Study of Taiwanese ¡§National¡¨ Curriculum in Japanese Colonial Period ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to discuss the foundation and influence of elementary school curriculum in Japanese Colonial Period in Taiwan and to provide further explanations for the manipulation from the power relationships at that time. First, this paper critically reviews those contributions from Marx, Gramsci and Apple to build up the analysis scaffold of national curriculum principles. Then it discusses the role of dominant structures and elementary schools through Taiwanese economic evolution in that period. Further more, it shows the knowledge features of elementary school textbooks by the content of subjects such as Japanese, Moral, Geography and History courses. The results confirm that national curriculum in Japanese Colonial Period in Taiwan provides a platform for ideology manipulation from the dominant, it is not only a set of knowledge content but also something which hiding with the figure of national power at it¡¦s back. Keywords: Hegemony, National curriculum, Elementary school, Textbook

No description available.

This case study research investigated the formative assessment practices of four Year One teachers in one local education authority, and the influences which have shaped their skills. School-level contextual factors such as the role of colleagues, the head teacher, and experience in the classroom were investigated through interview and questionnaire. External influences on teacher practice, most specifically the influence of the National Curriculum and its assessment requirements, were also examined. The findings identified experience in the classroom and colleagues as key sources of influence on practice. The study reviewed the current understanding of formative assessment from social-constructivist perspective on learning. Research has illustrated specific elements of formative assessment practice, including the development of learning goals, communicating criteria, feedback, and the role of discourse. In this research, questioning emerged as a vital formative assessment skill. Underpinning the practice of the teachers who demonstrated the widest range of strategies were three key features. These teachers were reflective about their own daily practice, and demonstrated a problem-solving approach to teaching and learning. Lastly, they had established a collegial relationship of shared power in which pupil and teacher thinking processes and ideas could be expressed and exchanged. Theory has pointed to formative assessment as a teacher practice embedded in planning, teaching and assessing. Case study data were analysed to describe the practices of the teachers and to understand the ways in which formative assessment strategies might be linked together. A model of integrated practice is developed from the analysis, useful for teacher development and further research.

Submitted to the Faculty of Education in fufilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Curriculum & Instructional Studies at the University of Zululand, 2006. / The present study examines educators' experiences in implementing the Revised National Curriculum Statement in the GET Band. The first aim of the study was to ascertain the nature of educators' experiences in implementing the Revised National Curriculum Statement. The second aim was to determine whether educators' biographical factors such as gender, age, teaching experience, qualification and rank have any influence on the nature of their experiences in implementing the Revised Curriculum Statement. The third aim was to ascertain the extent to which educators generally find implementing the Revised National Curriculum Statement to be stressful. The last aim was to determine whether educators' biographical factors (gender, age, teaching experience, qualification and rank) have any influence on the extent to which they generally find implementing the Revised National Curriculum Statement to be stressful. To this end, a questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected sample of three hundred and eight educators. The findings reveal that educators differ in terms of the nature of their experiences in implementing the Revised Curriculum Statement. A high percentage (61.04%) of educators reports a positive experience about implementing the Revised National Curriculum Statement. The findings also show that age, teaching experience and qualification have an influence on the nature of educators' experiences in implementing the Revised National Curriculum Statement. The findings further reveal that educators differ in the extent to which they generally find implementing the Revised National Curriculum Statement to be stressful. A relatively higher percentage (38.31%) report above average level of stress, 28.90% report below average level and 32.79% report an average level The last finding shows that educators' gender, age, teaching experience, qualification and rank have no influence on the extent to which educators generally find implementing the Revised National Curriculum Statement to be stressful. On the basis of the findings of this study, a model on curriculum implementation process was proposed and recommended.

