National Curriculum Standards Research Articles

Multi-Institutional Implementation and Evaluation of a Curriculum for the Medical Student Clerkship in Radiation Oncology

PurposeRadiation oncology curriculum development is challenging because of limited numbers of trainees at any single institution. The goal of this project is to implement and evaluate a standardized medical student clerkship curriculum following the multi-institutional cooperative group research model. MethodsDuring the 2013 academic year, a standardized curriculum was implemented at 11 academic medical centers consisting of three 1-hour lectures and a hands-on radiation treatment planning workshop. After the curriculum, students completed anonymous evaluations using Likert-type scales (1 = “not at all” to 5 = “extremely”) and free responses. Evaluations asked students to rate their comfort, before and after the curriculum, with radiation oncology as a specialty, knowledge of radiotherapy planning methods, and ability to function as a radiation oncology resident. Nonparametric statistical tests were used in the analysis. ResultsEighty-eight students at 11 academic medical centers completed the curriculum de novo, with a 72.7% (64 of 88) survey response rate. Fifty-seven students (89.1%) reported intent to pursue radiation oncology as their specialty. Median (interquartile range) student ratings of the importance of curricular content were as follows: overview, 4 (4-5); radiation biology/physics, 5 (4-5); practical aspects/emergencies, 5 (4-5); and planning workshop, 4 (4-5). Students reported that the curriculum helped them better understand radiation oncology as a specialty (5 [4-5]), increased specialty decision comfort (4 [3-5]), and would help the transition to radiation oncology residency (4 [4-5]). Students rated their specialty decision comfort significantly higher after completing the curriculum (4 [4-5] versus 5 [5-5]; P < .001). ConclusionsA national standardized curriculum was successfully implemented at 11 academic medical centers, providing proof of principle that curriculum development can follow the multi-institutional cooperative group research model.

Another Missed Opportunity: Gender in the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies

As the Era of Accountability has given rise to the prevalence of curriculum standards and multiple educational stakeholders have engaged in the writing of these documents, the National Council for the Social Studies has revised its original standards document published nearly two decades ago. This study investigated what the revised document reveals in terms of gendered discourses. Through employing the tools of discourse analysis, the dominant discourses advanced in the document’s curricular recommendations were revealed. Two discourses prevailed in the analysis: gender imbalance with a narrow view of valued masculinity and gender-free with a hidden discourse of males dominating in those spaces. A discussion of the presence of trans and other gender identities in the document is included. As gender is sparsely mentioned in the curricular recommendations, and a binary view of gender is adhered to throughout, there is little guidance for curriculum writers and teachers to teach in transformative ways that challenge the status quo.

Digital Literacy Concepts and Definitions

This article presents a scan of the concept of “digital literacy” and discusses issues encountered in the literature, including: a) challenges in the research base for conceptualizing digital literacy, b) the multiplicity of frameworks which attempt to situate digital literacy but lack sound theoretical origins, and c) wide disagreement among stakeholder disciplines, including education, media studies, library information studies and computing/ICT studies as to what specific skills or knowledge should fall under the umbrella term of digital literacy. The review focuses on the field of education and briefly examines the inconsistent local, national, and international curriculum standards used to both instruct and assess students. It concludes with a presentation of a brief assessment tool, the Software Recognition Test, which preliminary research suggests has predictive validity for educational use and could, with further development, be used for low stakes assessment of digital literacy for K-12 or post-secondary settings.

A challenge for art education: Understanding leadership and creating new leaders for public policy development, educational partnerships and teacher training programmes

Abstract The fields of general education and art education are in an unprecedented period of change. Educational leaders at all instructional levels have experienced new challenges, problems and opportunities that required higher levels of creativity, innovation and visionary thinking than ever before. Advances in neuroscience, creativity studies, charter schools, technology, national curriculum standards, high-stake assessments of learning, teacher evaluations and numerous other developments have contributed to making leadership development a priority in all school districts and communities. Opportunities for leadership development and professional learning are limited. In order for the field of art education to meet these growing leadership challenges, the field needs to increase its emphasis on leadership development for all art educators. Those in positions of leadership must engage in and emphasize policy studies in art education. At a fundamental level, art educators and leaders must refine and develop their understanding of the nature and structures of leadership. In order for these things to occur across the nation, creation of professional development opportunities must be made available on an ongoing basis so that art educators can continue to develop and refine their skills as leaders. Among the full array of leadership development needs in art education, there are significant opportunities for leadership growth and involvement in the areas of public policy, educational partnerships and teacher training programmes. Concentrating leadership development in these key areas holds potential for producing leadership outcomes that can positively influence art education in all schools and communities across the country.

