The momentum behind the International Primary Curriculum in schools in England

Abstract

The year 2007 saw a discrete yet significant development in the sphere of ‘international education’ in England: a doubling in number of state‐funded schools offering the International Primary Curriculum. This curriculum had been developed in 2000 for the Shell Company Group of Schools. It first emerged in England in 2003; two years later it had become the major form of international curricula in England. This development is mainly a by‐product both of government policy‐making encouraging a ‘global dimension’ in primary schools aimed at the ‘2020 Generation’, and also of documentation recommending a more innovative and creative primary curriculum. This paper investigates the potential for further growth of the International Primary Curriculum in England. Political developments, however, point to possible growth among independent schools, which may extend the possibilities for a more general critical discourse.

Keywords:

• global citizenship
• global dimension
• International Baccalaureate
• international education
• International Primary Curriculum
• primary school

Notes

1. Not to be confused with the International Schools Association established in 1951 and based in Geneva.