National Curriculum In England Research Articles

The beautiful game bringing families together: children's and parents' experiences of a family football programme.

Children are consistently not achieving recommended levels of physical activity (PA) despite it being a compulsory requirement of the national curriculum in England. Fruit and vegetable consumption also falls below recommended levels for both adults and children. With school PA increasingly being outsourced, football foundations (linked to professional football clubs) are now prominent providers of children's PA. However, research exploring coach-led interventions in schools is limited with a particular gap in knowledge surrounding the qualitative experiences of children and parents/carers. The current study therefore aimed to explore the experiences of children and parents engaged in a 6-week family football programme. Family football is a free after-school programme engaging parents/carers and their children, to enhance their engagement in PA and healthy nutritional habits. A purposive sample of parents/carers and their children (N = 36) took part in qualitative focus groups to discuss their experiences of participating in family football. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed two themes: (i) healthy lifestyle facilitators and challenges and (ii) added value of programme participation. Children discussed programme content around nutritional practices and parents/carers discussed examples of where nutritional practices had improved at home, though some parents/carers and children highlighted persistent barriers to health improvement. Both parents/carers and children reflected on how the programme had enabled them to spend dedicated time with one another. The findings emphasize the significance of direct parent/carer involvement in school-based health interventions as well as the value of coach-led interventions in the enhancement of PA enjoyment, nutritional knowledge and connectedness of families within schools.

‘Knowledge Turn’, Debates in Knowledge of National Curriculum in England and Geography Subject

‘Knowledge Turn’, Debates in Knowledge of National Curriculum in England and Geography Subject

The Effects of a 6-Week Swimming Intervention on Gross Motor Development in Primary School Children.

(1) Background: This study examines the effects of a 6-week swimming intervention on motor competence in children. (2) Methods: A total of 107 children (n = 52 boys, n = 55 girls) aged 7.8 ± 0.63 years that were recruited from five primary schools in central England participated in this study, undertaking either an aquatic intervention once a week for six weeks or acting as a control group completing their usual physical education program. Participants underwent pre- and post-assessments of general motor competence using the Test of Gross Motor Development, Third Edition (TGMD-3) (a process measure) and a composite of 10 m running sprint time and standing long jump distance (product measures). Aquatic motor competence was assessed via the Aquatic Movement Protocol (AMP). Fear of drowning and swimming opportunities were also assessed by implementing a questionnaire. (3) Results: Following a mixed-model ANOVA, an overall main effect was found from pre (40.05 ± 13.6) to post (48.3 ± 18.6) for TGMD-3 scores (p < 0.05) and pre (38.7 ± 31.7) to post (50.6 ± 36.8) for AMP scores (p = 0.001). A negative significant relationship was found between AMP scores with both fear of water (p = 0.01) and fear of drowning (p < 0.05). A positive significant relationship was found between swimming opportunities and AMP score (p = 0.001). (4) Conclusions: The aquatic-based intervention improves not only aquatic motor competence but also transfers improvements in dryland movement competencies. Future research should look to implement control groupings which do not participate in swimming to further investigate the difference between swimmers and non-swimmers; however, due to swimming being a part of the national curriculum in England, this may not be feasible.

Practice, pedagogy and education as a discipline: Getting beyond close‐to‐practice research

AbstractThe British Educational Research Association (BERA) has promulgated a concept of close‐to‐practice research that is seen as vital to defending and promoting education as an academic discipline. However, what is overlooked are the questions of what education is for and what educational practice is—questions that need to be addressed for any research aiming to understand and improve educational practice. Informed by Robin Alexander's conception of pedagogy, continental Pädagogik and Didaktik and Anglo‐American sources, this paper advances an alternative, different way of thinking about close‐to‐practice research and education as a discipline. It makes a case for education as a distinctive discipline directed towards the understanding and development of practice for the advancement of education. This discipline necessitates an educational and Didaktik way of thinking and theorising, centred on the questions of what education is for, what educational practice is and how practice is supported and developed. This way of thinking and theorising calls for three interrelated lines of research that are significant and matter to practice, particularly within the current context of the National Curriculum in England.

Development of Noun Phrase Complexity Across Genres in Children’s Writing

AbstractComplex noun phrases (NP) are central to mature academic writing and often a focus of explicit teaching. The National Curriculum in England, for example, requires specific components of NP complexity to be taught at specific educational stages. However, the evidence base for such practices is unclear. Research on the emergence of NP components is both limited and dated. Moreover, some work has suggested that NP development is late-occurring and genre-specific, calling into question curricular guidance which specifies teaching from the earliest years and which makes no mention of genre. Analysing 240 texts written by children in England aged six to 16, this study shows that overall complexity develops at a roughly constant rate from primary school onwards. Increases are principally driven by postmodification, especially relative clauses and proposition phrases. By the end of their mandatory education, children make some use of genre distinctions evident in adult writing. However, there are also clear patterns of overuse and underuse of particular NP components. Key distinctive features are examined in context to understand the roles NP components play in writing development.