ABSTRACT Within the National Curriculum Statement, Principle 8 refers to the value of indigenous knowledge systems. This represents the move towards a culturally appropriate curriculum as part of South Africa’s post-Apartheid changes to the education system, in line with the Constitution. Neither environmental education nor indigenous knowledge exist as independent learning areas within the National Curriculum Statement. However, given that indigenous knowledge systems has been included as a principle underpinning the entire National Curriculum Statement, this study examined its potential in contributing to environmental education and the development of environmentally responsible citizens. What has emerged is a plethora of challenges associated with policy translation, South Africa’s colonial legacy, teacher training and the dearth of resource materials, among others, that are effectively coalescing to militate against the effective implementation of Principle 8. Consequently, not only is the country faced with the continued devaluing and loss of indigenous knowledge systems but also with missed opportunities for its enrichment of environmental education and environmental management.

This study examines the establishment of the national curriculum centre and the historical, political, social and educational factors which contributed to the decision of the Minister for Education on the recommendation of the Australian Education Council, to establish such a centre. This study looks at the historical background which resulted in States' responsibility for education, at the Australian Constitution which avoids any mention of education but which allows Commonwealth support for education through grants to the States. It briefly traces the development of an increasing Commonwealth involvement in education, notes the very significant inquiries at national level into areas of need resulting in reports such as the Murray Martin, Karmel and Kangan recommending Commonwealth funding for specific areas of education. Other significant institutions and influences are identified. These include bodies such as the Australian Council for Education Research, the Conference of Directors' General and the Australian Education Council. The Commonwealth Department of Education is seen to play a major part in the decision to establish a national curriculum centre supported as it has been in this policy, by all major political parties and by successive governments in office. Much of this concern for curriculum reflects an environment of change typical of the 60's both educationally and politically. It was a period when philosophies of education and attitudes to the whole process of schooling were being questioned. Some influence emerges from contact by Australian teachers and academics with major overseas curriculum centres, notably the Schools Council and from large scale curriculum projects both in the U.S. and the U.K., notably in the area of science. A variety of factors contributed to the Australian Science Education Project as a major national curriculum program which gave support to the view that all States and systems could and would co-operate, with some Commonwealth support, in the provision of curriculum materials and the development of curricula with relevance for all Australian students. UNESCO conferences such as that at Burwood in 1967 on the "Teaching of the Social Sciences at the Secondary Level" and the Sydney one concerned with the Teaching of English, among others, brought together a range of concerned teachers who were involved in the subsequent establishment of the National Committee on Social Science Teaching and the National Committee for Teaching English. A third Committee, the Asian Studies Co-ordinating Committee arose from a Commonwealth inquiry into the teaching of Asian language and culture. These three committees undertook programs in curriculum development which responded to the need for work in these areas, and for the need for such programs to involve all States and systems and to rationalise expenditure and utilise available expertise in the curriculum area. This study supports the view that the Curriculum Development Centre, established under a 1975 Act of Parliament by that name, is a unique step in the development of a national view of education and an example of a co-operative model of development of curriculum at a national level. It is not solely a funding body nor does it direct funds to State Departments. Its small budget maintains a secretariat and a curriculum staff with involvement and concern for national issues and the avoidance of overlaps and duplication, and for the rationalization of resources. Its decision making process requires involvement by all State departments, by Contact Officers from State, Catholic and Independent schools and an input from specialists in the field, from parents, academics, and the community. In this regard it represents a marked change from the strictly State based curriculum pattern in Australia. The role of the Australian Education Council, the Commonwealth Department of Education, the Australian Council for Education Research and two major UNESCO conferences are examined as significant influences. This study identifies other influences, political, social, educational and financial which were significant in the decision by the Government of the day to establish a national curriculum centre, and the persons and institutions which influenced that decision, and worked to achieve its establishment, The process of change is examined and the rational, re-educative and power co-ercive strategies used by those seeking to effect a change in school curriculum in Australia and to establish a national centre for curriculum development,are identified.

