Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence was published in 2004 following the National Debate on Education: AifL in 2002 and the establishment of a curriculum review group in 2003. Since 2004, Curriculum for Excellence has been tried, tested and modified and in 2010 Scottish schools experienced the full implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. Curriculum for Excellence was designed in order to transform Scottish education and according to Education Scotland, the main aim of Curriculum for Excellence is helping children and young people aged 3-18 years gain the necessary knowledge, skills and attributes for life outside of school. This was put into practise in all learning environments by providing a more flexible and enriched education. …show more content…
The purpose of Curriculum for Excellence, as put by Education Scotland, is to help children and young people become successful learners, effective contributors, confident individuals and responsible citizens, these are known as the four capacities. In this essay I will examine Scotland’s education system and identify the main strengths and the main weaknesses of Curriculum for Excellence.
There are two stages within Curriculum for Excellence, broad general education which covers age 3 to the end of S3 and the senior phase which covers S5 and S6. During broad general education the school and the teacher have a lot of freedom when it comes to what to teach, as long as it refers to the curriculum areas and contexts for learning. Curriculum for Excellence allows all children and young people to have a traditionally Scottish curriculum which develops many skills and creates an appreciation of
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Many teachers had a positive attitude towards Curriculum for Excellence’s ideas and philosophies, however, the practicality of implementation was a major concern for many. In a study recorded by Dr Mark Priestly and Sarah Minty, research found that teachers thought there was a lack of clarity and lack of guidance. This is one of the aspects which created the feeling of implementation being impractical. “Teachers frequently complained they were ‘floundering in the dark’…this uncertainty led to feelings of anxiety and insecurity among many.” (Priestly and Minty 2012). The research also found that the main area where teachers felt this sense of doubt and uncertainty was within the new assessment system and the new National Qualifications. In order for Curriculum for Excellence’s implementation to have gone smoothly it was crucial for teachers and head teachers to be confident in the new system. In the same study by Priestly and Minty, it was found that many teachers were not confident taking forward Curriculum for Excellence. They were not comfortable changing from the old curriculum and this lack of guidance made even the most confident individuals seek reassurance. In schools where the head teacher was affected by this lack of clarity the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence was delayed massively resulting in support for head teachers from the local
It was in 1996 that the first UK curriculum was introduced which was called ‘Desirable Outcomes’. Within the document were learning outcomes to be achieved by all children by the age of five and being a centralised system, an inspection scheme was also introduced. In this article Soler and Miller (2010) highlight how these changes were perceived to be shaping the early childhood curriculum from the outside rather than from within the early childhood community.
This assignment is based upon my understanding of child development and children’s learning, considering the curriculum for the Early Years and the curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage/Key Stage One. I propose to outline a rationale for effectively continuing children’s learning, from the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage into Year One and include strategies to support transitions, effective curriculum delivery and links between the EYFS and the National Curriculum. Throughout the assignment I will refer not only in general but also to how my research has help me as a practitioner help my setting to effectively continue children’s learning.
In Scotland there is the Curriculum for Excellence which aims to achieve a transformation in education by providing a coherent, more flexible and enriched curriculum from 3 to 18.
Curriculum for excellence building the curriculum 4 skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work http://www.scotland.gov.uk/resource/doc/288517/0088239.pdf
This is the statutory curriculum for all 3-7 year olds in Wales. This curriculum is for both maintained and non-maintained settings. Children are given opportunities to explore the world around them and understand how things work. They do this by taking part in practical activities that are relevant to their development. The curriculum focuses on experiential learning, active involvement, and developing each child.
Early childhood education curriculums are becoming a national curriculum in most countries. With more governments and society thinking about education of under-fives we are seeing shifts in thinking and education to meet the changing world. We are developing children skills for the future to create a society where children feel they belong and can contribute to society. Curriculums are being influenced my social, political, cultural, historical and theoretical issues that are impacting different curriculums in the world. I am going to explore and develop my understanding about three different curriculums to recognise the different influences affecting curriculums. I am going to explore the curriculums of Te Whāriki: New Zealand, Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and Curriculum for Excellence: Scotland. This will allow me to develop an understanding of other curriculums which I have not heard about to discover other way to education that I have not been taught in teacher’s college.
