Curriculum Differentiation Research Articles

Education policy intentions and principals’ and teachers’ conceptualizations of curriculum differentiation in Ethiopian secondary education

This study examined the intentions of education policy documents and the conceptualizations of secondary school principals and teachers regarding curriculum differentiation. Regular and special day schools were selected using purposive sampling based on their experiences with different types of curriculum differentiation. Two school principals and 17 subject teachers were selected using purposive and convenience samplings, respectively. The study analyzed national education policy documents (e.g., education and training policy and curriculum framework) and collected interview data from school principals and teachers. The two main national education policy documents conceptualize curriculum differentiation in terms of various tracks, like fields of study, streams, and school types. The other national document, the guideline for curriculum differentiation, emphasizes the differentiation of curriculum components—contents, instructional processes, assessment strategies, and learning environments—and highlights the importance of inclusive classrooms. Principals’ and teachers’ conceptualizations of curriculum differentiation vary across three levels: lacking awareness, holding divergent views, and aligning with policy intentions. The absence of a coherent policy guide and the lack of engagement of principals and teachers in reform ideas have contributed to these diverse conceptualizations. Additionally, the policy intentions seem inadequately addressed through curriculum differentiation practice by school types, such as regular, special day, and boarding schools, which do not correspond to variations in the types and levels of difficulty of the school subjects taught.

Curriculum Differentiation Practice: A Case Study of Visual Impairments

Curriculum Differentiation Practice: A Case Study of Visual Impairments

OPTIMALISASI PROGRAM REMEDIAL BERDASARKAN INSTRUMEN AKREDITASI SATUAN PENDIDIKAN DALAM PEMBELAJARAN DIFERENSIASI KURIKULUM MERDEKA

This study aims to qualitatively examine the optimization of remedial programs in differentiation learning in the Independent Curriculum based on the 2020 Education Unit Accreditation Instrument. This research is a literature study that discusses implementing differentiated remedial programs. This research originates from articles related to remedial programs in differentiation learning and IASP 2020 instrument remedial program items from books, research articles, and other supporting sources. The remedial program is carried out to improve the teacher's ongoing learning. The results of the studies that have been carried out show that the independent curriculum differentiation learning remedial program is appropriate to be implemented to optimize learning because the timing of this remedial program is more flexible; it does not have to be carried out at the end. Based on point 14 in the 2020 Education Unit Accreditation Instrument regarding the learning process, this remedial program can be measured using the indicators in the 2020 Education Unit Accreditation Instrument. This study aims to qualitatively examine the optimization of remedial programs in differentiation learning in the Independent Curriculum based on the Education Unit Accreditation Instrument 2020.

Child’s age at migration, high school course-taking and higher education

The study examined the effect of child age at migration on high school course-taking and higher education attainment, focusing on Former Soviet Union (FSU) immigrants who arrived in Israel at primary-school age. Based on a representative Israeli national sample, combining data from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Education, and higher education institutions, we applied multinomial regression models. The data did not support the ‘critical age’ hypothesis, according to which the educational outcomes of immigrant children start to decrease after a distinct age at migration when the ability to learn a new language begins to shrink. However, children who were older at migration and thus arrived closer to the stage when curricular differentiation begins in lower secondary education had higher chances of enrolling in less prestigious educational programs. Age at migration was not related to the chances of attaining an academic degree.

Teacher Experiences of In-Service Training Programmes on Curriculum Differentiation and Modification in Inclusive Primary Schools of Capricorn District, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Many teachers struggle with curriculum differentiation and curriculum modification in an inclusive education setting, despite a range of in-service training programmes being offered over recent years. More specifically, several training initiatives have focused on the development of school managers, with the idea of them cascading the information down to the other staff members at school. In this article, we report on teacher experiences of in-service training programmes on curriculum differentiation and modification in inclusive primary schools in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. In undertaking the study, we followed a qualitative approach, adopting a case study design. Two officials from the Inclusive Education section of the Department of Education and six teachers from the Dimamo circuit were purposively selected to take part in the study. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The generated data were analysed through content analysis. The findings of the study indicate that the participating teachers felt inadequately trained to implement various strategies that may accommodate learners with diverse needs in their classrooms, with school managers not providing feedback to teachers after attending in-service training sessions due to time constraints. As a result, we posit that the current model of teacher empowerment on curriculum differentiation and modification, which takes the form of in-service training programmes, is ineffective. we propose that new strategies should be put in place to better equip teachers in this field through, for example, short learning programmes on curriculum differentiation and modification, resource allocation, and feedback provision.

