This paper explores the interrelations between power, politics, academia and curriculum reform in British Columbia (BC) using social studies curriculum documents as a case study. It describes how curriculum reform occurred and argues that reform was undemocratic as it was largely the product of individuals with power who invited individuals with…

This article outlines the knowledge and skills students develop when they engage in digital media production and analysis in school settings. The metaphor of "digital building blocks" is used to describe the material practices, conceptual understandings and production of knowledge that lead to the development of digital media literacy.…

Although research suggests that many pre-service mathematics education programmes are weak interventions having a negligible effect on student teachers' knowledge, beliefs and attitudes, there is consensus that programmes that model and engage student teachers in reform teaching and learning approaches have the potential to effect positive change…

The aim of this explorative study was to develop and test a pedagogy aimed at promoting students' ability to perform historical contextualization. Teaching historical contextualization was conceptualized in terms of four pedagogical design principles: (1) making students aware of the consequences of a present-oriented perspective when examining…

This research examines secondary mathematics teachers' use of textbook curriculum materials within "typical" cycles of planning and teaching in a school year. The curriculum use of four teachers from the western US was examined before and after engagement in a form of professional development focused on more purposeful and flexible…

This article considers the role of teacher agency and curricular flexibility as pedagogic features of Shoah education in Israeli state schools. The analysis is based on a recent national study which included a quantitative survey (questionnaires), qualitative methods (focus groups, interviews, observations) and a socio-historical review. As…

Why should we assume systematic comparative research on state-based curriculum-making to be possible at all, given the high complexity and large variety of institutional forms of educational and political systems across nation-states? On the other hand, how can we explain the significant endeavour of nation-states all over the world to align their…

While there are numerous pedagogical innovations and varying forms of professional learning to support change, teachers rarely move beyond the initial implementation of new ideas and policies and few innovations reach the institutionalized stage. Building on both site ontologies and situated learning in communities of practice perspectives, this…

This paper brings a sociology of knowledge lens to the practice of school history. It is set against a backdrop of curriculum reform in post-apartheid South Africa, which has embraced a competence curriculum with a strong focus on the generic skills (outcomes) that learners should develop at school. This study argues that history as a discipline…

The present paper takes the approach of critical hermeneutics in human rights education (HRE) that has been developed theoretically and tries to operationalize it in pedagogical practice. In particular, a group of Greek-Cypriot teachers were trained in a series of workshops on how critical hermeneutical approach (CHA) could be taught in the…

This paper studies the teacher perceived applicability of historical topics for interpretational history teaching and the criteria teachers use to evaluate this applicability. For this study, 15 expert history teachers in the Netherlands striving for interpretational history teaching were purposefully selected. Teachers were asked to mention…

This case study of the development of the "Illinois Learning Standards" of 1997 parallels a study of the development of the Norwegian compulsory school curriculum of 1997, "Laereplanverket 1997." The pair of case studies is designed to explore the administration of state-based curriculum-making and, in particular, the use of…

The article sets out a "big history" which resonates with the priorities of our own time. A globalizing world calls for new spacial scales to underpin what the history curriculum addresses, "big history" calls for new temporal scales, while concern over climate change calls for a new look at subject boundaries. The article…

More than 15 years after the introduction of a standards-based curriculum reform, the mathematics teachers are positive towards the reform message but have not changed their classroom practice accordingly. To improve the impact of future reforms, it is important to learn from this situation and to better understand the role of the national policy…

This paper addresses the question: What is the value of an educational excursion for first year students enrolled in a 4 year pre-service professional teacher education degree at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa? The excursion is an integral part of a first year module that focuses on the personal and professional development of…