Rethinking the School Curriculum

Values, Aims and Purposes

John White

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2003
• ISBN:
  9781134399871
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

In 2000, the school curriculum in England was equipped - for the first time in the country's history - with an extensive set of aims and purposes. In this book, leading experts in the teaching of school subjects examine the significance of the new aims for the reform of the curriculum.
In two general introductory chapters John White discusses the validity of the aims and how they might be realized in schools. The remainder of the book focuses on subject specific areas and how these need to be brought into line with the new aims, so as to produce a more relevant and enjoyable curriculum experience for pupils, including more opportunities for choice of activities. The book concludes with suggestions about how government policy on the curriculum should now succeed.
This portrayal of the school curriculum today and how it could be developed in line with the new aims will be of interest to those studying education with a particular focus on the areas of curriculum, assessment, school management, philosophy of education and the history of education.

1 Introduction

John White

The year 2000 was revolutionary for education in England. For the first time in the country’s history all state schools were given a common framework of curricular aims. This book looks at the implications of this revolution for the school curriculum itself – not least for the subjects that make it up. Nearly all of these were part of the curriculum before 2000. At that time they were not directed by a national framework because there was no such framework. How closely have the new overall aims matched the aims of the subjects? How far should the latter now evolve so as to improve the match? How far indeed should the curriculum be planned on a subject basis at all? School subjects are, after all, only vehicles to achieve certain ends: they are not self-justifying entities. Now that we have a set of overarching aims, could these be realised by other kinds of curricular vehicle?

Further questions arise about the validity of the new aims themselves. However close the fit may be between subjects and overall aims, nothing is gained if the aims themselves are faulty. One of the topics this book covers is the adequacy of the post-2000 aims. Another, just heralded, is the extent to which subjects or other vehicles are the best way of trying to meet these aims. But its main thrust is an examination of the current school subjects, the adequacy of their objectives and modi operandi in the light of the new aims framework.

Although the book is about recent developments in England specifically, its theme is far from parochial. The question ‘What should be the aims of school education?’ is fundamental to any system. So are the questions ‘By what means may aims be best realised?’ and ‘How good is the match between system-wide aims and the specifics of different curriculum subjects?’. Many, if not most, countries have official statements of aims. Many, if not most, also build their curriculum around a familiar set of subjects, including native language and literature, mathematics, science, history, geography, one or more foreign languages, music, art, physical education. What links are there between recommendations about general aims on the one hand and requirements in the different subjects on the other? Are the latter explicitly derived from and justified by the former? Or are the overall aims more like high sounding national mission statements which can be ignored in practice? Are the familiar subjects included because it is taken as read that these are what the school curriculum must consist of ?

At one level the book concentrates on fundamental issues of this sort. At another, it is intended as a contribution to the next stage of curriculum reform in England. Global and national themes interconnect and illuminate each other throughout its length. England is unusual among countries due to its belated adoption of overall aims. This means that its recent and continuing experience of curriculum reform allows globally important issues to be raised in unusual starkness.

The new aims for the school curriculum

Before 1988 maintained schools in England were responsible for their own curricula and the aims underlying them. That year saw the introduction of the National Curriculum. This was based on ten foundation subjects – English, mathematics, science, technology, history, geography, a modern foreign language, music, art, physical education.

It is hard to say for certain why these were chosen, since no rationale was provided for them. Richard Aldrich has drawn attention to the very close similarity between the 1988 list and the subjects prescribed for the newly introduced state secondary (later grammar) schools in 1904 (Aldrich, 1988, p. 22). The National Curriculum gives every appearance of having been lifted from what was originally traditional grammar school practice.

Whatever its origin, it was not derived from a set of underlying aims. Not that it was entirely bereft of aims. After 1988 it had two:

• [to] promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society;

• [and to] prepare such pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.

Uncharitable commentators may find these a trifle on the thin side. Certainly it is impossible to read into these bland truisms anything like a justifying rationale for the ten foundation subjects.

In the late 1990s pressure grew for the purposes of the National Curriculum to be more clearly spelt out. The discussions which the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) had around this time with teachers, teaching organisations, local authorities and researchers showed that many believed that current statutory arrangements, including the National Curriculum, lacked a clear vision of what the parts, individually and collectively, were designed to achieve. This reinforced the QCA’s view, and that of its predecessor the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority (SCAA), that there needed to be ‘a much clearer statement about the aims and priorities of the school curriculum’ (SCAA, 1997).