How far did the toppling of the Colston statue in 2020 impact upon primary history subject-leaders’ curriculum decision-making in North-West England?

ABSTRACT This is a qualitative research study which investigates the curriculum decision-making of four primary school history subject-leaders in the North-West of England. A grounded theory approach was utilised. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the subject-leaders and an audit of their schools’ history curriculum completed. The curriculum was altered in response to the Colston statue toppling in three schools, the subject-leaders faced several challenges. Further research is needed to discover more about the role of primary history subject-leaders and the agency they can achieve as curriculum-makers. It is also argued that Black British history should be included in the History National Curriculum for England.

Local Content Curriculum Model for Early Childhood Scientific Learning

Curriculum material is generally considered the subject matter of information, talents, dispositions, understandings, and principles that make up research programs in the field. At a more complex level, the curricula need to contain historical and socio-political strengths, traditions, cultural views, and goals with wide differences in sovereignty, adaptation, and local understanding that encompass a diversity of cultures, laws, metaphysics, and political discourse This study aims to develop a curriculum with local content as a new approach in early childhood science learning. The Local Content Curriculum (LCC) is compiled and developed to preserve the uniqueness of local culture, natural environment, and community crafts for early childhood teachers so that they can introduce local content to early childhood. Research and model development combines the design of the Dick-Carey and Dabbagh models with qualitative and quantitative descriptive analysis. The results showed that local content curriculum products can be supplemented into early childhood curricula in institutions according to local conditions. Curricula with local content can be used as a reinforcement for the introduction of science in early childhood. The research implication demands the concern of all stakeholders to see that the introduction of local content is very important to be given from an early age, so that children know, get used to, like, maintain, and love local wealth from an early age.&#x0D; Keywords: Early Childhood, Scientific Learning, Local Content Curriculum Model&#x0D;

Decolonising the science curriculum in England: Bringing decolonial science and technology studies to secondary education

Recent ‘decolonising the curriculum’ movements have called for Higher Education to rethink how it engages with diversity and colonialism in its lectures and syllabi. But what can these ideas mean for science subjects in secondary schools? Grounded on a decolonial perspective around the Science and Technology Studies (STS) field, this paper explores the implications from decolonial perspectives for school science by addressing the following questions: how can science teachers decolonise mainstream science curricula such as the National Curriculum in England with inputs from the STS field? And, what can this endeavour bring to the teaching and learning of science? To support this investigation, a collaborative curriculum development endeavour with a science teacher at a comprehensive school in London/United Kingdom is explored. This experience involved planning and teaching four science topics from the National Curriculum in England to a year 8 classroom (students aged 12–13) and a qualitative investigation was carried out through interviews, observations and informal conversations over the school year. Findings reveal that rather than competing for space in an already overcrowded curriculum, decolonial ideas can help teachers to enrich and better integrate different science topics, while also addressing contemporary concerns about critical thinking and representativeness in (science) education.

Physical education’s journey on the road to health

ABSTRACT Each year, the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy Special Interest Group organises an Invisible College which precedes the annual BERA conference. The day opens with a Scholar Lecture which is delivered by an academic who has made a significant contribution to the field. This paper represents the 2019 Scholar Lecture, which charts the journey of health within physical education over recent decades through to the present day. Whilst the notion of maintaining health through physical education is long standing and contributing to healthy active lifestyles is generally accepted to be a key goal of the subject, it is argued that the road to securing and retaining the position of health within the curriculum has at times been tricky to navigate. There have certainly been many successes en route, but equally some challenges and seemingly even a few obstacles and diversions. Specifically, this paper outlines the journey of health from the 1980s, during which time there was revived interest in health and a significant growth in health-related courses within physical education curricula within and beyond the United Kingdom. This coincided with the introduction of the National Curriculum in England and Wales, as well as with my own doctoral studies and initial physical education practice. Consequently, I highlight key influences and influencers in the area and on my thinking during this period, as well as some of the key developments, outcomes and messages emanating from this early work. Equally, I explore some of the issues and challenges health and health-related learning within physical education have and continue to face. The paper then turns to focus on recent progress and positive developments in the area and concludes with some proposed future directions for research and practice and reflections on the next leg of the journey for health within physical education.

Digital literacy and the national curriculum for England: Learning from how the experts engage with and evaluate online content

Educationalists' and policymakers’ curriculum work on digital literacy in England has overlooked the expertise of digital specialists such as information, IT and media professionals. Given the lack of evidence, this article draws on semi-structured interviews with experts in the United Kingdom, enhanced by a diary methodology and a conversational approach to the think aloud method, to explore how they engage with and evaluate online content. In doing so, it addresses what digital literacy entails and how to promote it across the national curriculum for England. It is argued that the ability to evaluate online content involves not only reflections on the nature and origin of information, contextual knowledge and the use of multiple sources, but also functional and critical digital skills and knowledge about the internet and the digital environment. Relatedly, it is argued that the Citizenship and Computing curricula should be revised to promote digital literacy as a cross-curricular subject.

