The research objective of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of history of science (HOS) integrated instruction and curriculum-oriented instruction on sixth grade students' understanding of nature of science (NOS). Accordingly, two classes were assigned to experimental group and other two were assigned to comparison group…

This article examines the special nature of "Te Whariki," Aotearoa New Zealand's early childhood national curriculum, as a dynamic social, cultural document through an exploration of two art-inspired imaginary case studies. Thinking with "Te Whariki" retains the potential to ignite thinking post-developmentally about art,…

In this paper, we report on an investigation into sustainability education in schools in the Australian state of Tasmania following the implementation of the Australian Curriculum. Sustainability is one of three cross-curriculum priorities in the new national curriculum and is the focus of this research (sustainability cross-curriculum priority…

The recent review of the national curriculum, which places Physical Education as a compulsory subject at key stages 1-4, indicates a government commitment to the subject. However, given the contested history of Physical Education's priorities and practices, such commitment should, perhaps, be handled with care. The main strength of Physical…

In 1998 the Northern Examination and Assessment Board selected the poem 'Nothing's Changed' by the South African writer Tatamkhulu Afrika as the last of its ten "Poems from Other Cultures and Traditions." Published in the NEAB "Anthology" (1998), 'Nothing's Changed' became a favourite at GCSE for its vivid depiction of…

In providing a continued focus on tasks and activities that help to illustrate key ideas embedded in the new Australian Curriculum, the focus in this issue is on Measurement in the Measurement and Geometry strand. The small unit of work on measurement presented in this article has activities that can be modified to meet the requirements of…

The distinction between learning to perform on an instrument or voice and learning music in a wider sense is one that is made in many countries, and is especially pertinent in England in the context of recent policy developments. This article argues that, whilst this distinction has come to represent curricula based on the opposing paradigms of…

Following an era in which the National Curriculum has been very prescriptive, and based on specific knowledge, the current proposals offer greater flexibility. Accountability has not gone away but the fine detail of what is taught, and how, is for schools and teachers to decide. Instead of setting top levels of achievement demoralisingly…

Due to European agreements and policy expectations, national authorities are revising their formal curricula in line with an evidence-oriented policy. The article explores how new trends in formulating curricula can be regarded as an outcome of experts' semantics and impact on education policy. The article reanalyses documentation from a project,…

Opponents of the Common Core State Standards are ramping up legislative pressure and public relations efforts aimed at getting states to scale back--or even abandon--the high-profile initiative, even as implementation proceeds and tests aligned with the standards loom. Critics of the common core have focused recent lobbying and media efforts on…

With the recent implementation of the new "Australian Curriculum: History" in 2013, it is timely to reflect on the vision of the discipline-based curriculum that was set out in the "Melbourne Declaration on Education Goals for Young Australians" (2008). This article argues that although the rationale of the curriculum asserts…

The aim of the paper is to research the important process of the history of the educational development of Estonia, the reform of the national school curriculum which began after the teacher's congress in 1987 and ended in 1996 when government approved the document. That reform was carried out in the context of thoroughgoing and dramatic…

Draft curriculum documents offer a glimpse of the future. They demand a response as all too often the devil is in the detail. What are the devils and maybe demons that await primary mathematics? This forensic consideration of the content of the draft curriculum for primary mathematics catalogues a lack of evidence to underpin proposals. Is the…

Numeracy is a general capability to be developed in all learning areas of the Australian Curriculum. We evaluated the numeracy demands of the F-10 curriculum, using a model of numeracy that incorporates mathematical knowledge, dispositions, tools, contexts, and a critical orientation to the use of mathematics. Findings of the history curriculum…

To varying degrees, education policy reforms around the world are driven by educational discourses relating to globalisation. At the same time, national and local histories, cultures and politics mediate the effects of globalisation discourses. This paper employs methods of analysis that draw on the concepts of "vernacular globalization"…