Journal of Curriculum Studies 46卷4期文章

1. The concept of the absent curriculum: the case of the Muslim contribution and the English National Curriculum for history

Author:Matthew L.N. Wilkinson

Source:Journal of Curriculum Studies. Jul2014, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p419-440.

Abstract:This paper introduces the concept of the absent curriculum on the premise that the study of curriculum has been prone to privileging curricular presence to the exclusion of curricular absence.

In order to address this imbalance and to articulate a theory of absence in the curriculum, the paper applies ideas derived from the philosophy of critical realism—‘absence’ and ‘totality’—to curriculum theory to conceive of the absent curriculum. The paper outlines three components of the absent curriculum: the null curriculum at the level of national curricular policy, the unselected curriculum at the level of school curricular planning and the unenacted curriculum at the classroom level of teacher delivery. This conceptual framework is illustrated by a case example of how the absence of the history of Muslim contribution from the teaching of the National Curriculum for history in four English schools formed an absent curriculum which prompted some of the research sample of 295 British Muslim boys to disengage from their learning of history. The paper concludes that the absent curriculum is a hidden curriculum that suggests to groups whose histories are missing from the national curricula that they are relatively insignificant citizens in the community of the nation.

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2. Struggling to deal with the difficult past: Polish students confront the Holocaust

Author:Magdalena H. Gross

Source:Journal of Curriculum Studies. Jul2014, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p441-463.

摘要:

This article examines the relationship between school and cultural knowledge of Second World War in contemporary Poland. Drawing on analysis of 126 student responses to well-known photographs (photo elicitation), the author addresses what it means for schoolchildren to learn about an aspect of a contested past, the Holocaust, within the frame of Second World War in Poland. This research illuminates shared cultural narratives about war. Importantly, this work unearthed dissonant responses from a subset of students who recognized a feature of the photograph that other students overlooked, and experienced the start of a schematic shift in understanding. The author builds on the tenets of schema theory and collective memory in attempting to explain how children learn about controversial events that do not fit social frameworks.

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3. The history curriculum and its personal connection to students from minority ethnic backgrounds

Author:Richard Harris and Rosemary Reynolds

Source:Journal of Curriculum Studies. Jul2014, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p464-486.

Abstract:Whereas history is seen by some as crucial in developing a sense of identity and fostering social cohesion, it is however, often based around narrowly nationalistic views of the past, and yet little is known about how students relate to the past they are taught. Thus, this paper focuses on the history curriculum and the ways in which students aged 12–14, from different ethnic backgrounds, relate to it. Moreover, the small-scale study which enabled this paper, focused, in particular, on whether students enjoyed and valued history and whether they felt any sense of personal connection to the topics studied. Drawing on survey data collected from 102 students and focus group discussions with 42 students, from two high schools, the findings indicate that although many students enjoy history, they fail to fully understand its value. Additionally most students, especially those from minority ethnic backgrounds, feel a lack of personal connection to the past, as they do not see themselves in the history they are taught.

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4. The understanding of historical time in the primary history curriculum in England and the Netherlands

Author:M.J. De Groot-Reuvekamp, Carla Van Boxtel, Anje Ros, and Penelope Harnett

Source:Journal of Curriculum Studies. Jul2014, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p487-514.

Abstract:This study focuses on the comparison of the English and the Dutch primary history curriculum regarding the understanding of historical time. We compare different aspects of both curricula that can apply to other subjects as well, for example the question ‘what age would be appropriate to start a subject in primary school?’ Here, we emphasize that exposure to different learning processes is more important than pupils’ age and maturity. Drawing on analyses of curriculum documents, surveys (n=128) and interviews (n=25), we explored how the understanding of historical time is addressed in the intended and the implemented primary curricula for history. The analysis of the data indicates that teachers in both countries do not teach all objectives of the understanding of historical time. Although in England the history curriculum starts earlier, the episodic structure of the curriculum is not very helpful to support pupils’ understanding of historical time. In the Netherlands the framework of 10 eras is mostly taught chronologically; however, neither the sequence nor the dates of historical periods are explicitly taught. Apparently, the teaching and learning of historical time in both countries needs improvement and we conclude with some suggestions to accomplish this.

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5. How Finnish upper secondary students conceive transgenerational responsibility and historical reparations: implications for the history curriculum

Author:Jan Löfström

Source:Journal of Curriculum Studies. Jul2014, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p515-539.

Abstract:The article discusses how Finnish upper secondary school students ponder upon the questions of transgenerational responsibility and historical reparation. These questions have got a prominent place in the history culture in many societies in the last 20 years. The philosophical and political dimensions of reparations for historical injustices have been analysed in numerous studies but there is little research on what citizens think of the notion of historical reparation. The article is based on focus group interviews of 53 upper secondary school students, carried out in 2008–2009. It suggests that the students’ reflections on the questions of transgenerational moral responsibility and historical reparation open a view on their historical consciousness which is a relevant subject to consider when developing the school history curriculum. The key theme in the analysis is how the students conceive the preconditions of responsibility and the limits of historical continuity. The article discusses the implications of the findings for the history curriculum. It also urges for comparative studies on the subject, giving as an example a project where similar focus groups have been carried out in five other European countries, in 2011–2012.

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6. Implementing a disciplinary-literacy curriculum for US history: learning from expert middle school teachers in diverse classrooms

Author:Chauncey Monte-Sano, Susan De La Paz, and Mark Felton

Source:Journal of Curriculum Studies. Jul2014, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p540-575.

Abstract:In recent years, educators in the USA have emphasized disciplinary literacy as an essential path forward in cultivating adolescents’ understanding of subject matter in tandem with literacy practices. Yet, this agenda poses challenges to teachers who have been tasked with its implementation. Here, we examine two expert US history teachers’ efforts to implement curriculum that integrates reading, writing and thinking in history with academically diverse eighth graders. We conduct qualitative analyses of teacher observations and interviews as well as student work. This analysis provides insight into several issues that emerge in efforts to teach disciplinary literacy in history classrooms: the nuances of teachers’ use of curriculum materials created by people other than themselves, teachers’ appropriation and adaptation of curriculum materials and teachers’ understanding of curriculum materials and disciplinary literacy goals. We find that teachers’ knowledge of the discipline and attention to students’ ideas allowed them to skillfully adapt the curriculum to better meet students’ needs and push students’ thinking. Orienting teachers toward disciplinary learning, ensuring a foundational understanding of their discipline and providing teachers with tools to teach disciplinary literacy are important steps to help students meet the demands of the disciplinary literacy agenda.