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Michael Gove's curriculum changes: rules for some Michael Gove's curriculum changes: rules for some
(2 months later)
The education secretary, Michael Gove, has resat several modules of the national curriculum for England that he proposed in February and come up with some important improvements . But after the discovery that some of the assertions he made to justify his "knowledge-based" core curriculum had only the flimsiest of evidence, the need for a radical overhaul is more questionable than ever. The timetable for introduction at the start of the 2014 school year remains eye-wateringly tight, resources are scarce and major exam reforms will not all be ready. Teachers are still anxious about how prescriptive the curriculum remains. And at the heart of the debate is the unresolved question of whether facts or method take priority.The education secretary, Michael Gove, has resat several modules of the national curriculum for England that he proposed in February and come up with some important improvements . But after the discovery that some of the assertions he made to justify his "knowledge-based" core curriculum had only the flimsiest of evidence, the need for a radical overhaul is more questionable than ever. The timetable for introduction at the start of the 2014 school year remains eye-wateringly tight, resources are scarce and major exam reforms will not all be ready. Teachers are still anxious about how prescriptive the curriculum remains. And at the heart of the debate is the unresolved question of whether facts or method take priority.
Like many politicians, Mr Gove prefers the disaster narrative. He sees results from England's 15-year-olds sliding down international performance tables. If that were certain, it might justify radical reform. It isn't. According to a study done by the educational publishers Pearson in January, which correlated the OECD "Pisa" student attainment statistics with other measures of success such as adult literacy and graduation levels, Britain (as a whole) was ranked sixth, behind only Finland and countries such as Singapore and Japan that traditionally dominate the league. The study found no single strategy that united the countries at the top: not even small class sizes are guarantors of success. When even the OECD admits its Pisa results are merely indicative of approximate groupings, it seems a slender basis for a curriculum revolution.Like many politicians, Mr Gove prefers the disaster narrative. He sees results from England's 15-year-olds sliding down international performance tables. If that were certain, it might justify radical reform. It isn't. According to a study done by the educational publishers Pearson in January, which correlated the OECD "Pisa" student attainment statistics with other measures of success such as adult literacy and graduation levels, Britain (as a whole) was ranked sixth, behind only Finland and countries such as Singapore and Japan that traditionally dominate the league. The study found no single strategy that united the countries at the top: not even small class sizes are guarantors of success. When even the OECD admits its Pisa results are merely indicative of approximate groupings, it seems a slender basis for a curriculum revolution.
But Mr Gove is a man with a mission that sometimes floats free of the evidence. He can also seem to soar above the complexity of teaching and learning. He tends to regard talk of, say the sheer variability of a class of six-year-olds, as cover for a lack of ambition. That doesn't mean his ideas are all wrong – understanding number, from fractions to computer programming, is unarguably an indispensable life skill for today's school students – but his politics can undermine his case. But credit to him for listening. In the new proposals, climate change is prominent in geography, and the rest of the world in history, while design and technology have been overhauled to reflect widespread industry criticism.But Mr Gove is a man with a mission that sometimes floats free of the evidence. He can also seem to soar above the complexity of teaching and learning. He tends to regard talk of, say the sheer variability of a class of six-year-olds, as cover for a lack of ambition. That doesn't mean his ideas are all wrong – understanding number, from fractions to computer programming, is unarguably an indispensable life skill for today's school students – but his politics can undermine his case. But credit to him for listening. In the new proposals, climate change is prominent in geography, and the rest of the world in history, while design and technology have been overhauled to reflect widespread industry criticism.
The harder question to answer is why, if it is necessary for the good of the country to decide in Whitehall what state primary and secondary schools in England teach, he is exempting academies and free schools. Either it is good for schools and teachers to be free to make their own judgments, and parents to choose between them on that basis, or it isn't. If, as he insists, his national curriculum is merely a minimum standard for schools, he should not be imposing it on some of them only. Better still, he should not impose it at all.The harder question to answer is why, if it is necessary for the good of the country to decide in Whitehall what state primary and secondary schools in England teach, he is exempting academies and free schools. Either it is good for schools and teachers to be free to make their own judgments, and parents to choose between them on that basis, or it isn't. If, as he insists, his national curriculum is merely a minimum standard for schools, he should not be imposing it on some of them only. Better still, he should not impose it at all.
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