A strong message came from teachers and principal teachers during two phases of review of the Primary School Curriculum (1999) that they did not have enough time to 'teach it all.' The two factors that teachers cited were the size of the curriculum and the range of individual learning needs represented by children in their classes. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) is responding to the challenge in a number of ways.
During the 2009/2010 school year we worked with teachers to explore different formats for re-presenting curriculum subjects. We are re-presenting the curriculum content objectives, in order to make the content of the 11 curriculum books more accessible and user-friendly. Take a look at the curriculum re-presentation materials.
Curriculum overview wall chartThe re-presented English CurriculumAthleagan amach Curaclam na GaeilgeThe re-presented Mathematics CurriculumThe re-presented Science CurriculumThe re-presented Physical Education Curriculum
One hundred and twenty-five teachers from a range of different school types and sizes from various parts of the country used the re-presented curriculum materials in their schools and classrooms in the period from October-December 2009. They told us of their experiences through two on-line surveys and they gave us their views on how the materials might be further developed. They also gave us their personal insights on the issue of curriculum overload. Read what they told us.
Curriculum overload in primary schools: Teachers' voices Phases 1 & 2 (PDF, 398 KB)
Teachers and other education partners are continuing to engage in using the re-presented materials and to give us feedback. We invite you to participate by giving us your views on the NCCA's response to curriculum overload via email at curriculumoverload@ncca.ie.
This overview has been developed to help us understand the curriculum overload issue in order to respond effectively to it. The paper begins by defining overload and then focuses on our experience in Ireland where teachers have reported acutely experiencing the overload issue and where we've seen a proliferation of policy and legislation governing children's primary education, in recent years. Key factors contributing to the overload issue in primary schools are discussed. International experiences of curriculum overload are described and different responses to the overload issue which may be relevant to Council's work in reviewing and improving the Primary School Curriculum (1999) are highlighted. The last section explores the relevance of the overload issue for children themselves and the world they live in today.
Curriculum overload in Primary Schools: An overview of national and international experiences (PDF, 396 KB)