This paper presents a critical content analysis of the curriculum development process within the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IBPYP) using the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) framework. As a part of the globally recognised International Baccalaureate (IB) framework, the IBPYP has undergone significant growth. The…

Nearly forty years ago, Stenhouse argued that the function of the curriculum was to stimulate teachers' everyday reflection about and learning from practice. This suggestion, alongside his support for teachers as researchers, aligns with the Welsh Government's commitment to build an evidence-informed profession as part of ongoing major education…

Although teacher agency is increasingly recognised by educationists in the Global South, it is not always well understood or accommodated in policy, as experienced with Universal Primary Education (UPE) reforms in Uganda. This empirical study analyses its role on the UPE reforms, the factors that shape it and its implications for curriculum…

To the outside observer, physical education in many primary schools, both in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, continues be practised in ways that students of the 1970s would recognise. The only significant change would arguably be the introduction of an increased regime of testing, and a narrower focus on physical health agendas. This is…

In this study, we explore the possibilities of utilizing and implementing an e-Education platform for Indian school-level curricula. This study will demonstrate how the e-Education platform provides a positive result to the students' learning and how this tool helps in managing the overall teaching processes efficiently. Before describing the…

History has much to offer education in emergencies scholars and practitioners. Most research in this field comprises qualitative case studies and, to a lesser extent, quantitative experimental studies, both of which tend to focus on either the impact of interventions or whether education processes or structures are a cause or effect of conflict. I…

"Alphabetização" (literacy) of young children involves a school exclusively devoted to the early years, parental participation, and teachers specialized in early literacy. This is the basis of José Carani's proposal for an "escola familia" in the municipality of Cambé (Brazil). This "Note from the Field," based on our…

This article presents elements from the research journey pursued by the author in the area of interdisciplinarity in education, and more specifically in elementary education, which he has been studying for 30 years. The text begins by presenting the reasons that led to undertaking doctoral studies on this issue. It then addresses the foundations…

Here, at "FORUM's" invitation, is the text of the 2014 Godfrey Thomson Trust public lecture at the University of Edinburgh. Its backdrop is the centralisation of educational decision-making in England since 1988 and the power and patronage exercised by the Secretary of State. Taking as examples recent policies on childhood, curriculum…

In order to better understand literacy coaches' impact on teachers, the authors analyzed interviews with 35 teachers who participated in a statewide professional development effort, the South Carolina Reading Initiative. For 3 years, literacy coaches facilitated bimonthly study groups for teachers and spent 4 days a week in teachers' classrooms…

The present study examines the nonroutine problems that eight Anglo-American principals encountered in managing three elementary bilingual immersion schools in the Northwest United States. Using qualitative inquiry to collect data, I employed the multisited ethnographic research model. The principals reported nonroutine problems in the following…

Discussed are numerous issues pertaining to the elementary school curriculum, including (1) behaviorally stated objectives; (2) selection of learning activities; (3) the structure of knowledge; (4) handwriting; (5) teaching of spelling; (6) use of basal readers; (7) the initial teaching alphabet; (8) arguments for a national curriculum; (9)…

Examines the curricular change process, presenting results of an ethnographic study of an elementary school moving from a teacher-directed curriculum toward a textbook-based, standardized curriculum. Focuses on students' (negative) reactions to changes. Educators must question any curriculum that limits teachers' opportunities to make coursework…

This study examined effects of three increasing levels of curriculum compacting on the instructional practices of 470 elementary school teachers with gifted students in regular classes. Teachers were able to eliminate between 24% and 70% of the curriculum across content areas for more capable students but required assistance in designing…

Traces the evolution of the first author's philosophy and practice to show how progressive educational practices have come to challenge cultural norms. Discusses multiple literacies, making whole language critical, learners and the real world as curricular informants, interrupting normativity through literature and the arts, and being critical and…