K-5 Literacy Education: A Comparison between American Common Core State Standards and Chinese National Curriculum Standards

Literacy education is the most important part in school education and its efficiency determines the students’ achievements in their future education and career. In 2010, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were released, which aimed to provide common standards for K-12 public school students in the whole country to improve the educational quality in the U. S. The goals of language literacy in CCSS were illustrated from four dimensions: standards for reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language, which was from the micro-perspective of language learning. In CCSS, English Language Arts Reading is emphasized and the teaching aims, teaching contents, language skills, and the function of new technology was proposed to guarantee the quality of the literacy education. In 2011, Chinese National Curriculum Standards (NCS) was released. The goal of NCS for language learning was designed based on three dimensions: knowledge and ability, process and methods, and emotion, attitude, and values, which was from the macro-perspective of language learning. This paper introduced the background of the implementation of the two curriculums, compared the components and goals between the American CCSS and Chinese NCS, as well as the characteristics of each curriculum to try to find out the implications for each other.

Training and Certification for Domestic Violence Service Providers: The Need for a National Standard Curriculum and Training Approach.

Domestic violence (DV) continues to constitute an enormous public health problem in the United States. Knowledge and understanding of the complexities involved in DV has grown significantly in recent years revealing a need for providers who have broad training in a variety of legal, safety, developmental, and clinical issues that face families impacted by DV. This paper reviews current approaches to training and the ability of such methods to adequately prepare providers. There are no national standards for providers at any level from DV advocates to batterer interventionists, to clinicians with the required hours of training in most states at an alarmingly low level. Few states require cross training for those working as victim advocates or batterer interventionists. The systems that currently provide segregated and limited training create silos of service that are less effective. A proposed set of standards and training guidelines are proposed for DV advocates, batterer interventionists, and clinicians along with a discussion of the implications of such standards for the field.

Factors influencing principals’ retirement decisions

This study, conducted in one state in the United States, replicated similar research from over a decade ago to compare principal demographics and reasons for remaining or leaving the profession. Demographics have trended with the nation. Principals are older, more diverse and are largely eligible for retirement within the next five years. Similar demographics are noted in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The reasons for retiring have changed dramatically since the first survey. External mandates were the number one reason for retirement. Another reason included spending more time with their family. Around the globe, other countries are considering national initiatives, such as accountability and high-stakes testing or national curriculum standards. This study may provide a cautionary note regarding the impact on principal role and retention. Thus, while the study occurred in the United States, the policies that influenced principals’ reasons for choosing to retire or stay in the profession appear to have global implications.

Alternative Conceptions of Primary School Teachers of Science about Force and Motion

Force and Motion concept is one main content area in the national science curriculum standards of Thailand. Much work has been done analyzing students’ preconceptions and misconceptions about force and motion, and many students in both primary school and secondary school levels have misconceptions of force and motion. Teachers’ alternative conceptions of science might possibly cause students’ misconceptions. The purpose of this study was to diagnose the alternative conceptions held by Primary School Teachers of Science about force and motion. A total of 123 subjects, in Udon Thani and Nongbualampoo provinces, were selected by a sample of convenience to participate in this study in 2011. A two-level multiple-choice conceptual question or two-tier test diagnoses the sample alternative conceptions in force and motion. Data was entered into Excel and analyzed for a correct percentage for each question. The result revealed that the percentage of participants who gave collected answers in the first tier was less than fifty (37%). Furthermore, their reasons in the second-tier item were not related to the first tier answer. These results indicated that the primary school teachers have low conceptual understanding on force and motion. Findings of the study are very similar to the other research findings conducted on the students’ misconception that held common alternative conception; for example, motion implies force or no motion no force; velocity is proportional to force; and greater mass implies greater force. These alternative conceptions are inconsistent with the Newtonian idea, which is a view held by the physics community.

Initial Testing in English for Upper Secondary Students in Romania

The aims of this study are to assess the performance of upper secondary school students studying English as a foreign language (FL1 and FL2) following the initial testing, compulsory for all secondary school students starting with school year 2011-2012, and to establish remedial action to be taken in order to address the mixed ability situations and the large gap that often exists between the level imposed by national curricula and the actual students’ level. The initial tests design was checked against the national curriculum standards. We randomly analysed the initial tests taken by 51 EFL1 students (10th grade) and 49 EFL2 students (10th grade). Testing items were clustered around the following competences and sub-competences: I. Reading comprehension (reading for detail, opinion/attitude); II. English in Use (structure, lexis); III. Writing (letter writing). Pedagogical insights into classroom teaching methodology to address the existing problems facing state schools in Romania will be provided.

