Purpose, focus and voice? Lessons from a curriculum development advisory committee

ABSTRACT

The curriculum development process is complex and developing a worthwhile process to support curriculum inception is a valuable endeavour. This paper explores the experiences of the curriculum development process through the lens of an expert advisory committee charged with developing a post-primary curriculum for publicly managed schools in line with their ethos and the national lower post-primary curriculum. The research employed semi-structured interviews with a group of curriculum developers (n = 10) involved in this curriculum development process. Following thematic analysis, four primary themes were identified: Purpose of the Advisory Committee, Focus of the Curriculum Expression, Balance of Voice, and the Role of the Curriculum Lead. These themes offer insights into the complexities of the curriculum development process including the importance of focusing, not just on the teacher’s voice, but also on the conditions that support teachers to engage fully with such processes. The findings also highlight the importance of embracing strategic leadership and democratic practices throughout this process and how the perceived focus of curriculum needs to be explicitly considered so as to unearth hidden assumptions of the curriculum developers. This study contributes to the broader understanding of how curriculum development can be enhanced to meet the needs of diverse stakeholders.

KEYWORDS:

• Curriculum development process
• curriculum
• values
• values education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The Framework for Junior Cycle was introduced in 2015 with the intention of providing greater flexibility and agency to schools/sectors to develop curriculum to reflect local needs (DES 2015).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Niall Mulpeter

Niall Mulpeter is a PhD scholar in the School of Education, University of Limerick. Niall is currently an Educational and Policy Development Officer with Education and Training Boards Ireland. He has a primary degree in Music and Religious Education and a Masters in Music Education. Niall has worked in a variety of educational settings including formal post-primary education and the teachers support services. His research interests include curriculum development, values education and communities of practice.

Orla McCormack

Dr Orla McCormack is an Associate Professor in the School of Education, University of Limerick. Orla is a qualified science teacher and has worked in higher/teacher education for over a decade. Orla's teaching and research interest focus on curriculum, curriculum change and reflective practice and she has led a number of national and international projects in this area.

Joanne O’Flaherty

Dr Joanne O'Flaherty is an Associate Professor in the School of Education, University of Limerick and Research Lead for the Ubuntu Network (www.ubuntu.ie). She has a primary degree in Physical Education and English. Joanne has worked in a variety of educational settings, including the formal post-primary sector and the NGO sector, before joining the University of Limerick faculty. Her research interests include teacher preparation, social justice education and social and emotional learning and she has published in these areas.