Conceptual confusion in the chemistry curriculum: exemplifying the problematic nature of representing chemical concepts as target knowledge

This paper considers the nature of a curriculum as presented in formal curriculum documents, and the inherent difficulties of representing formal disciplinary knowledge in a prescription for teaching and learning. The general points are illustrated by examining aspects of a specific example, taken from the chemistry subject content included in the science programmes of study that are part of the National Curriculum in England (an official document published by the UK government). In particular, it is suggested that some statements in the official curriculum document are problematic if we expect a curriculum to represent canonical disciplinary knowledge in an unambiguous and authentic manner. The paper examines the example of the requirement for English school children to be taught that chemical reactions take place in only three different ways (i.e., proton transfer; electron transfer; electron sharing) and considers how this might be interpreted in terms of canonical chemistry and within the wider context of other curriculum statements, in order to make sense of neutralisation and precipitation reactions. It is argued that although target knowledge that is set out as the focus of teaching and learning cannot be identical to disciplinary knowledge, the English National Curriculum offers a representation of chemistry which distorts and confuses canonical ideas. It is suggested that the process of representing the disciplinary knowledge of chemistry as curriculum specifications is worthy of more scholarly attention.

Arabic complementary schools in England: language and Fundamental British Values

ABSTRACTHeritage language education is not included in the national curriculum in England, and therefore formal learning and teaching of heritage languages are primarily achieved through complementary schools, which are part-time, community-led and linked to various ethnic and national backgrounds. This study focuses on Arabic complementary schools and explores educational practices for teaching Arabic. The study also explores how pupils and teachers conceptualise, construct and manifest their linguistic and social identity, especially with regard to the context that is informed by the promotion of so-called Fundamental British Values (FBV). Observations are based on data from interviews with pupils, teachers and headteachers from three Arabic complementary schools across England. A qualitative analysis of the data reveals that the schools are strongly committed to tolerance and respect, which are part of the FBV; as well as to inclusivity and community cohesion. The analysis also shows that Arabic plays an important role in the construction of community and linguistic identities in the current political environment of suspicion.

Classroom-Based Research Projects for Computing Teachers

The introduction of Computing to the national curriculum in England has led to a situation where in-service teachers need to develop subject knowledge and pedagogical expertise in computer science, which presents a significant challenge. Professional learning opportunities can support this; these may be most effective when situated in the teachers’ own working practices. This article describes a project to support Computing teachers in developing pedagogical skills by carrying out classroom-based research in their schools. A group of 22 primary (Grades K--5) and secondary (Grades 6--10) teachers from schools across England planned, designed, and implemented research projects either individually or in small groups, supported by a team of university colleagues. Inter and intra group progress was shared online and face-to-face within a distributed community of inquiry. Data collection included surveys, video data, and the projects completed by the teachers. The findings from the project are analysed using Clarke and Hollingsworth’s Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMTPG), which enables an identification and exploration of teacher change. Results of the analysis demonstrate that the approach can foster “growth networks”—the construct used within IMTPG to indicate teacher change which is likely to be sustained and fundamental to teachers’ understanding. The individual nature of this change indicates that the approach supports personal change related to each teacher’s specific situation. Although there is a huge literature on action research as part of teacher professional learning, we believe this to be the first time this has been carried out in the context of computer science education. We conclude by critically reflecting on the lessons that we have learned in leading this project.

Keepin’ it on da streets? UK rap and music education

Abstract This is a perspective on UK’s take on hip hop. Better known as UK rap due to its current expansion of musical styles within the genre, including its exposure by social media and the association with another genre, grime, this perspective illustrates why UK rap is not sufficiently explored in English school education. This concept also links with Black British music, which has existed over 100 years, and yet, it still has not been cemented in school education. With the specific focus on UK rap, this perspective discusses its absence in the national curriculum in England by reflecting on the following: (1) the lack of understanding of the genre and its origins, (2) how rap can be included in music education and (3) why learning rap independently is perhaps more favourable in non-educational environments such as creative and public/social spaces.

What is creativity in history?