The dynamic interactive relationship between Chinese secondary school EFL teachers' beliefs and practice

Over the last 20 years, the study of language teachers' beliefs has attracted much attention. One important strand of this research has been the exploration of the relationship between teachers' beliefs and their practice, generating a recurring research theme of identifying ‘consistency’ and ‘inconsistency’ between teachers' beliefs and practice. The relationship between the two has been shown to be highly complex, dialectic and interactive. The present study employs complexity theory to illuminate aspects of the dynamic interactive relationship between Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning and their instructional practice in the context of the National Curriculum Reform in China. It comprises a case study focusing on six EFL teachers from five secondary schools in China. The data were collected over a period of six months using semi-structured interviews, observations and stimulated recall interviews. The study revealed the co-existence of core and peripheral beliefs. Drawing on evidence of interaction between core and peripheral beliefs, the study indicated that the teachers' core beliefs about EFL teaching objectives and EFL learning processes played an important role in influencing their practice. Evidence from the teachers' classroom actions implied variability in their understanding of the national curriculum standards. Some theoretically supported notions had not been strongly established because the teachers lacked first-hand experience of the effectiveness of these notions in promoting immediate learning outcomes. An eclectic approach to classroom practice was adopted by the teachers to meet different teaching objectives, which sometimes resulted in inconsistency between beliefs and practice. Therefore, the mechanism underlying the relationship between the teachers' beliefs and practices lies in the interaction between their core and peripheral beliefs in different teaching contexts. In this sense, the network of interactions between beliefs and practice can be theorised to be complex, dynamic and interactive, which more accurately represents the diversity of teachers' belief systems.

The Institutionalization of Multicultural Education as a Global Policy Agenda

This study examines the institutionalization of policies and curriculum standards for multicultural education across countries. We used two sources of cross-national data on education: the World Data on Education (WDE) compiled by the UNESCO International Bureau of Education (World data on education, 2007) and the data from the Curriculum Questionnaire of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007. WDE was used to gather country profiles regarding policies for multicultural education, and the data from the TIMSS 2007 Curriculum Questionnaire allowed us to look cross-nationally at multicultural curriculum standards for mathematics and science. The main findings of this study show that countries with more linkages to global civil society were significantly more likely to have national policies and curriculum standards for multicultural education. The significant effect of the linkages to global civil society persisted even after a range of other national-level characteristics were held constant. Such a persistent effect suggests the possibility that individual countries’ adoption of multicultural education policies and related curriculum standards may not simply be a national functional response; it may also be an institutional embodiment of universalistic world models and principles that emphasize the ontological status of the individual as the primordial constituent of global civil society.

National construction of global education: a critical review of the national curriculum standards for South Korean global high schools

In this paper, the authors investigate what global visions of education are reflected in the selected national curriculum standards, with special reference to two seemingly contradictory forces: globalization and nationalism. This paper examines the socio-economic and cultural foundations of the curriculum and explains how the national curriculum for South Korean global high schools symbolically appropriates global education for the purpose of national competitiveness. Our findings show that, although the selected curriculum document alludes to the importance of international understanding and of global citizenship education, its primary objective is to provide students with knowledge and skills for national competitiveness and to uphold, rather than weaken, national identity in reaction to global pressures. This phenomenon is closely linked to the historical background of Koreanized globalization, in which the concept of segyehwa has been used as a catalyst for undertaking global education for the ends of global competiveness and national pride.

GIS Education in Taiwanese Senior High Schools: A National Survey Among Geography Teachers

Following the integration of GIS into the national curriculum standards of senior high school geography, Taiwan has systematically implemented GIS edu- cation for over a decade. However, the effectiveness of this implementation is currently unclear. Therefore, this study investigates the status of GIS education in Taiwanese senior high schools. A nation- wide questionnaire survey and ten personal interviews were conducted bet- ween 2009 and 2010. The results indicate that approximately 99 percent of teachers are confident to teach about GIS. The current educational strategies of pro- moting GIS have proven effective and shall be continued and expanded.

Preschool Children's Early Mathematics Achievement Based on Gender and Ethnicity

Achievements in Mathematics are said to be influenced by several factors including gender and ethnicity. The purpose of this study was to determine the overall early mathematics achievements of preschool children and whether there were significant differences in those achievements based on gender and ethnicity. The instrument used in this research was the Early Mathematics Achievement Test(EMAT) which was adapted from two preschool mathematics modules and the National Standard Preschool Curriculum Malaysia. The research sample consisted of 138 preschool children from six Ministry of Education preschools in Malaysia stratified according to gender and ethnicity. The data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially. The t-test and ANOVA were used to test gender and ethnic differences in the mathematics achievements. The findings showed that the level of preschool children's early mathematics achievements was above average. There were no significant differences in their mathematics achievement based on gender. However, there were significant differences in their early mathematics achievement based on ethnicity. We therefore argue that ethnicity is a factor that can probably affect preschool children's early mathematics achievement. The role of gender in mathematics achievement needs to be further examined in future studies to clarify the inconclusive findings of past research.

