Assignemnt - Essay on History of Education, Curriculum Studies & Comparative Studies PDF

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Essay on History of Education, Curriculum Studies & Comparative Studies...

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My Chosen Question: With reference to two countries, who controls the school curriculum? In your view, who should control the school curriculum?

For the purpose of the assignment., I have chosen to compare the curriculums for both China and the United Kingdom, focusing my research and reading on who controls and sets the curriculum and conclude who I believe should control and set the curriculum. I have chosen China due to the recent focus on the Asian education system throughout my other assignments and due to the fact they are considered the biggest and one of the most successful education systems in the world according to PISA. I have also chosen to focus on the English curriculum as it is a curriculum which I had experienced and was in education whilst multiple reforms came into place. I believe therefore that these two curriculums would be an interesting topic to compare and contrast. I will firstly focus on the curriculum in China. In China, “the primary school curriculum consists of Chinese, mathematics, physical education, music, basic science, history and geography, combined with practical work experience around the school campus. All primary schools are required to offer courses on morality and ethics and English is often introduced in grade four.” (The Open University, 2017). The curriculum is based around core subjects we would often expect in schools, however China focuses more closely on things such as work experience in comparison to England. China’s curriculum is largely impacted by culture and by social standards. However, the recent reforms on China’s curriculum have had the biggest impact, and these reforms came due to changed and shifts within society, “specifically

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economic, socio-political and educational needs” shifting within society. (Law, 2014) These changes came as China’s economy was growing rapidly throughout the last century, and therefore the need for educational reform became more crucial due to the need for skilled workers. The curriculum became more modern, focusing more on preparing the future generations to become the workers which will be more in demand as globalisation increases. These reforms therefore aim to prepare children for the future by focusing on adaptable and key skills such as the knowledge of foreign languages and computer science. China’s curriculum is set, controlled, and funded by the state. However, “it is widely acknowledged that China's education faces a serious funding shortfall. Though the past years have witnessed increased government input, the funding is far from enough.” (Qi'en et al., 2010) The lack in funding impacts on the salaries of teachers and the accessibility of education, and often makes it hard to impose the curriculum and deliver it in an effective way. It has been furthermore difficult to implement the new curriculum reform due to lack of funding where further staff training and resources would be required in order to bring into force an effective ICT education or teaching and introducing students to a foreign language. However, even due to short funding, China is still seen as one of the top performers on the education spectrum in the world. (PISA, 2016) The English curriculum at primary school level focuses on English, Mathematics, Art and design, Computing, Design and technology, Geography, History, Foreign Languages, Music and Physical education (Department for Education, 2013). Items such as work experience are not covered and are not compulsory within both primary and secondary schools. Whilst work experience was previously compulsory for students in secondary education however, was withdrawn and removed from the curriculum. Many, however, disagree with this move from the

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government and believe it should be reinstated, with over 82% of bosses calling to reinstate work experience and provide placements for young people under the age of sixteen. (Burns, 2017) England’s curriculum has come under scrutiny in the last years, having to face multiple reforms as a result of Michael Gove’s plan “to ‘shrink’ the National Curriculum whilst promoting a new English Baccalaureate” (Beck, 2012). These reforms, under Mr. Gove, have therefore seen a change of focus within the curriculum, having it now focus on providing a better level of education within foreign languages, the higher focus and added pressures of delivering and promoting the importance of English and Mathematics as core subjects and the aims of making standardised tests harsher and the English Baccalaureate harder to achieve yet more desirable amongst pupils, students and employers. The English Baccalaureate was introduced and promoted as a means to deter students under the age of 16 from taking ‘non-academic’ or less academic subjects, the government and Mr Gove having argued that these qualifications carry little importance and will not aid a student to progress into higher education (CapeUK, no date). The state controls the English curriculum, more importantly, it is set and controlled by the Department for Education. This allows for standardisation of education throughout the country and allows for central control of what is taught and in what depth. Funding, in comparison to China, is significantly better, however this may not always translate into good results throughout the nation which had previously come under criticisms regarding its PISA ranking and the lack of improvement even after numerous reforms, the United Kingdom often not reaching the top ten or even twenty countries in rankings based on numeracy, science and reading levels. (Josie Gurney-Read, 2017)