In today’s standardized public education, pacing guides are becoming the backbone of teachers’ professional lives. According to Bauml (2015), “the notion that schools should provide teachers with curriculum materials to inform instruction has been around for centuries”. In this curriculum leadership platform I will discuss how these circumstances limit teachers’ autonomy and how do I, as a curriculum leader, “enable faculty and staff to work as a system focused on student learning”.
The government’s expectation for teachers to achieve outstanding has been slowly increasing and has been placing educators under more stress for their pupils to succeed. The delivering of the curriculum should be the most important aspect of a child’s school vocation as this provides them with the foundation of knowledge they will need to gain employment in the future. The expectation from the government on schools within the United Kingdom is to consistently be providing respectable exam results annually and this is how they are being judged by such departments as Ofsted. Should the teachers be continuing to stay within the guidelines of the curriculum? Or should more emphasis be put out there to question whither effective primary teaching is all about just delivering the curriculum to children or based on annual exam results that are collected each year to critic the educational setting. This essay will critically discuss what effective primary teaching is and cover if teaching and learning is really all about results rather than nurturing the child to be prepared for life.
Every child matters agenda and the childcare act 2006, it become an entitlement of all 3-4 year olds in England to receive a free part time early years education of up to 12.5 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. Early year’s provision in school is about supporting very young children it is distinct from key stage 1 in each country within the UK and is best on the concept of learning through play rather than more formal education Play has been show to be an important part for children learning. In Scotland the curriculum is focused around the document curriculum for excellent. This document concerns the curriculum for 3-4 years
It is agreed that educator’s philosophy, pedagogical practices and believe about topics such as gender and sexuality, socio-cultural factors and cultural diversity will influence how the Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is reflected in the classroom. For example, cultural competence which is one of the eight main practices that EYLF focuses on to support children’s learning.
In 2008 the new curriculum for the foundation stage in wales began its roll out. Its aim was to bring consistency and continuity to children’s education, thus transforming early year’s education in Wales. The principles on which the curriculum is based are that children should be provided with a good basis for future learning and the ability to apply their learning to everyday situations. Leighton Andrews, the former education minister, said in an article on the Welsh Government website that the curriculum was designed “to allow all children to flourish whatever their stage of development or learning ability” (Andrews, 2010). The Framework for Children’s Learning for 3 to 7 Year olds in Wales (here forth known as ‘The Framework’) outlines 7 key areas of learning. These are ‘Personal and social development, well-being and cultural diversity’, ‘Language, literacy and communication skills’, ‘Mathematical development’, ‘Welsh language development’, ‘Knowledge and understanding of the world’, ‘Physical development’ and ‘Creative development’. The curriculum focuses on holistic learning, meaning that whilst there are 7 separate areas of learning, they are to be taught in a way which entwines them together allowing for children to develop skills such as everyday problem solving by understanding that mathematics is not merely a school subject but a skill which is used in everyday life.
In this essay I will outline the curricular systems for the 0-5 age group in England and Scotland. I will examine in detail the planning and assessment provisions of these systems which allow early years practitioners to gain insight into children's learning and to aid them in that regard. I will draw comparison between the practices of these two countries where possible, and provide criticism of each.
The Curriculum for Excellence describes eight curricular areas, three of which assign a responsibility to all teachers regardless of sector; namely Literacy, Numeracy, and Health and Wellbeing (HWB). Whereas some form of instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic has always been a feature of formal education, Health and Wellbeing is a relatively new addition to the school curriculum, both in Scotland and globally .
The National Quality Standard includes standard 1.1 states that ‘An approved framework informs the development of a curriculum that enhances each child’s learning and development’. This is where the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is introduced. This framework is included in the National Quality Standard to help ensure the consistency in the delivery of learning programs within Australia. Within the EYLF is the Early Childhood curriculum framework which guides early childhood educators to develop quality early childhood education programs. This framework describes the principles, practice and learning outcomes which support and enhance young children’s learning from birth to five years old, and then their transition to school.
By advocating for a curriculum that encourages processes and puts children’s learning at its centre, the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence (Education Scotland, online) provides educators with chances to enhance professional learning by promoting