Curriculum Development for Inclusive Practice
Unit 6 Curriculum development for inclusive practice
What do we mean by the word ‘curriculum’? A definition given by John Kerr and quoted by Vic Kelly is 'All the learning which is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or outside the school’. (quoted in Kelly 1983 P10). The idea of curriculum is not exactly a new one; the word itself has its roots in ancient Greek and Latin. But the way it is understood and the way that it has been theorised has altered over the years. There are two key features and four main curriculum models which we will look at now.
We have to stipulate in advance what exactly we are looking to achieve and how we are to achieve it, in other words learning is planned and guided. We should also recognise that our current understanding of curriculum theory and practice has emerged from the school in relation to other ideas such as subjects and lessons. We will at this point consider the four main approaches to curriculum theory and practice; syllabus, product, process, and praxis.
Syllabus, again comes from Greek and Latin origins, meaning ‘to list’, or a concise statement, the contents of a treatise, the subjects of a series of lectures. We can look at it as a body of knowledge to be transmitted or delivered to the students in the best and most effective means we have at our disposal. Curriculum as a syllabus to be transmitted is concerned only with content, it is designed for the student to gain various information to enable them to pass an examination, for example an ‘A level’ in, say, History the content will be dictated by the examination board in the form of the scheme of works, and the delivery will more than likely be in the form of a lecture, which is not inclusive to all learning styles.
Curriculum as product is concerned with specific outcomes. Objectives are set, lesson plans are devised and applied, and the outcomes, or ‘products’ are measured often by the completion
What do we mean by the word ‘curriculum’? A definition given by John Kerr and quoted by Vic Kelly is 'All the learning which is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or outside the school’. (quoted in Kelly 1983 P10). The idea of curriculum is not exactly a new one; the word itself has its roots in ancient Greek and Latin. But the way it is understood and the way that it has been theorised has altered over the years. There are two key features and four main curriculum models which we will look at now.
We have to stipulate in advance what exactly we are looking to achieve and how we are to achieve it, in other words learning is planned and guided. We should also recognise that our current understanding of curriculum theory and practice has emerged from the school in relation to other ideas such as subjects and lessons. We will at this point consider the four main approaches to curriculum theory and practice; syllabus, product, process, and praxis.
Syllabus, again comes from Greek and Latin origins, meaning ‘to list’, or a concise statement, the contents of a treatise, the subjects of a series of lectures. We can look at it as a body of knowledge to be transmitted or delivered to the students in the best and most effective means we have at our disposal. Curriculum as a syllabus to be transmitted is concerned only with content, it is designed for the student to gain various information to enable them to pass an examination, for example an ‘A level’ in, say, History the content will be dictated by the examination board in the form of the scheme of works, and the delivery will more than likely be in the form of a lecture, which is not inclusive to all learning styles.
Curriculum as product is concerned with specific outcomes. Objectives are set, lesson plans are devised and applied, and the outcomes, or ‘products’ are measured often by the completion
References: Infed www.infed.org [accessed 25-3-2011] Connections http://cnx.org [accessed 25-3-2011] Excellence Gateway www.excellencegateway.org.uk [accessed 25-3-2011] Herts. Directwww.hertsdirect.org [accessed 25-3-2011] City and Guildswww.cityandguilds.com [accessed 25-3-2011] Kelly, A. V. (1983; 1999) The Curriculum. Theory and practice 4e, London: Paul Chapman. 1