Currently, sex education is in many countries a transversal subject, in which the school becomes a privileged place for the implementation of policies that aim at promoting "public health." Its design as a cross-cutting subject envisages fostering the dissemination of these subjects in all pedagogical and curricular fields; however, we…

This article examines the complex relationship between England's new National Curriculum and the neoliberal reform of education known as GERM. It explores contradictions between economic functionality and Gove's nostalgic traditionalism. It critiques the new curriculum as narrow, age-inappropriate, obsessed with abstract rules, and poorly focused…

The study of how policy processes shape religious education as a curriculum subject, rather than within faith schooling, is relatively unexplored. This paper applies a policy analysis perspective to an important distinction in non-confessional English religious education, which has also been adopted internationally: "learning about…

This study comes in response to recent changes in UK policy, whereby Ancient Greek and Latin have been included alongside modern languages as part of the curriculum at Key Stage 2. It aims to understand how Ancient Greek is surviving and thriving in three different types of schools. After a short overview of the history of Greek teaching in the…

This paper introduces the questions and approaches of a five-nation cross-cultural study of state-based curriculum-making discussed in this issue of "JCS." The paper reviews the two decade-long interest of many nations in state-based curriculum-making and presents a framework for thinking about state-based curriculum-making as a tool of…

Previous research concerning teacher practical knowledge has revealed its epistemological foundations, content structure and research methodology, but little research examines its ethical dimension. Based on a four-year project in China, this study probes the ethical dimension of an experienced teacher's practical knowledge, explicated in a…

This article addresses two main questions: (1) what is excellence and (2) should epistemic excellence be the main purpose of education? Though references to excellence have become increasingly frequent in the UK education policy, these questions are perhaps especially important in Scotland where the curriculum is explicitly "for"…

To better understand current curricular reforms in some Asia-Pacific countries that came out of conflict periods, documents and information posted on various national and international agency websites were analysed. In this paper we aimed to (i) present a brief description of the conditions under which new secondary education curricula are being…

This paper provides a review of oracy in primary education (5-11) in England. It discusses the nature of talk, acknowledging it as integral to the learning and teaching process and traces the history and development of the place of oracy within the curriculum. The article provides a critique of related policy initiatives including various…

Purpose: The overarching purpose of this paper is to explore the transformation of intercultural education in Cyprus in the context of European integration. More specifically, it indicates the ways in which intercultural policy has been formed by complex and often counteractive influences. The analysis draws upon policy documents collected from…

This paper frames the problem underlying the cross-cultural Organizing Curriculum Change (OCC) study of state-based curriculum-making. The paper discusses the increased use by states over the past two decades of the century-old instrument of the state-based curriculum and the tool of the curriculum commission. The paper contrasts the slender…

The attainment gap associated with socio-economic status is an international problem that is highly resistant to change. This conceptual paper critiques the drive by the Scottish Government to address the attainment gap through the Scottish Attainment Challenge and the National Improvement Framework. It draws upon a range of theoretical…

The review of the National Curriculum and the centenary of the First World War have emphasised an orthodox patriotic and nostalgic historical ideal. The British coalition Conservative-Liberal government has aligned itself with the centenary commemorations of the First World War, while the war as social and political history may be in danger of…

The European Union would like to improve its efforts to promote entrepreneurship within the Union. More new companies and more entrepreneurs are needed to increase the Union's competitiveness. In order to achieve this goal, the education sectors of the member countries must be reformulated to include entrepreneurship in their education programmes.…

The development of curriculum for health education in schools is an area of contestation. Drawing on the provincial curriculum of British Columbia and the Australian national curriculum, this article explores both common and different approaches to school-based health education and promotion. Students experience the impacts of the social…