Today there is a large consensus about the importance of Swedish schools providingconditions enabling students to develop the ability to manage and learn through information technologies (IT). The goal of this study was to describe and examine how national education goals for the use of IT transformed into municipal IT-strategies for the school. A content analysis was conducted of thirty-eight municipal IT-strategies collected from Swedish municipal websites on the Internet. The content in the municipal IT-strategies was compared with the content in both the Swedish education act and the national curriculum. The results showed that the content in the Swedish education act and the national curriculum in fact was translated into municipal IT strategies, but that the range of strategies concerning technology, pedagogy and content in relation to IT was broad. In several of the IT-strategies, aspects of technology and pedagogy were clearly expressed while links to content was given a limited attention.

No / This article describes how the teaching of variation and genetics can give rise to the mistaken idea that genes are the sole determinants of our characteristics, that genes work in isolation to produce genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis. It goes on to discuss examples of gene environment interactions that give a more relevant and realistic account of how genes and environment interact in human genetic disease and stem cell technology. Finally, a conceptual model is introduced that might be useful for teaching, in which genes and environment are given equal status in explaining development.

Submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Curriculum & Instructional Studies at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013. / This study is aimed at understanding the efficacy of the implementation of the national curriculum innovations called “Foundations for Learning Campaign” in schools under uThungulu District, within the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Furthermore, it included assessing the level of preparedness of educators in their teaching of basic skills in the classroom and identifying the gaps in the dissemination and implementation of curriculum innovations. The view upheld within this study was that ‘the use of alternative strategies to implement national curriculum innovations in schools is of no use if the school practitioners are sidelined in the development, planning and organisation processes of the innovation.” The study targeted foundation and intermediate phase teachers from grades one to six teaching numeracy/literacy and languages/mathematics, from whom a sample of 120 teachers was purposefully selected as they were the initial focus of the Foundations for Learning Campaign. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed in the collection of data. The findings revealed that majority of the educators were not adequately equipped with skills and expertise to implement the Foundations for Learning Campaign effectively and efficiently in the classroom. Inadequate preparation was due to the following reasons: lack of sufficient time allocated for training, inappropriate and irrelevant training and inadequately trained facilitators. In addition, there is a lack of professional development programmes and school-based activities to enhance the teaching and learning of basic skills. Inadequate supervision, monitoring and support from both the staff management team and subject advisors/specialists predominantly prevailed during the implementation of the Foundations for Learning Campaign. Furthermore, the model used to cascade the national curriculum innovation to schools identified within the study was inadequate for the efficacious implementation of the Foundations for Learning Campaign. The study recommends that: teacher orientation, training and support processes should be refined; a high teacher-pupil ratio needs to be phased out and discouraged; a variety of quality Learner Teacher Support Material should be readily available and easily accessible to educators in the classroom to enhance the teaching and learning of languages and mathematics; on-going supervision, monitoring and support from the staff management team and subject advisors/specialists are necessary with regards to curriculum implementation; and finally professional development programmes and school based activities currently in place need to be evaluated and reviewed.

<p>Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka om det sydafrikanska skolväsendet bygger på teorierom det individuella lärandet. Undersökningen genomförs med tre metoder, en textanalys avläroplanen, intervjuer av lärare i Sydafrika och observationer av undervisning i ensydafrikansk skola. Resultatet är att det finns vissa spår av individuellt lärande i läroplanen,hos lärarnas svar och i viss undervisning. I diskussionen kommer jag fram till att även om detfinns frön av individuellt lärande i den sydafrikanska skolan så är det inte tillräckligt för attsäga att hela det sydafrikanska skolväsendet bygger på tankar om det individuella lärandet.Nyckelord: Individuellt lärande, Lärstilar, Revised National Curriculum StatementGrades R-9, Sydafrika.</p> / <p>The purpose of this essay is to investigate whether or not the South African school systempredicates upon theories of individual learning. The investigation is carried out using threemethods, a textual analysis of the Curriculum, interviews with South African teachers andclassroom observations. The resulat is that there are some traits of individual learning in thecurriculum, in the answers of the teachers and in some of the education. In my conclusivediscussion I find that even if there are some traces of individual learning in the South Africanschool system it is not enough to say that the South African school system predicates upontheories of individual learning.</p>