The politics surrounding curriculum is largely the debates surrounding what subjects are being taught, how long they are being taught for and what is actually being taught within those subjects. Within Levins' (2007) chapter, "Curriculum Policy and the Politics of What Should be Learned in Schools," he discuss how those decisions are made, who is involved and some of the influences on the matter. Part 1:Levin (2007) explains that the individuals at a national, provincial/state, local and even individual school level are involved in the creation of curriculum. A team of subject area experts and sector representatives create the beginning curriculum draft, which is then critiqued and reformed for several years before being made public policies (if the content does not go out of date first). Teachers, principals, senior administrators and local politicians are some of the whole that are involved in the decision making process. The national or provincial/state representatives are often left with the final say; however, traditionally the subject area experts and their team had a heavy influence regarding the curriculum. The expert based curriculum process has since faced criticism with not being non-expert friendly; teachers were struggling with teaching the complex and deep material laid out by a specialist in a particular subject. The loud and educated public were expressing their concerns in regards to the educational policies and what is being taught to the younger generations. Levin suggests that there had been a shift of focus and legitimacy that the experts once had, which has resulted in public opinion to be considered in curricula creation. Parents, students, textbook company representatives, businesses and others started to join the discussion. This, like anything also has its cons: individual opinions are often inconsistent, one large event can shake those beliefs and surprises can cause a shift of focus to something that is less important overall. The government systems involved are also susceptible to being swayed within the curriculum and educational policy decision making process. While reading this chapter I had a growing unsettling feeling throughout, which I identified was from a few reasons. One being, I had this belief that the decision making process in regards to the education system and curriculum was pure and without persuasion. Hindsight bias: no system is perfect and I should not have thought different about the educational system. Secondly, I began to question myself, how my biased opinions limit my knowledge and what influences my decisions with or without me realizing it. Overall, I was left with the question: Which individual or group is truly honest, unbiased and unswayed enough to make the most beneficial decisions for the generations to come? Part 2: The Treaty Education Document, like the curriculum, was created by a group of important and powerful individuals. For example, this included individuals from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, Office of the Treaty Commissioner, Ministry of Education and so on. Aside from the individuals being in high up positions, many are also experts of Indigenous history and teachings. This allows the teachers and students to go beyond a European view of history and Indigenous ways of knowing. However, 'ordinary' teachers may have a difficult time embodying and respecting the learning experience created by experts - alike 'ordinary' teachers having to teach math lessons created by a mathematician. Further conflicts that I imagine had arose while creating this document was how to implement it into the school system - would it have its own class, would it be a part of history, would it be a part of all lessons, where does it fit. References: Levin, B. (2008). Curriculum Policy and the politics of what should be learned in schools. In F. Connelly, M. He & J. Phillion (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of curriculum and instruction (pp. 7-24). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
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About the Author: Jordyn NeufeldJordyn is an Education student at the University of Regina. She enjoys camping in the summer and trying to stay warm in the winter. Coffee is her favourite drink and a necessity most mornings. She loves cuddling her cats and being surrounded by her family. Please take a look into my educational journey within ECS 210. Archives
April 2020
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