Creating Inclusive Schools for Autistic Students: A Scoping Review on Elements Contributing to Strengths-Based Approaches

Strengths-based approaches leveraging the strengths and interests of autistic students are increasingly recognised as important to meeting their school-related needs. A scoping review exploring elements contributing to strengths-based approaches for autistic students in schools was undertaken. Eighteen articles were identified, with results conceptualised according to the Bioecological Model of Development. One personal (strengths and interests), six microsystem (specialised instructions, curriculum integration, curriculum differentiation, common interests with peers, reciprocal roles and adult involvement), three mesosystem (matching resources and activities, real-life learning experiences and benefiting all students), and three exosystem (cost-effective and timesaving, collaboration with colleagues and parents and teachers’ attitude and knowledge) elements were identified. Findings highlight the interrelatedness of the elements contributing to strengths-based approaches for autistic students, which can be used to aid in the development of more inclusive school environments.

Differentiation in the Classroom: A Pedagogical Approach for a Successful Engagement of Students in Secondary Schools

Teaching and learning are important educational processes that prepare young people for the greatest common good. This common good is not conditioned by the requirements of young people but by the requirements of the human family. The greatest good demands that young people, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, race, language, or religion receive the best educational opportunities of their generation. To fulfil their aspirations, all methods of differentiation must be utilised to provide the greatest educational opportunities for all. In this study, the aim was to understand how differentiation processes are harmoniously used by teachers to provide successful engagement of students. The study was carried out by reviewing the literature on how differentiation of instructions, curriculum, and assessment improves the engagement of students in secondary school settings. Differentiation is a framework of teaching that aims to address individual learning needs and maximise students’ learning opportunities, which may then lead to a positive change in students so that they can achieve positive learning outcomes. It is reported that once the instructions and curriculum are differentiated, different types of assessments can be created to meet the diverse needs of the students. Because students in the classrooms are not homogeneous, they bring with them a conundrum of issues, which can only be resolved when teachers become part of the solution, differentiating not only their teaching styles but also their programs of teaching. The teachers can then produce assessments that are pitched at the right level to test whether the students have understood the concepts taught

Differentiation Models for the Curriculum of Gifted and Talented Individuals: A Literature Review

The purpose of this research is to inform about the differentiation models related to the teaching programs of the gifted and talented individuals in the scope of the special education and to prove the necessity of using these models with related researches. Differentiation, which is accepted as changing the education process according to the individual differences of the students in the education of the gifted, is used as a tool in enrich the education programs of these individuals. In this study, information about gifted is given, the necessity of differentiating the curriculum of these individuals is emphasized and information about differentiation models is given. In this context, the definitions of The Maker Curriculum Differentiation Model, The Parallel Curriculum Model, The Curriculum Narrowing Model, The Integrated Curriculum Model, The Grid Curriculum Model, The Three-Stage Purdue Model, The Enrichment Triad Model, The Autonomous Learner Models about the curriculum of gifted students and supporting studies in the context are researched.

Exploring Senior Phase teachers' competencies in supporting learners with specific learning difficulties: Implications for inclusive education.

