Abstract
In England, there is a middle school provision dominated by a performance orientated culture. In many schools this has led to a narrowing of the curriculum design, marginalizing subjects that are considered to be less academically rigorous. A period of austerity measures has also limited activity linked to pastoral care, character education, and enrichment. This chapter examines how a group of school leaders in the South of England endeavored to manage reform of their middle school curriculum in order to change this. The data analyzed is taken from documented communications that illuminate the narrative of what the school leaders espoused to achieve and how they went about achieving their mission. It is found that the leaders are ‘walking-the-talk' in terms of how their planning matches their articulated espousal. The conclusion is that the evidence of implementation indicates a sustainable transformation of the middle school programmed of instruction is likely.
TopBackground
A discourse, in the UK, has prevailed from the last century into this one, about transforming schools from remaining as they were in the 19th century (Bates, 2016; Robinson, 1999). Indeed, in the 21st century we are using a 19th-century model with 20th -century values (Sherman, 2012). This case study exemplifies a group of schools attempting to turn that discourse into a reality in terms of what their learners are experiencing day-to-day.
As they expressed it, their “Big Idea” (2018) to reform schooling is in order that:
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Marginalized subjects are saved
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Personal development and character education are not diminished because these learners are tomorrow’s adult, global citizens and society's decision makers
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Instructional pedagogies recognise our learners are learning in 21st century, not when the school leaders learned to learn; thus, technologies, including artificial intelligence must be part of our teaching and learning strategies
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Relevance is enhanced through programs of study that reflect the local and regional context, whilst giving students a global perspective
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It takes a community to raise and educate a child and so schools should have boundaries that invite the community and not block them out and make it seem where the children live is not relevant to the education providers
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Destinations after school are a crucial consideration, not just the qualifications attained
The “Big Idea” later became known as the “Community Curriculum.”
The data informing our analysis is from the author’s knowledge of the schools in the case study and the evidence presented draws on documents produced within the schools, which in most cases were written by the school leaders. The source of each extract is identified.
Our discussion and critical appraisal of the case study evidence is interpreted through two lines of enquiry, and these provide the structure for the chapter. The two questions are:
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In what way does the planning for a community curriculum address the intended reforms as espoused and articulated by the schools in their vision for reform?
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What can be learnt about the management of change that this case study of middle school reform presents?
Key Terms in this Chapter
Community: A social unit based on commonality – for example, common values, beliefs, interests, roles. The quality or character of human relationships and social interactions that bind persons to each other to form a social group; often, but not always, these people share a bounded geographic territory, and/or common culture.
Character Education: The teaching of children and adults in a manner that will help them develop variously as well-rounded, moral, civic, good, mannered, behaved, non-bullying, healthy, critical, successful, traditional, compliant or socially acceptable beings.
Coalition Building: The leadership and management technique of building a group of individuals to gather together on a set basis to work towards a common goal.
Curriculum Reform: The process of making changes to the curriculum with the intent of making learning and teaching more meaningful and effective.
Management of Change: A structured approach to help individuals, groups, or organization’s transition from current work practices to the desired future work practices.
Implementation: Creation of strategies and systems to operationalize the knowledge and recommendations set forth by leaders and managers.
Leadership: A process of influencing the thinking, attitudes, and behaviors of a community to work together synergistically towards a common vision and common goals. Leadership of individuals who influence and bring about significant positive changes in firms, organizations, and communities by facilitating the appropriate level of trust, organizational structures and processes, and involving multiple stakeholders, resources, cultures under the various conditions of temporal, geographical and cultural complexity.
Transformation: Is the journey of taking an organization in a new direction and reaching an entirely different level of effectiveness. It is a change to processes, systems, structure, and culture.