Irish Curriculum Reform Case Study

When one is to look at the current Irish curriculum they would think that the teaching in schools is completely content driven. This can be seen by where the majority of the focus in our schools is aimed directly at the pupils preparing for examinations at the end of the term. It seems to be that “Curriculum is the story we tell our children about the good life’ Trant (1998) (As cited by Orla McCormack) rather than letting them experience it for themselves. When we look at the national curriculum we can see that there is a main emphasis on the content and assessment and the idea of pedagogy has taken more of a back seat. According to the Education Act 1998 under section 30 for the ‘Definition of curriculum’ there is a mention of “the amount
If we look closely at curriculum reform we can see that ‘curriculum reform’ comes from the top down, people who have little linkage to the school environment and everyday involvement in the subjects. As noted by Gleeson(2010) “There is a dominance of top down reform In Ireland” (as cited by McCormack 2014). These people such as the NCCA, Dept. of Education and others who are external from the schools introduce these new reforms for schools with very little input from the teachers who actually have to work under these new restraints. According to research by M. Fullan it shows that these types of reforms normally result in surface change rather than whole curriculum reform. When these reforms are taking place, although they may have an over all end view of what they want to achieve from the reform it does not necessarily mean that they work out. One of the main factors which influence wheatear a reform will work or not is the values and belief of the school and the schools culture. Because every school is different the beliefs and values will vary in schools from different regions of the country. This is one of the reasons why the selection of content for these reforms and to have a balance is so
“Values and beliefs, structures, strategies and relationships.” The values and beliefs in a school will play a major role in how and if a reform will be implemented fully and effectively. The ethos of the school will give you a very clear indication of what the main aim of the school is. Also the reception of the school shows a strong image of what is highly valued in the school, wheatear it is past pupils who have achieved honours in further academic fields, sports or practical work completed by the pupils this all give an insight into the values and beliefs of the school. By looking at the subject offered in the school shows what the school believe to be essential skills that will benefit the pupils as they continue through life. Schools which have a predominantly practical background will come under the heading of modern vocationalism and would have been operating with the aims of setting up pupils with a clear pathway to maintaining a career in these fields once finished in the school. Although giving the pupils just a narrow minded view on what they could achieve the pupils and teacher have a different way of learning and working to the curriculum. Rather than the pupils been thought with the aim focused on the end exam the pupils are encouraged to understand the world around them and how their knowledge of the content they are dealing with has had an impact on the