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Planning a competence-based curriculum: the case of four secondary schools in England

Planning a competence-based curriculum: the case of four secondary schools in England
Planning a competence-based curriculum: the case of four secondary schools in England
Despite the belief that schools tend to be resistant to change (Hargreaves 1994), it is possible to find secondary schools in the UK which are investing in the design of an innovative curriculum for their year 7, (11-year-old students). This paper focuses on four of these schools and discusses some of the challenges they face in planning and implementing their competence-based curricula. Such curricula tend to be based on the rationale that they better prepare all students for the constant changes of human knowledge and understanding. They develop transferable skills rather than subject specific content, which are considered necessary requirements for learners as future productive members of society in the 21st Century. Advocates of competence-based curricula argue that such curricula are more inclusive and emancipatory that traditional curricula, although this view is contested (e.g. Young 2008). Employing Bernstein’s (1973, 1999) concepts of framing and classification of the curriculum this paper describes the challenges and constraints encountered by four schools which have endeavoured to develop a competence-based curriculum.
school transition, secondary schools, planning, innovation, competence-based curriculum
0958-5176
335-350
Byrne, Jenny
135bc0f8-7c8a-42d9-bdae-5934b832c4bf
Downey, Christopher
bb95b259-2e31-401b-8edf-78e8d76bfb8c
Souza, Ana
9b840f2a-32ae-4376-bf34-b13245299850
Byrne, Jenny
135bc0f8-7c8a-42d9-bdae-5934b832c4bf
Downey, Christopher
bb95b259-2e31-401b-8edf-78e8d76bfb8c
Souza, Ana
9b840f2a-32ae-4376-bf34-b13245299850

Byrne, Jenny, Downey, Christopher and Souza, Ana (2013) Planning a competence-based curriculum: the case of four secondary schools in England. The Curriculum Journal, 24 (3), 335-350. (doi:10.1080/09585176.2012.731007).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Despite the belief that schools tend to be resistant to change (Hargreaves 1994), it is possible to find secondary schools in the UK which are investing in the design of an innovative curriculum for their year 7, (11-year-old students). This paper focuses on four of these schools and discusses some of the challenges they face in planning and implementing their competence-based curricula. Such curricula tend to be based on the rationale that they better prepare all students for the constant changes of human knowledge and understanding. They develop transferable skills rather than subject specific content, which are considered necessary requirements for learners as future productive members of society in the 21st Century. Advocates of competence-based curricula argue that such curricula are more inclusive and emancipatory that traditional curricula, although this view is contested (e.g. Young 2008). Employing Bernstein’s (1973, 1999) concepts of framing and classification of the curriculum this paper describes the challenges and constraints encountered by four schools which have endeavoured to develop a competence-based curriculum.

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More information

Published date: September 2013
Keywords: school transition, secondary schools, planning, innovation, competence-based curriculum
Organisations: Southampton Education School

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 342206
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/342206
ISSN: 0958-5176
PURE UUID: ba15c374-3d86-4ebe-8f73-dab8d7e76f53
ORCID for Jenny Byrne: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6969-5539
ORCID for Christopher Downey: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6094-0534

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Date deposited: 15 Aug 2012 14:41
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:26

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Contributors

Author: Jenny Byrne ORCID iD
Author: Ana Souza

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