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China’s and England’s education systems both differ substantially, however can be considered quite similar regarding what is included in the curriculum and who controls it. In comparison, both of the education systems focus on core subjects such as the native language, science and mathematics. China’s curriculum, in contrast to England’s, focuses more greatly on the importance of work experience and placements for students in which they can experience the working world, whilst England has scrapped work experience from its curriculum without hope or reinstatement. Both of the countries’ curriculums are controlled and managed by the state, allowing for standardised test and equal levels of education regardless of socioeconomic background. However, it is evident that in comparison to the English schooling system and curriculum, funding is an issue within China, often limiting what can be taught and the effectiveness of said education without the required resources and the training provided for staff. However, although China’s education system may not have the funding, the curriculum clearly proves effective, with China’s results putting them in the top achiever tables of PISA, compared to the results of the United Kingdom who in 2016 have barely achieved a place in the top twenty countries in regards to numeracy levels across students. Between the two education systems, China’s curriculum and its reforms prove to be the most effective regarding achieving results on a national scale, even with limited funding and resources. China’s curriculum, just like that of England, is controlled by the state, however it focuses on different aspects such as that of work experience and a higher focus on preparing students for work in a globalised economy, putting higher emphasis on foreign language education. In my opinion, with the very limited funding provided by the government, China’s

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education system proves that it is not often and issue of resources but sometimes the issue of an unsuitable curriculum delivered to students. I believe that the curriculum, as it is in both England and China, should be controlled and regulated by the government. This is due to the fact that it sets and regulates thoroughly what children are learning and ensures that even in schools with higher poverty rates or less funding, the same material is delivered as it would be in schools which are situated in areas which are better off socioeconomically. I feel that a state controlled curriculum helps bridge the gap between children who come from poorer backgrounds and those who come from richer backgrounds, allowing for fairer distribution and access to resources and education which children from poorer backgrounds may not experience or have parents capable of providing such an education at home. A state controlled curriculum also supports children from different communities, such as travelling communities, which means that it allows for them to move schools and be able to adapt to the material taught in a different school easier and faster. Lastly, a state controlled curriculum allows for standardised tests to be carried out which allow to provide proof of a child’s progress within the education system but also allow for adaptations of the system if gaps are seen throughout results. There may be negatives about a state controlled and set curriculum however, such as the fact that students do not always learn about things which they may be truly interested about or things which may be relatable in their future life, for example learning about things such as banking or practical skills. Another negative of a state set curriculum is that teachers have little room for adaptation in what they teach. However, I feel that the positives of a state set curriculum heavily outweigh the negatives, as it provides fairness throughout the education system.

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In conclusion, both curriculums provide a varied set of subjects which provide a fair and equal education throughout the country. While there are many contrasts and comparisons between the two, it is safe to say that both countries’ curriculums, which are both controlled by the state, prove to be successful in their function to educate and achieve good results. It is quite clear that the Chinese curriculum proves to be more effective and successful in achieving those than the English curriculum, however both work well to educate at an above satisfactory standard. The fact both of the curriculums are controlled by the state, in my opinion, is why these work so well as the curriculum is the same throughout the country and provide a standard to which schools should be working to, this is why I believe that a curriculum should be controlled by the state as it provides a firm, standardised outline as to what should be taught and provides children with an equal chance to gain an equal level of education at primary and secondary levels.

References: Beck, J. (2012) Reinstating knowledge: diagnoses and prescriptions for England’s curriculum ills. International Studies in Sociology of Education. 22(1), 1-18. Burns, J. (2017) Call to reinstate work experience in England's schools - BBC News. BBC News. [online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34520041 [Accessed March 28, 2017]. Department for Education, (2013) The national curriculum in England.

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CapeUk (No Date) What’s All This About The EBACC? | CapeUK. Capeuk.org. [online]. Available from: http://www.capeuk.org/capeuk-bridge-news/whats-allthis-about-the-ebacc.html# [Accessed March 28, 2017]. Josie Gurney-Read, (2017) OECD PISA report: Where does the UK rank in the international school league tables? - results in full. The Telegraph. [online]. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2016/12/06/oecd-pisareport-does-uk-rank-international-school-league-tables/ [Accessed March 28, 2017]. Law, W. (2014) Understanding China’s curriculum reform for the 21st century. Journal of Curriculum Studies. 46(3), 332-360. PISA (2017) PISA. Oecd.org. [online]. Available from: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/ [Accessed March 28, 2017]. Qi'en, C., Xiaoxia, Z.Huping, S. (2010) Introspection on China's curriculum reform. 2010 International Conference on Education and Management Technology. The Open University, (2017) Chinese education: How do things work?. OpenLearn. [online]. Available from: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/society/internationaldevelopment/international-studies/chinese-education-how-do-things-work [Accessed March 28, 2017].

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