This statement materialised in the opening pages of the Handbook for teachers on the National Curriculum post-2000. This comes in two volumes, one for primary teachers, the other secondary. I shall call these HPT and HST respectively). The main section is called ‘The school curriculum and the National Curriculum: values, aims and purposes’.

Values, aims and purposes

Values and purposes underpinning the school curriculum

Education influences and reflects the values of society, and the kind of society we want to be. It is important, therefore, to recognise a broad set of common values and purposes that underpin the school curriculum and the work of schools.

Foremost is a belief in education, at home and at school, as a route to the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, physical and mental development, and thus the well-being, of the individual. Education is also a route to equality of opportunity for all, a healthy and just democracy, a productive economy, and sustainable development. Education should reflect the enduring values that contribute to these ends. These include valuing ourselves, our families and other relationships, the wider groups to which we belong, the diversity in our society and the environment in which we live. Education should also reaffirm our commitment to the virtues of truth, justice, honesty, trust and a sense of duty.

At the same time, education must enable us to respond positively to the opportunities and challenges of the rapidly changing world in which we live and work. In particular, we need to be prepared to engage as individuals, parents, workers and citizens with economic, social and cultural change, including the continued globalisation of the economy and society, with new work and leisure patterns and with the rapid expansion of communication technologies.

Aims for the school curriculum

If schools are to respond effectively to these values and purposes, they need to work in collaboration with families and the local community, including church and voluntary groups, local agencies and business, in seeking to achieve two broad aims through the curriculum. These aims provide an essential context within which schools develop their own curriculum.

Aim 1: The school curriculum should aim to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and to achieve

The school curriculum should develop enjoyment of, and commitment to, learning as a means of encouraging and stimulating the best possible progress and the highest attainment for all pupils. It should build on pupils’ strengths, interests and experiences and develop their confidence in their capacity to learn and work independently and collaboratively. It should equip them with the essential learning skills of literacy, numeracy, and information and communication technology, and promote an enquiring mind and capacity to think rationally.

The school curriculum should contribute to the development of pupils’ sense of identity through knowledge and understanding of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural heritages of Britain’s diverse society and of the local, national, European, Commonwealth and global dimensions of their lives. It should encourage pupils to appreciate human aspirations and achievements in aesthetic, scientific, technological and social fields, and prompt a personal response to a range of experiences and ideas.

By providing rich and varied contexts for pupils to acquire, develop and apply a broad range of knowledge, understanding and skills, the curriculum should enable pupils to think creatively and critically, to solve problems and to make a difference for the better. It should give them the opportunity to become creative, innovative, enterprising and capable of leadership to equip them for their future lives as workers and citizens. It should also develop their physical skills and encourage them to recognise the importance of pursuing a healthy lifestyle and keeping themselves and others safe.

Aim 2: The school curriculum should aim to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life

The school curriculum should promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and, in particular, develop principles for distinguishing between right and wrong. It should develop their knowledge, understanding and appreciation of their own and different beliefs and cultures, and how these influence individuals and societies. The school curriculum should pass on enduring values, develop pupils’ integrity and autonomy and help them to be responsible and caring citizens capable of contributing to the development of a just society. It should promote equal opportunities and enable pupils to challenge discrimination and stereotyping. It should develop their awareness and understanding of, and respect for, the environments in which they live, and secure their commitment to sustainable development at a personal, local, national and global level. It should also equip pupils as consumers to make informed judgements and independent decisions and to understand their responsibilities and rights.

The school curriculum should promote pupils’ self-esteem and emotional wellbeing and help them to form and maintain worthwhile and satisfying relationships, based on respect for themselves and for others, at home, school, work and in the community. It should develop their ability to relate to others and work for the common good. It should enable pupils to respond positively to opportunities, challenges and responsibilities, to manage risk and to cope with change and adversity. It should prepare pupils for the next steps in their education, training and employment and equip them to make informed choices at school and throughout their lives, enabling them to appreciate the relevance of their achievements to life and society outside school, including leisure, community engagement and employment.

