Changing Geography Curriculum in London: Stories from Four Departments

1. Curriculum-making in changing times: Stories from four Geography departments in London, England in 2014David Mitchell, UCL-IOE London, d.mitchell@ioe.ac.uk

2. Department A: A ‘behaviour’ curriculum. “You almost have to entertain them” Sian, interview July 4th, 2014 “See…just start talking about soil and low level disruption!” Teacher X, geography planning meeting, June 11th, 2014 Present: ‘Tourism’, ‘The Geography of my stuff’, ‘Poverty and Wealth’ Absent: China, Russia

3. Department A: A ‘behaviour’ curriculum. “You almost have to entertain them” Sian, interview July 4th, 2014 “See…just start talking about soil and low level disruption!” Teacher X, geography planning meeting, June 11th, 2014 Present: ‘Tourism’, ‘The Geography of my stuff’, ‘Poverty and Wealth’ Absent: China, Russia

4. Department B: Modernising geography…in a climate of accountability “(We) really think about what the girls want to learn about…” “It’s all very well and good if they can understand it but if they can’t get it down onto paper then… it doesn’t really matter how they’re doing.” “It (GCSE and A level) is a huge driver, absolutely huge.” Jane, interview October 8th 2014 Present: ‘Moving Stories’, ‘Fashion Victims’, ‘Hot and Bothered’, ‘Urban Change’ Absent: Coasts, Fieldwork

5. Department B: Modernising geography…in a climate of accountability “(We) really think about what the girls want to learn about…” “It’s all very well and good if they can understand it but if they can’t get it down onto paper then… it doesn’t really matter how they’re doing.” “It (GCSE and A level) is a huge driver, absolutely huge.” Jane, interview October 8th 2014 Present: ‘Moving Stories’, ‘Fashion Victims’, ‘Hot and Bothered’, ‘Urban Change’ Absent: Coasts, Fieldwork

6. Department C: Free-thinking “We teach what we want.” “They look at the data, the data is good and they leave us alone.” (Matt, interview, July 11th 2014) Present: ‘Inequalities’, ‘Research techniques’, ‘Patterns of crime or disease’ Absent: Tourism, Russia

7. Department C: Free-thinking “I think there are things we’ll not be compliant with. I think we we’ll do precious little about rocks or soils. I think we’ll do nothing on them. I think we’ll do nothing on glaciation…and at first I thought, oh my lord! Then I thought to myself, well you know, there are so many aspects of what we do which I think are really good and I think if a man in a bowler hat comes here and says ‘show me your scheme of work for rocks, soils and glaciation’. I would just fall to the ground sobbing and think all is lost, because that is just not important to me.” (Matt, interview, July 11th 2014)

8. Department C: Free-thinking “I think there are things we’ll not be compliant with. I think we we’ll do precious little about rocks or soils. I think we’ll do nothing on them. I think we’ll do nothing on glaciation…and at first I thought, oh my lord! Then I thought to myself, well you know, there are so many aspects of what we do which I think are really good and I think if a man in a bowler hat comes here and says ‘show me your scheme of work for rocks, soils and glaciation’. I would just fall to the ground sobbing and think all is lost, because that is just not important to me.” (Matt, interview, July 11th 2014)

9. Department D: Turning to knowledge “I think I have a responsibility that they understand why it rains.” (Kathy, interview, July 25th 2014) Present: ‘A world shaped by water’, ‘The air around us’, ‘Local geographies’ Absent: crime, tourism

10. Department D: Turning to knowledge “I think I have a responsibility that they understand why it rains.” (Kathy, interview, July 25th 2014) Present: ‘A world shaped by water’, ‘The air around us’, ‘Local geographies’ Absent: crime, tourism

11. The planning process Department D: discuss and agree overall content delegate the planning of LOs sharing LOs for feedback fix LOs and assignment guidelines for each unit delegate production of lesson materials sharing lesson materials on intranet & build up and amend materials as taught

12. Department D planning for progression

13. Department D assessment planning

14. Influences on curriculum-making

15. Influences on curriculum-making

16. Common Themes Highly ‘socialised’ curriculum making

17. Highly ‘socialised’ curriculum making Enjoyment “the driving force (of curriculum decisions) more so than anything else”. Jane (HoD, school B) interview October 8th 2014

18. “We all get excited when we see stuff. I think most geographers do, and we will often send an email. I mean, I’ll be watching TV…David Attenborough, the kids adore David Attenborough, absolutely adore him!…and when I say that he’s part of the optimum population trust…and go ‘ooh! Are you watching this!’ To the whole team. And people will find things and send it to us in a link.” Kathy, interview, July 25th 2014

