Physically fit or physically literate? Children with special educational needs understanding of physical education

The role of physical literacy within physical education (PE) has become a widely debated topic in recent years. Its role in educating children about physicality through embodiment, skill acquisition and reading the environment is argued to be of great benefit to children. However, whether children understand the role of PE in the development of these competencies is not clear, and this is even truer for children who have special educational needs (SEN). Drawing on qualitative phenomenological data from 30 children in key stages 2 and three (7 to 14 years of age) who have SEN, this paper explores notions of physical fitness and physical literacy as understood by children in PE lessons. It aims to gain insight into the ways that children understand the purpose of PE, and places these perceptions within a physical literacy framework, using the National Curriculum for PE (NCPE) as a foundation. Findings demonstrate that children with SEN perceive PE as a means for improving physical fitness, whereas concepts surrounding physical literacy appear to be lost. The paper concludes by making recommendations for factoring physical literacy components more forcibly into the PE curriculum, and through initial teacher training and continued professional development

Guidance for local authorities on investigations into allegations of maladministration

"The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) has a statutory responsibility to investigate all reported allegations of maladministration in the key stage 2 national curriculum tests and science sampling tests. The QCDA maladministration team is responsible for investigating these allegations. To carry out these investigations, the team works in partnership with local authorities. This document offers guidance for local authority staff who may be asked to carry out investigation visits." - Cover

Science teacher education in Scotland

This section gives the context for teaching in Scotland, from the introduction of the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) (The Curriculum Review Group, 2004) until today. The introduction of CfE,which deals with education for ages 3-18,resulted in big changes in Scottish education. CfE is the responsibility of Education Scotland,which is a Scottish Government executive agency.CfE defines the curriculum as a series of broad Experiences and Outcomes (Es&Os) and leaves the implementation of the Es&Os to the professional judgement of teachers (Education Scotland, 2009). The Es&Os cover the Broad General Education (BGE) phase of the curriculum,from ages 3-15. Examination courses in the Senior Phase are the responsibility of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), which publishes details of the new CfE National Qualifications for the National 4 and 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses (equivalent to GCSE, AS-level and A-level courses)

Double marking revisited

In 2002, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) published the report of an independent panel of experts into maintaining standards at Advanced Level (A-Level). One of its recommendations was for: ‘limited experimental double marking of scripts in subjects such as English to determine whether the strategy would signi-ficantly reduce errors of measurement’ (p. 24). This recommendation provided the impetus for this paper which reviews the all but forgotten literature on double marking and considers its relevance now

Time for curriculum reform: the case of mathematics

Mathematics education is rarely out of the policy spotlight in England. Over the last ten years, considerable attention has been given to improving 14-19 mathematics curriculum pathways. In this paper we consider some of the challenges of enacting curriculum change by drawing upon evidence from our evaluation of the Mathematics Pathways Project. From 2004-10 this project, which was directed by England’s Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, aimed to improve the engagement, attainment and participation rates of 14-19 year old learners of mathematics. Our particular focus is upon the temporal problems of piloting new curriculum and assessment and we draw on Lemke’s discussion of time-scales, heterochrony and the adiabatic principle to consider the interlocking and interference of various change processes

Progress or paradox? : NZQA, the genesis of a radical reconstruction of qualifications policy in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration at Massey University

This thesis investigates the origins of, and influences on, the policy developments that preceded the establishment of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). It is a case study of qualifications policy and draws heavily on material gathered from interviews with key-players and an analysis of a range of reports and other documents. The report traces the policy origins from developments in early New Zealand educational history. An essential ingredient to the policy mix that produced NZQA is its frequently paradoxical nature. This study investigates the extent of this paradox and seeks to describe it explain it. It does this by a description of events and developments, and relating them, where appropriate, to relevant theory. The chapter on centralisation and control focuses on the contradiction of what appears to be a centralising development amidst a sea of devolutionary rhetoric is examined. The period of more detailed examination coincides with the tenure of the Labour Government from 1984 to 1990. The role of legitimation is discussed in explaining the paradox apparent in the policy mix that produced NZQA. The impact of the new structure and its associated framework on curriculum, particularly that of secondary schools, is analysed. Here the problematic nature of the split between curriculum and assessment is discussed. This section reinforces the discussion on centralisation, as it unveils the potentially centralist and controlling nature of the new curriculum structure. Concern is voiced over the National Curriculum and Achievement Initiative and how they may combine with the qualifications framework to provide a greater measure of centralised curriculum extending from primary school level and up. The impacts of a modular, or units-of-learning, approach to increasing motivation, flexibility, and efficiency is also scrutinised. Concern is voiced again about controlling influences and the impact of managerialist ideologies. While the potential advantages of modularisation are acknowledged, a critical account is given of its short-coming and dangers as a means of legitimating essentially controlling mechanisms. All three aspects of the policy, curriculum, centralisation and modularisation are shown to be instruments capable of moving the locus of control ever closer to the centre. This inherent susceptibility is in turn related to the prevailing ideologies, and in particular those associated with managerialism and neo-Friedmanite economics. Specific attention is paid to debunking the pejorative association of conspiracy theories with the searches for explanations for policy developments, and care is taken to explain that despite the existence of ideological pressures, much policy occurs in a rather arbitrary, even ad hoc manner. A range of factors that aided the shaping of this particular policy are described and explained. The thesis concludes that explanations of policy developments need to consider a whole raft of factors that shape a particular policy. Furthermore the thesis also demonstrates that there are several inherent tensions and contradictions that remain unresolved in the policy example it examines

Exemplar units of work for English

The exemplar units of work for Key Stage 3 English show how medium- and short-term planning can be based on the teaching objectives in the Framework for teaching English: Years 7, 8 and 9 and can support the implementation of Curriculum 2000. The materials have been developed jointly by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and the Key Stage 3 National Strategy. Each unit enables teachers to address a range of Framework objectives and thereby to cover important aspects of the Programmes of Study. The units are deliberately different in their content and focus: Write Now centres upon writing (Year 7) Books in their Times has a literary focus (Year 7) Great Lives is built around biography and autobiography (Year 7) What's in the News? focuses on news reporting on TV and in newspapers (Year 7) A Sense of Place features stories from different cultures (Year 8) Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows, One Witch (Maybe) has a contemporary literary focus.(Year 7 and Year 8) Travelling and Telling has a non-fiction focus (Year 9) Research in Ireland (Year 7) has a literary focus The Faces of War (Year 9) focuses on World War 1 poetr

Directing Romeo and Juliet: teacher notes (Active Shakespeare: Capturing evidence of learning)

"Providing active and engaging ways to integrate Shakespeare in the ongoing periodic assessment of pupils’ reading. What is it for? To support the teaching and assessment of Shakespeare at Key Stage 3." - Back cover