BackgroundTeaching learners with specific learning difficulties requires competent teachers who can provide learning support. Competencies such as identifying learning difficulties, assessing learners, designing interventions such as curriculum differentiation and facilitating referral systems are crucial. However, Senior Phase teachers in South Africa seem to be challenged when it comes to providing learning support. Consequently, learners do not meet the desired learning outcomes.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to explore Senior Phase teachers’ competencies in supporting learners with specific learning difficulties in four mainstream schools.MethodsA qualitative research approach and phenomenological research design were used. Eighteen teachers who were members of the school-based support teams, including learning support educators, were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through individual and focus group interviews, the analysis of support forms and field notes. A thematic data analysis was used to generate findings.ResultsThe thematic data analysis revealed discrepancies relating to participants’ competencies in identifying language difficulties, short-term memory problems and contextual barriers. Also, participants differed in collaborating with peers, social workers, and the district-based support teams. Furthermore, some participants were able to design intervention programmes and facilitate internal and external referral processes.ConclusionThe study concludes that teachers have different competencies in providing learning support. Therefore, the Department of Basic Education should provide a clear practical learning support strategy in the Senior Phase mainstream schools as well as continuous professional development for teachers couple with monitoring.ContributionIt is envisioned that the study will contribute to understanding teachers’ competences in providing learning support for learners with specific learning difficulties in the senior phase. The study advocates for collaborative continuous professional teacher development focusing on interventions programmes to support learners with specific learning difficulties in the mainstream schools.

Historicising inclusion: how science curricular differentiation produced populations of concern in the United States and West Germany (1960s–1980s)

ABSTRACT This article explores how the sorting and separating of pupils into entangled categories of social/cultural disadvantage and disability in the 1960s through the 1980s created populations of concern. Even though the United States and Germany are typically contrasted in their approaches to inclusive education, a new scientisation of the “social” had similar effects in both countries. While inclusion is usually presumed as the opposite of segregation, we examine how distinct curricula – often administered in separate classrooms or schools – became deemed essential to prepare target populations for eventual inclusion. In the United States, demands for desegregation and mainstreaming were met in part with the design of curricula and instructional strategies for populations marked by categories of disability and/or cultural disadvantage. In West Germany, similar pedagogies appeared in materials designed for special and lower-track schools aimed at pupils classified as learning disabled and/or socio-culturally disadvantaged. Drawing on archival analysis of research journals, reports, and curricular materials from both countries, we examine how science pedagogies constituted social/cultural disadvantage and/or disability as a type of learner with limited experiences requiring compensation and emotional needs requiring affective calibration. Similar practices produced these populations of concern, enclosing them in a pre-scholastic intervention space and prescribing targeted strategies as necessary for their integration as healthy, responsible citizens. At stake is understanding how curricular differentiation directed to previously excluded groups can generate new subdivisions of the social – authorising separate (and unequally positioned) instruction in the name of inclusion.

A Rationale for the Junior-Senior Secondary Mathematics Curriculum 2.0

This paper proposes a rationale that supports a renewal of our predominantly 19th century curriculum for Grades 7–12, identified as Mathematics 1.0. It was originally established in the mid 1800s to prepare learners mostly from upper-class families to succeed in a post-industrial society. Today’s digital revolution has changed society remarkably, and the variety of learners has certainly broadened, but Mathematics 1.0 fundamentally remains the same Plato-based (Platonist) curriculum due to its social-political power, which is documented in the article. The major changes to society’s culture and the composition of learners have caused faults in Mathematics 1.0 (e.g., a relevance deficit). For the majority of learners, school mathematics has mostly become an obsolete, inequitable, and harmful rite-of-passage into adulthood, to varying degrees. A renewed curriculum, Mathematics 2.0, is rationalized and specific suggestions are offered. The minority of learners who successfully pursue mathematics to varying degrees would experience small changes in their new Mathematics 1.2.
 Keywords: school mathematics, humanistic, curriculum differentiation, relevance

Higher education expansion and the secondary school curriculum in Scotland in the second half of the twentieth century

ABSTRACT The conclusion of recent research on the relationship between students’ school curriculum and their opportunities to enter higher education has generally been that curricular differentiation is a further dimension of social stratification, and that it has become a mechanism of effectively maintained inequality, in the sense defined by Lucas. The present analysis uses a unique series of surveys of school leavers in Scotland, covering the whole of the second half of the twentieth century, to study the relationship between curricular breadth in the senior years of secondary school and the chances of entering higher education. Breadth is found to have been long associated especially with entry to the high-status oldest universities, and also with entry to other universities that were founded before the 1990s. However, breadth of study at school and university is not a new dimension of distinction in Scotland, dating rather from the nineteenth century and earlier. Its effect has not grown with expansion, but in general has declined. The conclusion is that this curricular feature has been a mark of cultural or intellectual distinction, not straightforwardly merely a mechanism of stratification.