19. “We all get excited when we see stuff. I think most geographers do, and we will often send an email. I mean, I’ll be watching TV…David Attenborough, the kids adore David Attenborough, absolutely adore him!…and when I say that he’s part of the optimum population trust…andgo ‘ooh! Are you watching this!’ To the whole team. And people will find things and send it to us in a link.” Kathy, interview, July 25th 2014

20. Common Themes Highly ‘socialised’ curriculum making

21. Common Themes Highly ‘socialised’ curriculum making Accountability

22. “Nemesis” “We had a kind of internal battle in the department, people thinking we should be assessing skills, people thinking we should be assessing content.” “I tell my department not to mark work books because it’s just totally unachievable and we haven’t marked books for five years and no one has…I’ve said to senior management… we will make sure that the assessments are marked to a high standard.” Kathy (D) interview July 25th, 2014 “We’re just a sort of summative assessment driven education system, right from the word go, from 5 to 18… I’m really worried.” Rachel (D) interview July 25th, 2014

23. Accountability enjoyment technology pupil input Shared Communities

24. Accountability enjoyment technology A ‘hyper-socialised’ curriculum-making process in 2014 pupil input Shared Communities

25. 1. Deepening neo-liberalism (marketisation of education, accountability, managerialism and pupils’ self-management) 2. Changes in communication technology

26. Stories of teachers’ turning to their subject identities to sustain their curriculum-making 1. Deepening neo-liberalism (marketisation of education, accountability, managerialism and pupils’ self-management) 2. Changes in communication technology

27. Selected reading Apple, M. (2004) Ideology and Curriculum 3rd Edition. New York: RoutledgeFalmer. Bourdieu, R. and Passeron, J. (1977) Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. London: Sage. Ecclestone, K. & Hayes, D. (2009) The Dangerous rise of Therapeutic Education. Fielding, M. (2011) Radical education and the common school: a democratic alternative Abingdon: Routledge. Furedi, F. (2009) Wasted: Why Education Isn't Educating. London: Continuum Press. Goepel, J. (2013) Upholding public trust: an examination of teacher professionalism and the use of Teachers’ Standards in England, Teacher Development (16) 4: 489-505. Graves, N. (1979) Curriculum planning in geography. London: Heinemann Educational Hartley, D. (1997) Re-Schooling Society. London: Falmer. Huckle, J. (1985) The Future of School Geography. In R. Johnston (ed.) The Future of Geography. London: Methuen. Kelly, V. (2008) The Curriculum: Theory and Practice. 6th edition. London: Sage. Lambert, D. & Morgan, J. (2010) Teaching Geography 11-18 – A Conceptual Approach. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Lambert, D. & Young, M. (2014) Knowledge and the Future School – Curriculum and Social Justice. London: Bloomsbury. Lee, A. (1996) Gender, Literacy, Curriculum. London: Taylor and Francis Marsden, W. E (1997) ‘On taking the geography out of geographical education: Some historical pointers’. Geography (82) 3: 241–52. Morgan, J. (2011) What is radical school geography today? Forum 53, 1, 116 – 128. Morgan, J. (2012) Teaching Secondary Geography as if the planet mattered. London: Routledge.

28. Oates, T. (2011): ‘Could do better: using international comparisons to refine the National Curriculum in England’, Curriculum Journal, 22,2, pp. 121-150. Oram, R. (1973) ‘An action frame of reference as a register for curriculum discourse’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 10, 2, 135-149. Pring, R. (2013) The Life and Death of Secondary Education for all.Abingdon: Routledge Rawling, E.M. (2001) Changing the Subject: The impact of national policy on school geography 1980-2000. Sheffield: Geographical Association. Roberts, M. (1995) ‘Interpretations of the geography national curriculum: a common curriculum for all?’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 27,2, pp. 187-205. Ross, A. (2000) Curriculum: Construction and critique. London: Falmer Press. Schiro, M. (2008) Curriculum theory: conflicting visions and enduring concerns. London: Sage. Walford, R. (1981) ‘Language, ideologies and geography teaching’, In Walford, R. (ed.) Signposts for Geography Teaching (pp. 215–22). London: Longman. Young, M. (2007) Bringing Knowledge Back In: From social constructivism to social Realism in the sociology of education. London: Routledge. Young, M. & Muller, J. (2010) Three Educational Scenarios for the Future: lessons from the sociology of knowledge, European Journal of Education, 45, 1, pp. 11-27.