Collaborative School-Based Curriculum Development: A Case Study

Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry, 2015

This is a great introduction to the foundations of Christian Education in the 21 st century, which covers and is worthy of use as a textbook. The book offers the reflective writings of current scholars in the field covering Christian Education topics related to foundations; developmental perspectives; educational implications; organization, administration, and leadership; family and specialized ministries. These topics not only describe the scope the field, but also are key to understanding many of the curriculum issues in this field.

A review of Pre K-12 advising, counseling and guidance in two Jewish schools – an all-boys school and an all-girls school – to assess best practices in order to ensure a safe and healthy environment for students within school halls. Furthermore, additional research is presented discussing the ideal advising, counseling and guidance program within Jewish education – specifically keeping in mind the role of the school leader in the Pre K-12 advising, counseling and guidance process. In completion, a matrix displaying the ideal program is introduced for the reader as well.

Batı anadolu eğitim bilimleri dergisi, 2021

Popular with many advantages, school-based curriculum practice can be applicable to varied teaching and learning purposes in different educational settings. However, Turkey is still far from such practices due to centralized educational policies. In order both to share a reflective framework and to present a detailed model, this study aims to practice a school-based curriculum with its theoretical and practical implications. The study was conducted in a middle school, located in Turkey, collaboratively with school members. School-based curriculum activities were planned, designed, practiced and evaluated regarding the school's authentic needs. The study followed the principles of the action research. The study resulted in fulfilling academic objectives concerning English speaking skills, and turning negative student behaviors into positive tendencies. Practiced curriculum was evaluated through school members' responses, and they reflected an awareness and willingness for such practices. It was also observed that school members questioned their roles and responsibilities after taking part in the study.

2000

A study examined a group of Israeli teacher educators who met to develop a new integrative curriculum, investigating characteristics of the curriculum development process and of the planning group as a professional discourse community. Data sources included transcripts of 26 conferences throughout the year, participant interviews, and participant journals. Overall, the group evolved as a professional discourse community, displaying features such as supportive, shared leadership; shared vision and values; collective creativity; de-privatized practice; focus on student learning; and reflective dialogue. Outcomes for participants and the organization supported the contention that training-on-the-job that moves from practice to theory and back to practice and occurs in group context is gaining dominance in teacher training. The integrative curriculum-development-in-action process was new for most participants, and it generated knowledge construction leading to changes in practice. There...

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 2 Creating Meaningful Change Through the Curriculum Development Process Schools in the current accountability environment continuously seek to find ways of increasing student achievement and learning. Principals bear this responsibility; and while there may be many paths to achieve this goal, one stands out as the most obvious starting point-the curriculum. Mike Schmoker (2011) in his article "Curriculum Now" makes a powerful argument when he says, "If we're serious about improving schools, this is the place to start. Until we have built a clear, coherent curriculum for every course, we'll only superficially impact learning or achievement" (p. 70). Additionally, Munson highlights in the same article the importance of a common curriculum as "…the essential precondition for productive professional learning communities (PLCs)" as has been stressed by Rick DuFour and other writers over the years.

The government, society, culture, parents and students all influence the education process and are, therefore, a part in curriculum development. Key to developing a curriculum is understanding the students who are being served, their families, community and culture. Included in this is the importance of the influence of one’s worldview. It is the lens through which one sees life and the world, interprets or decides what is true, and by which decisions and actions are made. The Christian or biblical worldview has played a large role in education in the United States. However, it is being replaced by secular humanism. It is important for educators to understand that their worldview influences what and how they teach. Worldview also plays a key role in how students interpret the information that is given to them.

theseus.fi, 2023

Curriculum is a multifaceted concept and has the potential for different viewpoints, components and models of development. The development of curriculum in schools that implement the International Baccalaureate’s Middle Year Programme, with its requirement for interdisciplinary units of study, is a continuing challenge. Curriculum development can be influenced by a variety of factors, one of which is school culture. This study aims to understand the role that a school’s culture can play in the development of curriculum as well as the corresponding leadership actions and practices that may support and enhance collaborative curriculum development. This study, conducted in Latin America, adopts a mixed-method research approach. A quantitative survey comprised of questions from the School Culture Survey (Gruenert and Valentine, 1998), as well as questions derived from the curriculum theoretical framework. Following this, semi-structured interviews were conducted to contextualise and develop the perception of school culture with experiences of curriculum development from a range of teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders in different departments across the school. The results from this study indicate that teachers working in an international school with high levels of collegial support are able to work within their departments to effectively develop the curriculum. They experience high levels of trust, optimism and demonstrate a willingness to help each other. However, effective collaboration is less prevalent in interdisciplinary teams, where issues of psychological safety, autonomy, and certainty arise. While teachers generally perceive leaders to trust their professional judgment and value their ideas, there are concerns regarding teacher involvement in decision-making processes and being rewarded for experimentation in curriculum development. Due to the findings, it is recommended that school leadership fosters a more inclusive and collaborative culture across the entire school implementing strategies to increase trust and build relationships in interdisciplinary teams and lead cultural change in a way that promotes autonomy and engages all members of the school community.

Journal of Catholic Education, 2017

Archdioceses and dioceses around the United States continue to brainstorm innovative ways to market their schools in an education system that provides a number of choices to parents and their children. Applying Wenger's (1998) learning theory entitled Communities of Practice (COPs), the purpose of this case study was to investigate one such plan to improve the viability of three inner-city Catholic elementary schools that had similar missions, were located within just a few miles of one another, and served the same neighborhoods of a working-class, culture-rich Latino community in Southern California. Data collection included in-depth interviews with principals and teachers and site visits that involved observations of classroom lessons and joint faculty meetings. Data were analyzed using a two-step coding scheme that was grounded in the main tenets of the theoretical framework. Findings showed the early stages of an interschool consortium that consisted of multiple levels of distributed leadership and the development and maintenance of COPs among principals, teachers, parents, and students. The findings of this study offer a potential model for Catholic schools in similar contexts.

Curriculum Inquiry, 1997

The purpose of this study is to unpack the often taken-for-granted notion of collaborative curriculum-making within the context of writing instruction. The study focuses on a group of writing teachers, participants in a staff development program, who have transformed their view of writing instruction and have come to understand it as an activity of collaborative curriculum-making. From their stories, we gain a better understanding of the possible dimensions of this complex idea.