Research to date has pointed out that during periods of curriculum reform, public debate gets politicised resulting in an over-emphasis on top-down approaches to curriculum making. As a group of curriculum inquiry researchers, we are concerned that teachers, students, school leaders and community organisations are often side-lined as integral…

Adolescence is a key developmental period for developing and strengthening brain circuits that underlie effective decision-making skills, which profoundly impact lifelong health and academic, professional, and economic achievement. But decision-making skills are learned rather than inherent. School presents an ideal environment for the direct…

Despite the well-documented evidence on the importance of parent engagement for academic achievement, emotional well-being, and social inclusion, as well as interest among policymakers to tap into the benefits of parent engagement at the system level, there is still a widespread lack of support for teachers to be able to engage effectively with…

In this essay Brian R. Sevier, Joanna Bruno, Karol Gates, Stephanie Hartman, Mary Ellen Pittman, Vince Puzick, Phyllis Reed, and Beverly Reimer describe their effort at the Colorado Department of Education to recruit and engage educators in authoring free and open-source curriculum samples for preK-12 academic content areas. The story of…

Questions that challenge the curriculum can put educators on the defensive. Lauren Porosoff discusses helpful ways that educators can be proactive about creating productive and meaningful conversations with parents and community members about curriculum choices and the reasons behind them.

When we offer students engagement in the creation of the course, not only do we acknowledge that those in culturally minoritized positions are adept at deploying the same skills we seek to teach, but also we show that their lived experiences are valuable, necessary, and desirable within the classroom. This recognition opens a space in which…

The history of Australian mass schooling has seen contestations over school and curriculum purposes, zig-zagging across conservative and progressive directions. In this paper, we examine how possibilities for students to have 'voice', 'participation' and 'leadership' in their learning are currently limited in Australia. Policy framings, we argue,…

This case study presents the development of a system that integrated two strands of SoTL research--Decoding the Disciplines and Students as Partners--into a secondary history teacher preparation program. This system simultaneously refined teaching in undergraduate history courses and provided authentic learning experiences for secondary education…

Most educational development for inclusive excellence does not draw directly on the experiences and perspectives of students. This article presents two different approaches to positioning undergraduate students as critical partners in developing inclusive pedagogical practices. Co-authored by the directors of and student partners who participated…

In times of deep crisis, the most powerful critical contemplative pedagogy available to us is that of supporting all children and youth in learning to teach and teaching to learn as a primary path toward self-realization, social inquiry and civic contribution. This vital opportunity should be made accessible to all students, regardless of…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many youth felt disconnected from on-the-ground engagement with their peers, their communities, and the wider society. School closures also impeded progress in some students' abilities to write, speak, and express themselves through various media. A team of interdisciplinary and intergenerational faculty and…

Civic education historically has focused primarily on preparing students to influence politics and government policy. Less attention has been paid to the curricular implications of civil society, even though it is a crucial site for deliberatively informed action and one of the primary ways in which students will enter the public sphere. This…

There is a lack of research and program development in the area of sexuality education for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The prevalence of ASD is on the rise, and research demonstrates that individuals with ASD desire romantic and sexual relationships. It is important that programming targeting sexuality education for individuals with…

Contemporary discussion of the "crisis in democracy" displays a tendency to see young people as the problem because they are "apolitical" "apathetic" and "disengaged" or point to deficiencies in institutions deemed responsible for civic education. This discussion normally comes as a prelude to calls for more…

The typical undergraduate music education student is focused on developing their musicianship and leadership abilities, professional education competencies, and specific pedagogical expertise. While these are desirable outcomes of a music education degree, music teachers must learn how to effectively interact with a range of policies that will…