Session Information
27 SES 12 A, Didactics and/or Curriculum
Symposium
Contribution
This paper will shortly outline the overall situation in the historical debate of these two concepts and their recent interpretations as a basis for educational theory building. Both terms will be operationally defined for an adequate use within our symposium. This seems to be a prerequisite for comparing curricula, for looking at different processes of curriculum design (including cooperative ways) and for assessing the latest progress made in developmental didactics based on design-based research (Akker 2006, Plomp/Nieveen 2013). The paper will then turn to a theoretical reflection on curriculum leading to a general discussion of the relationship between curricula and educational intentions or programs at large. In particular, we will distinguish between different levels and types of curriculum. One common broad distinction is that between an 'intended', an 'implemented', and an 'attained' curriculum (Akker/Fasoglio/Mulder 2010). As to the process of curriculum development itself it can be seen as narrow (developing a curricular product) or broad (comprehensive and ongoing improvement) involving different stakeholders and participants. In the third part, the example of Germany will be used: it has recently embarked on formulating educational standards and descriptors of performance on a national and regional level (top-down approach), for a number of different subjects in primary and secondary education, without prior empirical or communicative validation (e.g. KMK 2012). It remains to be seen what becomes of them in the stratified educational system (e.g. federalism) and everyday classroom reality. Contrary to that subject didactics (e.g. mathematics) have developed new types and efforts of research (bottom-up approaches) involving teachers and didactitians alike in a re-iterative process of lesson planning (Komorek/Prediger 2013). One of the unresolved issues is that of the relationship between general educational goals (subject literacy, academic language proficiency, learning to describe, explain or argue) and the more subject-specific ones (knowing about fractions or the characteristics of certain elements, systems or groups of people) (Beacco/Fleming/Goullier/Thuermann/Vollmer 2015). It will be illustrated how curriculum developers in Norway and/or Germany try to solve such issues (Norwegian Directorate 2012). In the end, the paper will evidence that curriculum is a powerful tool, but it is not in a position to change classroom reality in an effective way. The background of teachers and learners and their joint action are indeed shaping this reality much more than do the curriculum provisions themselves.
References
Akker, Jan van den et al (eds.) (2006). Educational Design Research. Milton Park: Routledge. Akker, J. van den, Fasoglio, D., Mulder, H. (2010). A curriculum perspective on plurilingual education. Strasbourg: Council of Europe (www.coe.int/lang-platform → Curricula and evaluation. (Consulted January 14, 2016) Beacco, J.-C., Fleming, M., Goullier, F., Thuermann, E. & Vollmer, H. J. (2015). The Language Dimension in all Subjects. Handbook for Curriculum Development and Teacher Training. Strasbourg: Council of Europe (http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Handbook-Scol_final_EN.pdf ) KMK (Kultusministerkonferenz) (2012). Bildungsstandards für die Fortgeführte Fremdsprache (Englisch/Französisch) für die Allgemeine Hochschulreife. Berlin/Bonn: KMK. (http://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/veroeffentlichungen_beschluesse/2012/2012_10_18-Bildungsstandards-Fortgef-FS-Abi.pdf ) Komorek, M. & Prediger, S. (2013). Der lange Weg zum Unterrichtsdesign. (Zur Begründung und Umsetzung fachdidaktischer Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprogramme). Muenster: Waxmann. Plomp, T. & Nieveen, N. (eds.) (2013). Introduction to Educational Design Research. Enschede: Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO). (http://www.slo.nl/downloads/2009/Introduction_20to_20education_20design_20research.pdf/) Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (ed.) (2012). Framework for Basic Skills. To use for subject curricula groups appointed by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training. http://www.udir.no/PageFiles/66463/FRAMEWORK_FOR_BASIC_SKILLS.pdf?epslanguage=no
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