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Pedagogy and the Curriculum 2000 reforms at post-16: the 'learn it, forget it' culture?

This article reports findings from a small-scale project investigating the introduction of the Curriculum 2000 reforms at post-16 in four state comprehensive schools in England. These reforms aimed to broaden the curriculum at post-16, to provide parity of esteem for academic and vocational qualifications, to promote participation and lifelong learning, and to introduce greater consistency within and across different types of qualification. A key impact on schools was the change to the structure of A levels. This article reports findings from semi-structured interviews with thirteen heads of department and four heads of sixth form to investigate teachers' perceptions of the consequences of the introduction of A level reforms on teaching and learning in the post-16 classroom. Despite general support for the principles of change at post-16, those interviewed were concerned about the quality of teaching and learning in the [Advanced Subsidiary] AS year. They reported greater didacticism in the classroom, with content-heavy syllabuses and the need to focus on exams resulting in fewer opportunities for applying learning and for consolidating conceptual development. As a result, teachers reported less pedagogical breadth and less enjoyment in teaching the new syllabuses.

This article reports findings from a small-scale project investigating the introduction of the Curriculum 2000 reforms at ...  Show Full Abstract  

Authors: Fisher, Linda
Date: 2007
Geographic subjects: Europe; Great Britain; England
Journal title: Curriculum journal
Resource type: Article
Subjects: Teaching and learning; Governance

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