Looking at the future from the periphery of the system: low-ability grouping and educational expectations

ABSTRACT Extant research has observed that educational expectations are malleable and adjust in response to educational inputs such as the position in a stratified level of education. Examining two distinct forms of curricular differentiation introduced in the comprehensive Spanish educational system (low-ability grouping programmes), I study whether two identical 15-year-old students with the same academic performance would differ in their educational expectations if one of them was diverted into these programmes. I use the 2018 PISA database and Entropy Balancing to balance the distribution of variables that confound the relationship between low-ability grouping and expectations. Results indicate that being diverted into a low-ability group exerts a substantial effect on the vertical and horizontal expectations about Upper Secondary and Tertiary Education. Programmes based on a simplification of the general curriculum mainly condition horizontal expectations (academic vs vocational education), while pre-vocational programmes also shorten the educational plans of participants. Therefore, the effects associated with the educational position of the student are not exclusive of highly stratified systems and other forms of curricular differentiation in otherwise highly comprehensive systems can be influential in the reconfiguration of educational expectations.

From social origin to selective high school courses: Ability grouping as a mechanism of securing social advantage in Israeli secondary education

This paper focuses on ability grouping in middle school as an important mechanism enabling students with privileged social backgrounds to increase their likelihood of enrollment in the most selective and prestigious high school programs, thus paving the way to higher academic degrees and more lucrative occupations. Using data from Israeli national standardized tests administered in primary and middle schools and matriculation data from the end of high school, we demonstrate the crucial role played by middle school ability grouping in transforming socioeconomic advantage into educational advantage. We thus contribute to a growing body of research that aims at enhancing our understanding of mechanisms of educational tracking in comprehensive systems that rely on complex and nuanced types of formal and informal within-school curricular differentiation.

Using curriculum differentiation to respond to students’ diversity

The article observes the results of the questionnaire of 1923 tenth-formers and their mathematics teachers. Statistical analysis of these results has been done using SPSS 13.0.The practice of curriculum differentiation in Lithuania is the subject of the observation.The research has shown that about 70 per cent of teachers more or less base their syllabus on the content of the textbook. The students’ achievements are dependent both on the teacher‘s understanding that syllabus has to be adapted to the students and ability to do that effectively. The following conclusion could be done: about 60 per cent of mathematics teachers should improve their competence in planning and developing syllabus.Organizing learning process about 80 per cent of teachers basically use reproductive teaching-learning method which requires little independent students’ activity. The institutions that prepare teachers and care about their competence should pay more attention to teachers’ qualification to apply teaching and learning methods in practice.The article has also observed the students and teachers’ understanding of principles and criteria and assessment used in schools and the quality of students’ feet-back.More attention should be paid to teachers’ competence providing faster and more efficient feet-back to students and help they need.

Sosyal Bilgiler Öğretiminde Üstün Yetenekli Çocuklar için Zenginleştirilmiş Program Önerisi

The Gifted and talented students who have a superior potential compared to their peers need a differentiated curriculum. It is considered that the talent domain, potential of intelligence, interest, and development status of the gifted and talented students should be determined, and the curriculum which is to be applied should be differentiated. In this respect, the purpose of the study is to differentiate the social studies curriculum of 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades in line with the characteristics, academic, cognitive, and affective expectations of gifted and talented students. In the study, the social studies curriculum is differentiated with the integrated curriculum differentiation method. The document review method, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the data collection process of the study. The content analysis method was used when analyzing the data. A differentiation strategy was determined for the whole class level and for each learning domain separately in accordance with the general characteristics of gifted and talented students, The determined differentiation strategy is composed of affective domain and value objectives, along with thinking, study, and creativity skills. Based on differentiation strategies, cognitive domain, affective domain, value, and skill objectives were determined. Enrichment and reduction practices were made by retaining the present achievements in the curriculum. In the curriculum, in which 68 achievements were differentiated in total, students' creativity, innovation, study and thinking skills, and awareness for national components and social values were prioritized. Social studies curriculum in line with the integrated curriculum model is thought to be an original and framework model for teaching social studies to gifted and talented students.