ABSTRACTThe National Curriculum for History in England (DfE (Department for Education). [2013]. ‘The National Curriculum for England, History Programmes of Study: Key Stages 1 and 2’. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_-_History.pdf, 1) states that the purpose of studying history is to inspire pupils’ curiosity, to ‘ask perceptive questions’ and to learn to investigate them through ‘understanding the methods of enquiry’: ‘how evidence is used and why and how alternative interpretations of the past have been constructed’. Students must also ‘understand connections’ both between and within societies and across time and place. Perhaps not surprisingly submissions of teachers to the Cambridge Review (Alexander, R. [2010]. Children, their World, their Education: Final Report and Recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review. Oxford: Routledge) warned that, forced by constraints of the curriculum, their creativity, expertise and confidence was being undermined. This paper aims to demonstrate that creativity is integral to teaching and learning history in the National Curriculum. Each aspect of historical enquiry is exemplified in the work of academic historians, in research into creativity in children’s thinking and in children’s thinking in history. The paper concludes by identifying classroom ethos and teaching strategies which are a prerequisite for creative teaching and learning.

A Critical Review of 2013 National Curriculum in England on the Elements of Creativity

A Critical Review of 2013 National Curriculum in England on the Elements of Creativity

Objectives and contents of the 2014 revised ‘Design and Technology’ subject national curriculum in England

이 연구는 영국의 2014년 개정 ‘Design and Technology’ 국가 교육 과정의 교육 목표와 내용을 분석하여 주요 변화와 특징을 살펴보고, 우리나라 실과(기술&#12539;가정)과 교육에 주는 시사점을 도출하는데 그 목적이 있다. 연구에 활용된 ‘Design and Technology’ 교육과정은 2014년 12월에 고시된 영국의 국가 교육 과정이다. 영국의 ‘Design and Technology’은 우리나라의 ‘실과(기술&#12539;가정)’ 과목은 국가 교육 과정으로서 최근 개정되었고 ‘기술’과 ‘가정’이라는 2개의 분야가 하나의 과목에 포함되어 있으며, 초등과 중등교육에서 모두 이루어지고 있다는 공통점을 가지고 있다. 개정된 ‘Design and Technology’ 국가 교육과정은 초등과 중등 모두 ’Desing and Making’과 ‘Cooking and Nutrition 을 중심으로 학생들이 반드시 학습해야 하는 핵심 지식과 기능이 제시되어 있으며 단계가 올라갈수록 교과 내용의 수준이 높아짐으로써 국가 교육 과정이 학습의 계속성과 계열성을 보장하고 있다. 또한, 3D 프린팅, 로봇 등 혁신 및 디지털 산업과 관련된 Hi-tech를 ‘Design and Technology’에서 배울 수 있도록 함으로써 목공 중심의 ‘Design and Technology’에서 기술의 발전에 민감하게 반응하는 ‘Design and Technology’로서의 변화를 도모하였다.This paper is to examine the major changes and characteristics of the new national curriculum in England : ‘Design and Technology programmes of study’, and tried to introduce some of its implications for Practical Arts(Technology and Home Economics) education in Korea. The ‘Design and Technology’ education curriculum used in content analysis is the national curriculum announced in December 2014. Both the curriculum of the England’s Design and Technology and Korea’s Practical Arts(Technology and Home Economics) include two areas, which are Technology and Home Economics. They are conducted in primary schools and secondary schools, and they have a common feature that they were revised recently as national curriculums. The contents of ‘Home Economics’ in the 2015 revised curriculum in Korea are composed of one subject content based the ‘designing and making’, and the curriculum has been revised, centering on core knowledge and problem-solving processes. In addition, various changes in the revised curriculum adapted to the 4th industrial revolution for example, pupils will learn about hi-tech such as 3D printing and robot in new national curriculum because ‘Design and Technology’ is linked to innovation and digital industries, will give great implications for Practical arts(Technology and Home Economics) curriculum in Korea.

Exploring Approaches to Teaching Bilingual Education in Countries where English is a First Language: A study in East London

The aim of the study is to recognize literacy practices of the ethnic minorities and find suitable teaching approaches in a multilingual context in London. The main research question is: How do the ethnic minorities in London want their heritage languages to be recognized in their mainstream schools? Primary research has been carried out through questionnaires and structured interviews and secondary research has been carried out through analyzing published books and articles. In breaking the silence of the bilingual children, it has been suggested that a post communicative approach would be convenient to teach ethnic minority languages and activities like pair work, group work, role play, brainstorming, multiple choice and filling in the gaps would be suitable in bilingual learning. Results show that bilingual learning can be enhanced through parental support, social media, storytelling by grandparents and the inclusion of a bilingual syllabus in the National Curriculum in England.

英国における学校歴史とその授業の多様性 : 教科「シティズンシップ」の成立と教科「歴史」との連携に注目して

英国における学校歴史とその授業の多様性 : 教科「シティズンシップ」の成立と教科「歴史」との連携に注目して

社会変容に対応するシティズンシップ教育カリキュラム構成法の革新 : イングランド1999年版ナショナル・カリキュラムを手がかりに

社会変容に対応するシティズンシップ教育カリキュラム構成法の革新 : イングランド1999年版ナショナル・カリキュラムを手がかりに