The interdependence of the two aims

These two aims reinforce each other. The personal development of pupils, spiritually, morally, socially and culturally, plays a significant part in their ability to learn and to achieve. Development in both areas is essential to raising standards of attainment for all pupils.

(DfEE/QCA, 1999, pp. 10–12)

It should be apparent from this how much more determinate are these aims than the platitudinous ones of 1988. True, some of the 2000 aims need further precision, but overall they do present a picture of the kind of pupil that the school curriculum can ideally help to foster. They draw attention to the personal qualities pupils require, as well as intellectual equipment in the shape of knowledge and skills. Broadly speaking, the ideal pupil is an informed, caring citizen of a liberal democratic society. He or she is an enterprising, independent-minded, contributor to the well-being of the national community and all its members, respectful of differences of culture and belief, aware of transnational and global concerns and with an understanding of major human achievements in different fields.

Some 60 per cent of the specific aims mentioned are about the pupil’s personal qualities, as distinct from skills or types of knowledge or understanding. The detailed items in these three categories are:

personal qualities: valuing ourselves, our families and other relationships, the wider groups to which we belong, the diversity in our society and the environment in which we live; the virtues of truth, justice, honesty, trust and a sense of duty; enjoyment of and commitment to learning; confidence in one’s capacity to learn; an enquiring mind; capacity to think rationally; sense of identity; appreciation of human aspirations and achievements; thinking creatively and critically; being innovative and enterprising; integrity and autonomy; responsible and caring citizens; challenging discrimination; respect for the environment; commitment to sustainable development; making informed judgements as consumers; self-esteem; emotional well-being; respect for oneself; respect for others; being able to relate to others; being able to manage risk, cope with change and adversity; making informed choices at school and throughout pupils’ lives; having the will to achieve; curiosity about themselves and their place in the world; attitudes needed to foster the inner life; willingness to participate, work with others for the common good; financial capability; qualities associated with enterprise education (confidence, self-reliance, learning from mistakes); entrepreneurial characteristics of tenacity, independence.

skills: essential learning skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT; physical skills; six key skills; five thinking skills.

knowledge and understanding: knowledge and understanding of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural heritages of Britain’s diverse society and of the local, national, European, Commonwealth and global dimensions of pupils’ lives; acquiring a broad range of knowledge and understanding (so as to enable pupils to think creatively and critically); knowledge and understanding of pupils’ own beliefs and cultures; recognising the importance of pursuing a healthy lifestyle; understanding the environments within which one lives; self-understanding; understanding necessary to making moral judgements; understanding relevant to making financial decisions, running mini-enterprises, sustainable development.

It should not be surprising that personal qualities are so prominent in this scheme. Since the view of education in the document is about promoting a certain kind of society, it is understandable that it should concentrate on cultivating citizens of an appropriate sort. This means delineating the type of people these citizens will be.

The skills, knowledge and understanding these citizens will need is a further matter. To some extent these can be derived from the personal qualities themselves. One example in the document is the claim that developing a sense of identity requires one to have knowledge and understanding of diverse cultural heritages. Another, not explicitly mentioned in the document, but in line with it, is that autonomy, which has to do with making informed choices about important goals in one’s life, requires knowledge and understanding of the various options among which one is to choose.

One further preliminary point: the section on ‘Values, aims and purposes’ at the beginning of the Handbook is not the only place in it where overall aims are mentioned. They also appear a few pages further on in the section called ‘Learning across the National Curriculum’ (DfEE/QCA, 1999, pp. 19–23 (HPT), 21–25 (HST)). This consists of a heterogeneous collection of general objectives which the different curriculum subjects are intended to serve. Here is an indication in note form of the aims covered in these four pages:

growth of a sense of self; curiosity about oneself and one’s place in the world; fostering the inner life; concern for others; making responsible moral decisions; responsibilities and rights of being members of families and communities; making an active contribution to the democratic process; understanding and respecting cultural traditions, one’s own and others; appreciating and responding to a variety of aesthetic experiences; acquiring ‘key skills’ of communication, application of n...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Notes on contributors
• Preface
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Shaping a curriculum
• 3. Art and design
• 4. Design and technology
• 5. English
• 6. Geography
• 7. History
• 8. Mathematics
• 9. Modern foreign languages
• 10. Music
• 11. Physical education
• 12. Religious education
• 13. Science
• 14. Conclusion
• Index