EDUC40230: Curriculum Analysis

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• To have critical understanding of curriculum analysis in relation to teaching and learning.

• The field of curriculum theory is vast. The term 'curriculum' is taken widely to mean not simply a syllabus, or subjects, but everything that takes place in educational institutions, whether deliberate or not, in the formal and hidden curriculum, everything that students learn, a set of proposals about aims, content, pedagogy, evaluation, assessment etc. Indeed Stenhouse (1975) offers a famous (and perhaps surprisingly post-modern) view where he writes that a 'curriculum is an attempt to communicate the essential principles and features of an educational proposal in such a form that it is open to critical scrutiny and capable of effective translation into practice' (p.4). It is argued that a curriculum comprises:
• A view of aims, purposes, values and interests;
• A view of knowledge - what knowledge and whose knowledge is important and how this impacts on curriculum content;
• A view of the nature of the curriculum for the 21st Century
• A view of how the curriculum should be designed and organised;
• A view of the nature and purposes of pedagogy;
• A view of evaluation and assessment and their impact on learning;
• A view of directions and contents of curriculum change and development.
• Clearly it is unrealistic to suggest that all of these features can be explored in depth in a single module. However this module is designed to clarify and consider significant issues in the curriculum debate and how they articulate with each other.
• At a time when the curriculum is largely prescribed in the UK and many other countries, the purposes of this module are to examine why this might be occurring and what problematic features of the curriculum this exposes. The module addresses these features focusing on some significant debates in the curriculum and examines how epistemology, politics, the economy, ideology and social theory are linked the current debate about the curriculum. The module is designed to question the current hegemony of curriculum policy and practice and to identify how alternative curricular practices might be developed. The intention of the module is to raise questions rather than supply the answers.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Critical understanding of significant issues in the curriculum debate.

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of the module, students will be able to:
• Critically approach the curriculum.
• Identify issues and discourses in the field of curriculum theory.
• Examine the links between curricula and society.
• Interrogate current forms of curricular and pedagogic organisation.
• Show insight into the wider political and economic agendas which influence curricula.
• Relate curriculum practice to wider philosophical contexts.

Key Skills:

• Through their essays students will demonstrate the ability to:
• undertake a search and synthetic review of research literature,
• summarise and critique research-based literatures;
• communicate ideas effectively, both orally and in writing, to an advanced level;
• learn independently.

• Through lectures and seminar teaching supported by Study Guide resources. The Study Guide includes preparation for and follow up to teaching activities. This directed independent work is an important part of the module. Lectures enable the ideas of the module to be considered. Seminar work enables students to develop their understanding of the ideas and consider them in a range of professionally relevant contexts. Activities in seminars include a variety of active learning approaches including discussion, group work, presentations, question and answer sessions, individual tasks. A Bulletin Board on DUO enables staff and students to continue their interaction between teaching sessions. Preparation for the assignment involves students in wide reading and critical reflection on ideas of the module.

Verbal feedback is given to students' contribution during class teaching sessions. Staff can be contacted for individual help. Written formative feedback is provided on an academic outline of the assignment of no more than 500 words.

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