School equity, marketisation and access to the Australian senior secondary curriculum

ABSTRACT This study examines how access to the academic curriculum creates patterns of inequality in Australian schools. Examining students’ access to the academic curriculum gives an indication of how schooling is structured to support students in pursuing higher education opportunities. To date, little research attention has been given to the opportunities schools offer students to access the academic curriculum in order to enter university. Using administrative data on students and schools, we find that there are fewer average curriculum subjects, and less complexity in the subjects offered, in schools with low levels of socio-educational advantage. We argue that curriculum differentiation across schools is a systemic constraint that students in schools with higher levels of socio-educational disadvantage face in progressing to university because these schools are less able to provide students with access to core academic curriculum subjects in the final year of secondary school. Previous research has highlighted the social differences reflected in both educational access and outcomes due to the marketisation of schools and policies of school choice. Our findings indeed demonstrate that there are relationships between access to the academic curriculum, school socio-educational advantage and the social composition of schools, and these factors have important educational policy implications.

Explaining gender segregation in higher education: longitudinal evidence on the French case

This article examines how girls and boys choose their tertiary field of study and how the different factors driving their choices contribute to gender segregation in higher education (GSHE) in France. We present seven theoretical explanations for GSHE, review the relevant literature and discuss their applicability to the French context. Using rich longitudinal data combining administrative sources, students, parents and school head questionnaires, we assess the heuristic value of these explanations. We employ multinomial logit models as well as decomposition techniques for categorical outcome variables. Our results refute explanations arguing that GSHE reflects gender differences in skills or girls’ lower career ambitions. We conclude that curricular differentiation and occupational plans are key drivers of GSHE, even when controlling for ability selection into secondary curricula and for parental and teachers’ gender-stereotypical influences. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2021.1875199.

Universal design for learning in inclusive education policy in South Africa.

BackgroundSouth Africa has undertaken the implementation of inclusive education as a vehicle for achieving enhanced educational outcomes and equity. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an instructional design framework that takes into account the wide range of variations in skills and abilities that exist across all learners, and provides a research-based set of principles and guidelines for inclusive curriculum development and delivery.ObjectivesTo locate UDL within the specific inclusive education policy context of South Africa and consider how this approach can support policy implementation. We have argued that UDL could serve as a strategy to link policy imperatives with classroom practice, enabling effective communication between the different actors.MethodWe reviewed fundamental inclusive education policies in South Africa and research relating to their implementation, and how they configure support and curriculum differentiation. We then compared this understanding with that proposed by UDL and considered what could be gained in adopting a UDL framework.ResultsWe noted that UDL has several advantages in that it allows for a common language between education stakeholders and gives new meaning to the interpretation of levels of support.ConclusionThe implementation of inclusive education in South Africa could be enhanced by introducing the concepts of UDL into policy, research and teaching practice as a common language and vehicle for packaging support systems.

Inclusive Education at a South African University: Awakening the Sensitivities and Democratic Consciousness of Pre-Service Teachers

One of the chief goals of inclusive education is to provide pre-service teachers with a learning environment and prospects that enable them to become independent, responsible and critical educators. This study sought to determine how pre-service teachers at a South African university experienced inclusive education training. A purposeful sample of 6 pre-service teachers was selected. Data were collected using open-ended questionnaires which were exploratory in nature, and then analysed thematically. Findings showed inter alia that studying inclusive education proved to be an “eye opener”: students were enlightened to various aspects of being an educator: (i) curriculum differentiation, (ii) diversity, (iii) learners’ rights and (iv) the fact that learners experiencing various barriers to learning can be accommodated successfully in regular classrooms. It was revealed that studying inclusive education allowed pre-service teachers to appreciate the scope, value and higher purpose of teaching. The study shows that awareness of inclusive education enriches the training of pre-service teachers in South African schools.