The National Curriculum balance sheet for Key Stage 2: a researcher's view

Abstract

The National Curriculum had very specific objectives. From the beginning there have been claims that the failure to implement the programme in full was the fault of a ‘liberal’ educational establishment. This article looks at implementation from the perspective of a researcher who was engaged in classroom observation, mainly in primary schools, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Among the consequences of the implementation strategies adopted have been negligible effects on teaching methods, falling standards and lack of increased curriculum continuity on transfer to Key Stage 3. The findings of this research suggest that recent calls for teachers to be mandated as to how to teach the curriculum will not overcome these problems.

Keywords:

• National Curriculum Implementation Classroom Research Teaching Methods Pupil Effects