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Post 5: Curriculm Changes in British Columbia



This week's assigned readings that spoke to how curriculum is influenced and how complex any type of reform in education can be inspired me to look in more depth at the British Columbia curriculum which was redesigned in 2015.

The changes to the B.C. curriculum were implemented in 2015, however the changes coming were being presented to the public and educators in 2012. Enabling Innovation: Transforming Curriculum and Assessment is an article published by the B.C. Ministry of Education that described the process that guided the reform.

Input and recommendations from the Curriculum and Assessment Framework Advisory Group (comprised of non-specified partner groups and academic institutions), and which supported by Regional working teams (consisting of involved principals, superintendents, district staff, teachers, parents, school trustees, and students):

  • increased flexibility in learning to allow for students to explore personal interests

  • flexible instructional design that allows for creative approaches and integration

  • vulnerable learners and learners with special needs should be considered at all levels

  • First Peoples Principles of Learning be added to every subject area (investment in improving graduation rates of Indigenous students in B.C. being a driving factor)

  • all students regardless of economic status, geographic locations, or academic ability be able to access the curriculum

It is difficult to determine who the different “partner groups” and stakeholders that are referred to in the curriculum redesign documents and websites. A recent case study by Amelia Peterson (2023) writes that parent groups, the First Nations Steering Committee of B.C., and the B.C. Teachers Federation were some examples of involved organizations. Peterson mentions the difficulty of the union involvement specifically due to the tensions caused by job actions, lawsuits, and contract negotiations. It was a good reminder to me that this curriculum was created during this turbulent time. I think it would be interesting to explore how this factor influenced the curriculum development. 

References

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2012). “Enabling Innovation: Transforming Curriculum and Assessment”. Curriculum Redesign. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/docs/ca_transformation.pdf

Peterson, Amelia. (2023). “Education Transformation in British Columbia”. Center for Universal Education at Brookings. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED626332.pdf


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Comments

  1. DR.ABCAugust 3, 2023 at 4:06 PM

    seen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rachel ToddAugust 13, 2023 at 4:56 PM

    Hi Maureen,

    I found your point about it being difficult to determine the different "partner groups" involved with the revision of BC's curriculum to be salient. I noticed this as well, and further noticed it when I was perusing the new K-12 reporting policy. There are a number of mentions of "partner groups" and "experts" without naming who these folks are and what research the decisions that have been made over the last decade of curriculum and assessment changes is based on.

    Rachel

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MaureenAugust 14, 2023 at 10:38 AM

      It does seem a bit strange. I guess specifying who did have input, in turn points out who was not given the opportunity to have input.

      Delete

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