Analysis of Inquiry Activities in High School Biology Textbooks Used in China and Korea

Inquiry activity is a major source of student investigation which both of the national curriculum standards strongly emphasize for achieving scientific literacy. The purpose of this study was to examine inquiry activities incorporated in high school biology textbooks used in China and Korea. The inquiry activities were examined with regard to inquiry level and science process skills. Bell's and a modification of Padilla's framework were used in these analyses. Results show that the Korean textbooks were more exclusively occupied by simple inquiry activities - None of them provided activity more complex than level 2 inquiry. In addition, the Korean textbooks had uniformly basic science process skills, whereas their Chinese counterparts gave students some challenges for higher level process skills. Therefore, it cannot be guaranteed that the activities in the Korean textbooks are helpful in guiding students toward a gradual progression to high-level inquiry. Implications for inquiry-based science education were suggested based on the results of the study.

My (Black) Britain: The West Indies and Britain in Twenty-First Century Nonfiction Picture Books

Prior to the twenty-first century, nonfiction picture books in Britain rarely focused on the Black British community. As twenty-first-century Britain struggles to define itself, the education system is one way of institutionalizing and standardizing what it means to be British. By aligning with the National Curriculum standards, publishers of children’s nonfiction have found ways to negotiate boundaries and re-envision meaning. Recent texts have used traditional models for British children’s nonfiction to focus on areas of citizenship, identity, and history, but by redefining the boundaries between nation/outsider, self/other, and insider/outsider, have created new spaces for British identity and citizenship.

The Statement of Objectives in Religious Subject Matters Education — focused on National Curriculum Standards in Korea —

The Statement of Objectives in Religious Subject Matters Education — focused on National Curriculum Standards in Korea —

The etiology of mathematical self-evaluation and mathematics achievement: Understanding the relationship using a cross-lagged twin study from ages 9 to 12

The genetic and environmental origins of individual differences in mathematical self-evaluation over time and its association with later mathematics achievement were investigated in a UK sample of 2138 twin pairs at ages 9 and 12. Self-evaluation indexed how good children think they are at mathematical activities and how much they like those activities. Mathematics achievement was assessed by teachers based on UK National Curriculum standards. At both ages self-evaluation was approximately 40% heritable, with the rest of the variance explained by non-shared environment. The results also suggested moderate reciprocal associations between self-evaluation and mathematics achievement across time, with earlier self-evaluation predicting later performance and earlier performance predicting later self-evaluation. These cross-lagged relationships were genetically rather than environmentally mediated.

Curriculum as a vehicle for reform in U.S. mathematics education

The current decade is likely to witness an unprecedented focus on mathematics curriculum in the U.S. The adoption of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) by all but a few states represents a major change in curriculum governance. For the first time ever in the U.S., a large majority of schools, teachers and students will focus on common, specific and grade-level focused learning goals for mathematics. Coupled with mandated common annual grade-level assessments aligned to CCSSM, this initiative is likely to impact other important systems and factors critical to student learning including instruction, curriculum materials, teacher training, and course-taking/graduation policies. This paper provides a summary of current curriculum reform initiatives in the U.S. We provide a brief overview of the current movement toward common (national) curriculum standards in the U.S. We examine some of the procedures used in developing textbooks and discuss some of the challenges textbook authors and publishers face. We reflect on the critical role that mathematics textbooks play in determining the mathematics content students have an opportunity to learn. Finally, we speculate about the future of curriculum materials and the impact of CCSS on school mathematics programs.

School Libraries as Old but New Supports for Education in Japan: A Review of Japan's National Curriculum for Elementary Schools

This research investigates the historical developments and trends in school library use in Japan's elementary schools. Japan has a centralized curriculum administration. Thus, the curriculum for a given subject activity takes its reference hierarchically – first national, then local before finally, school-based curriculum standards. These curriculum standards are designed to ensure the equity of education. This study reviews Japan's national curriculum standards (The Course of Study) as an important tool for gaining a general understanding of how school libraries have been defined and utilized in the Japanese situation. The National Curriculum Standards has been reformed eight times since 1947, and eight reforms are analyzed in this study. The specifications for school libraries have evolved progressively in the National Curriculum Standards. The content and frequency of the specifications has changed corresponding to the 20-year-cycle changes to curriculum. Recent reforms especially highlight school library usage. The role of the school library has expanded historically since it was initially taken as a basic facility of school in the first national curriculum. Since then, it has been additionally identified as an instructional resource centre, reading centre, and learning centre for information literacy. Japan has, at some level, managed to achieve the physical elements of the library as a reading centre: facility, equipment, collection, etc. However, other elements, especially staffing and the administration system, remain to be realized and integrated into the curriculum. The school library is deeply imbedded in contemporary education, but further progress is required to support changing education.