ERIC Number: EJ1260988
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jun
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0958-5176
EISSN: N/A
Curriculum Integration: The Challenges for Primary and Secondary Schools in Developing a New Curriculum in the Expressive Arts
Kneen, Judith; Breeze, Thomas; Davies-Barnes, Sian; John, Vivienne; Thayer, Emma
Curriculum Journal, v31 n2 p258-275 Jun 2020
Curriculum integration is a feature of many new curricula that have emerged in different countries since around the turn of the millennium. It focuses on removing the boundaries between traditional subject specialisms, to enable more holistic and 'joined-up' learning opportunities. This study draws on the experiences of a group of primary and secondary teachers in Wales, engaged in creating a framework for an integrated curriculum for expressive arts. Whilst the teachers are united in their ambition for establishing a curriculum that gives greater status to the arts, curriculum integration presents significant challenges, notably in how subject knowledge is understood and presented within an integrated curriculum. The teachers take different approaches to curriculum integration, with primary teachers favouring a "transdisciplinary" approach, with child-led learning and themes taking precedence, and secondary teachers opting for "multidisciplinary" approaches, where the themes are organising devices but where subjects take priority. Differing practices suggest differing conceptions of subject knowledge and mastery within an integrated curriculum. Drawing, in particular, on Bernstein's concepts relating to knowledge discourses, this paper suggests that the danger of an integrated curriculum is weakened disciplinary knowledge. Whilst this paper relates to the arts, the messages about curriculum integration might be applied more widely.
Descriptors: Integrated Curriculum, Elementary Secondary Education, Curriculum Development, Art Education, Interdisciplinary Approach, Foreign Countries, Teaching Experience, Elementary School Teachers, Secondary School Teachers
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Wales)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A