The impact of curriculum change is felt by everyone in our education system. Supporting the work of stakeholders during times of curriculum change is an important feature of NCCA's work. This work involves collaboration and engagement throughout the process of reviewing, developing, enacting and sustaining curriculum change. To further support the redevelopment of the Primary School Curriculum, NCCA have convened a number of events and activities that support stakeholder engagement. These include a BEACONS event with School Communities, Curriculum Seminars, the Leading Out Seminar Series and the establishment of an Advisory Panel.
Supporting Systemwide Primary Curriculum Change
This document is intended to support collective and collaborative decision-making and action as all stakeholders in the primary sector work together to support and guide curriculum change.
The Supporting Systemwide Primary Curriculum Change document can be accessed here
- Reimagining Curriculum Seminars
- Beacons
- From Purpose to Practice
- Advisory Panel
- Leading Out Seminar Series
- Curriculum Seminars
The NCCA is hosting a series of curriculum seminars to support the development of primary curriculum specifications. The seminars are an opportunity for the education partners and stakeholders to consider the key points emerging from the research papers, and to discuss and tease out these points from different perspectives. Each seminar includes keynote presentations and panel discussions focused on important aspects of developing primary curriculum specifications.
Seminar 1
The first Reimagining Curriculum Seminar took place on March 22nd 2023 when the education partners and stakeholders deliberated on the future curriculum areas of Social and Environmental Education and; Arts Education in a redeveloped Primary School Curriculum.
Seminar 2
The second Reimagining Curriculum Seminar took place on May 17th 2023 when the education partners and stakeholders deliberated on the future curriculum areas of Wellbeing and; STEM Education in a redeveloped Primary School Curriculum.
Seminar 3
The third Reimagining Curriculum Seminar took place on October 4th 2023. This included presentations from Dr Patrick Burke and Dr Paula Lehane, Institute of Education, Dublin City University on the Integration, Pedagogy and Assessment reports and from Prof Dympna Devine, University College Dublin, School of Education on the Children's School Lives study.
Integration, Pedagogy and Assessment by Dublin City University
Children's School Lives by University College Dublin
Panel Discussion (1)
BEACONS (Bringing Education Alive for Communities on a National Scale)
In March 2022, NCCA hosted a BEACONS event in collaboration with the Teaching Council. This event provided the opportunity for a range of stakeholders including children, parents, teachers, school leaders and national bodies to come together and share their perspectives, views and ideas on the future of a Primary School Curriculum in Ireland.
A report and video capturing the activities of the day can be viewed below.
Click on the center of the BEACONS image below to view the video.
BEACONS - From Purpose to Practice
To support the redevelopment of the Primary School Curriculum an Advisory Panel (Primary) has been established.
From Purpose to Practice is a collaborative document emerging from NCCA’s work with the Advisory Panel (Primary) and is intended to support stakeholders to engage with the ‘big ideas’ of curriculum change.
A suite of short videos also containing the key ideas in the document have been developed. You can access these within the document itself and below.
Overview of Primary Curriculum Review and Redevelopment
The Links between Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment
Agency
Aligning Policy, Practice and Research
Leadership
Systemwide Learning
To support the redevelopment of the Primary School Curriculum an Advisory Panel has been established. Members of the panel have been carefully chosen considering their expertise, current and previous research interests, their experience or participation in curriculum change processes, their knowledge and/or experience of education systems, and their familiarity with the Irish context.
The four panellists include:
- Prof James Spillane, Northwestern University
- Prof Louise Hayward, Glasgow University
- Prof Dominic Wyse, University College London
- Dr Thomas Walsh, Maynooth University.
To date the panel have been collaborating with NCCA and stakeholders to explore topics such as 'agency and flexibility', 'policy alignment and coherence', 'pedagogy and assessment' and 'cultivating conditions to support change'. The work of the panel will continue in 2023 with publications related to this work to follow.
The Leading Out Seminar Series has been designed to support stakeholder organisations to identify and to begin to cultivate the necessary conditions to support the introduction and enactment of the redeveloped Primary School Curriculum. There have been seven seminars to date focusing on 'The conducive conditions for curriculum change', 'Agency and flexibility', 'Policy alignment and coherence' , 'System wide leadership' , ‘System wide learning’ and 'Teacher agency and identity'.
You can find a short report and related material on the proceedings of each seminar below.
Seminar 1: Report and Presentation.
Seminar 2: Report and Presentation.
Seminar 3: Report, Presentation and Podcast.
Seminar 4: Report, Presentation and Podcast.
Seminar 5: Report and Presentation.
Seminar 6: Report and Presentation.
Seminar 7: Report, Presentation and Video 1, Video 2.
You can also find a list of the stakeholder organisations who have engaged in the series to date here.
The NCCA held five curriculum seminars between March 2018 and January 2019. Attendance was by invitation to the education partners and wider stakeholders while many of the attending teachers, school leaders and early years practitioners were members of the Schools Forum. The seminars gave participants opportunities to consider the key points emerging from the research papers, and to discuss and tease out these points from different perspectives. Each seminar included keynote presentations focusing on important aspects of a primary curriculum. This report identifies seven themes which emerged across the five curriculum seminars. The five seminars were as follows.
Seminar 1 - Curriculum Purpose
The first seminar, ‘Curriculum Purpose' took place on March 21st 2018 and over one hundred attendees including teachers, principals and other stakeholders in education deliberated about the purpose of a primary curriculum and explored its values and principles.
Dr. Jones Irwin
Dr. Thomas Walsh
Panel discussion: Reflecting on the learningSeminar 2 - Powerful Synergies
The second, 'Powerful Synergies' took place on May 17th 2018 when over one hundred stakeholders deliberated on powerful pedagogies, expressions of integration and the role of competencies and knowledge in a redeveloped curriculum.
Professor Dominic Wyse
Professor Louis Volante
Dr Karen Bacon
Professor Carol McGuinnessSeminar 3 - New Horizons
The third seminar, ‘New Horizons' took place on October 3rd 2018. It considered how a redeveloped primary curriculum could provide continuity and progression for children's learning between the two preschool years and the initial years of primary school.
Dr. Alejandra Cortazar
Dr. Harold Hislop
Bernie McNallySeminar 4 - Enhancing Learning
The fourth seminar 'Enhancing Learning Journeys' took place on November 29th 2018. The first part of the seminar focused on how children learn and the implications for classroom practice. The second part of the seminar considered parents' perspectives on a redeveloped primary curriculum. Findings were presented from the NCCA's focus group meetings with parents around the country (October 2018).
Professor Emer Ring, Dr Lisha O'Sullivan, Marie Ryan and Patrick Burke
Parents' panel discussionSeminar 5 - Charting the Journey Forward
The fifth and final seminar ‘Charting the Journey Forward' took place on January 31st 2019 with over 120 stakeholders coming for further deliberation and reflection on what a redeveloped primary curriculum might look like. The first part of the seminar explored the content of a redeveloped primary curriculum. while the second part of the seminar focused on assessment. Attendees explored how a redeveloped curriculum might take account of new thinking in relation to assessment in the primary school.
Professor Michael O'Leary and Dr Zita Lysaght
Sharon O'Donnell