The differences between National Curriculum and a School’s Curriculum

Part 1

For the purposes of this book, it may be useful to ask ourselves the question: who needs the school curriculum and what purpose does it serve? I shall go back to my definition of a curriculum from the previous chapter as follows:

 A curriculum shows the vision of a group, unit, organisation (including schools) and or society about their world view and what types of knowledge and skills will be essential for the recipients of it contents to learn in very specific ways to enable them to thrive in their world.

The key elements of a curriculum, from my definition are:

1.              the clarity of vision;

2.             the world view of the institution;

3.              the contents of knowledge and skills to be learnt and in what way; and

4.             the habits and abilities that the products of the system will demonstrate (how they thrive after their education).

Every school, without the demand from the force of law, must have its own curriculum in place if they are going to cater for the actual learning needs of their pupils. The absence of a carefully crafted individual school curriculum means that the school in question does not have a clear plan for the pupils who attend it. In such a school (where there is the absence of a curriculum specifically designed for the school) classrooms are organised as discreet fragmented units that do not coordinate their learning activities to develop each pupil in a holistic manner over the duration of their time in the school. In effect, running a school without its own curriculum is like a ship setting off to sea without a map of where it is going and relying on an atlas.

In England, the requirement for every school to design their own curriculum is stated in the national curriculum as follows: The school curriculum comprises all learning and other experiences that each school plans for its pupils. The national curriculum forms one part of the school curriculum (2.2).

Governments have a responsibility to set the overarching vision for education in a country through their national curriculum. A good vision must state, in glossy pictures, the type of citizens that the country hopes to produce out of the education system. In the case of England for example, the vision of the government is stated in the national Curriculum as follows: ‘The national curriculum provides pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledge that they need to be educated citizens’.

. . .

The minimum skills expectations cannot be vague. It must be clear and demonstrable in a way that everyone will be able to tell if the learner has been successful in their learning or not. A certificate or some random snapshot activity cannot equate successful learning. A minimum ability vision could therefore be for example: that every educated person must be able to read and understand a simple text. It may also include the ability to effectively put words together to communicate orally and in writing. It could also be an expectation that every educated person must know how to look for information.