraints of the Revised Curriculum The revised curriculum’s proposed 6 areas of learning will give flexibility in teaching and more emphasis on cross-curricular activities that lead to a smoother transition from the foundation years to the key stages. The 6 areas comprise the understanding of: English and Communication Mathematics Science and Technology Human, Social and Environment Physical Health and Wellbeing Arts and Design According to Tim (2003, p. 24), children need to progress from what they learn in their foundation years and at the same time achieve the goals of learning in any curriculum. Children are able to learn more through play. The teaching and learning become active, participatory and have a practical application. The revised curriculum simplifies the assessment for children in their foundation years. It emphasizes ICT, literacy and numeracy as being core parts of the curriculum. Children are also introduced to foreign languages at an early age. Timing is key to when a child is enrolled. The new curriculum recommends that summer born children should be enrolled in September after their fourth birthday (Tim, 2003, p. 12). The current curriculum being subject based restricts the students’ flexibility and is a constraint. Students are not able to use what they learnt in their early years, in the later years of their education. The curriculum is based on results of the subjects taught and does not meet the student’s individual needs. Learning should not be about only passing exams, getting grades and moving to the next level without any real-life connection from what one has learnt. Another constraint would be the availability of teachers to teach the modern foreign languages (Tim, 2003, p. 18). Conclusion A curriculum needs to be planned in order that the child goes through learning experience with the recommended comment using the prescribed teaching method, and that there is evaluation to ensure its goals have been met. A curriculum should be proactive and subject to regular review in response to national and global change. Previous reviews have been based on reducing the subject load and not on improving and assessing its effects. The revised curriculum leads to the development of the child physically, socially, spiritually and mentally. The 6 areas of the new curriculum focus on the development of the child from the foundation years. The children are taught problem solving, reasoning and numeracy, and not Mathematics as a subject. They are taught communication, language and literacy, and not English (OFSTED, 2002, p. 11). The knowledge and skills acquired can be used in later years and are applicable in life. Numeracy, literacy and ICT now become core areas of the revised curriculum. There will be a smooth transition from the foundation years to the key stages. Educators in the early years can be flexible in their teaching and focus on both subjects and cross-curriculum activities. Pupils will enjoy learning with the appropriate challenges and progressive accomplishments in the different areas. The new curriculum gives teachers an opportunity to be creative and adapt to learning suited to pupils in their local area. The curriculum will enable teachers to identify and develop their pupil’s skills that will be useful in developing a highly skilled and competitive workforce (OFSTED, 2002, p. 13). References Boyle, B., and Bragg, J., 2006. A curriculum without foundation. British Educational Research Journal, 32 (4), pp. 569–582. Craft, A., 2000. Creativity across primary curriculum: framing and developing practice. London: Cengage. DFEE, 1999. The national curriculum: handbook for primary teachers in England. London: DFEE. Eevan, V., 2012. State boarding school boom: surge in pupils living away from home. Guardian. Gearon, L., 2002. Education in the United Kingdom. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd. Giddens, A., & Griffiths, S., 2006. Sociology. London: Polity Press. OFSTED, 2002. The curriculum in successful primary schools. London: OFSTED. OFSTED, 2012. The independent review of the primary curriculum: final report. London: OFSTED. Peter, N., 2003. Diversity and Admissions to English Secondary Schools. Forum, 45 (1), pp. 17- 18. Richard, G., 2002. Rising number of parents decide they can do a better job than the education system. The Independent. Staples, N., & Rebecca, C., 2008. Early Childhood Education: An International Encyclopedia. IV. London: Praeger. Stephen, V. A., 2005. What's The Good Of Education? The Economics of Education in the UK. London: Princeton University Press. Tim, B., 2003. Comprehensive Schools Then, Now and in the Future: is it time to draw a line in the sand and create a new ideal? Forum, 45 (1), pp. 3-11. Read More