Practicing the National Curriculum Standards: From standard to actual classroom practice

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to propose an effective measure to apply the standards of national curriculum into the actual classroom practice. In order to achieve this purpose, this study examines the current status and problems both in the theoretical and in the practical aspects, and suggests the practical measures of applying the national curriculum standards. The current national curriculum standards should be structured to have a more vertical and horizontal consistency in each grade and subject, and should be supported so that reconstruction should not be difficult in the actual classroom practice. Therefore, this study proposes top-down curriculum design first. In the subject level, it is also necessary to state standards more clearly and accurately to enable more meaningful identification. And it is also suggested that the applicable standards could be set in the Standards Guidelines or any booklet for supervision developed by each regional education office. It can serve as a guide when developing the school(teacher) curriculum standards by presenting specific and distinctive features of each region. Finally, the Enactment plan should be established through collective and professional consultation process such as curriculum study groups or learning communities. It is anticipated that the possibility of implementing national curriculum standards on the actual classroom practice will be higher than it is now when they are applied to classrooms creatively and voluntarily.