Abstract
This paper focuses on the review and subsequent revision of the primary curriculum that took place between 2010 and 2014. Three central contentions are made about the review process: (1) it ignored the need for dialogue and consensus among the various parties that make up the delicate and interlocking set of relationships in the English education system; (2) it at first purported to integrate the views of higher education and then ignored, marginalized, and dismissed them; and (3) despite claiming to be based on best practice in other 'jurisdictions', it failed to take account of alternative views about approaches to curriculum innovation and instead focused on a limited and instrumentalist view that was treated as being uncontestable.
Highlights
The change to a Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2010 after more than a decade of Labour administration meant that it was inevitable that new directions would be explored across all phases of education
One such area of change was the review and subsequent revision of the national curriculum set in train by Michael Gove, who was the Secretary of State for Education during much of the five years of the parliament
I will argue that the opprobrium that was heaped upon academics working in the area of education during the period of the review was singular in nature and damaging in character
Summary
The change to a Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2010 after more than a decade of Labour administration meant that it was inevitable that new directions would be explored across all phases of education. One such area of change was the review and subsequent revision of the national curriculum set in train by Michael Gove, who was the Secretary of State for Education during much of the five years of the parliament. In this paper I shall focus in particular on the primary curriculum that emerged and argue that, despite much Sturm und Drang, the evidence appears to show that the revised national curriculum has been accepted by most teachers with little demur. I shall suggest that the approach to curriculum innovation adopted was one that was essentially political rather than collegial, consultative, or evidence-based
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