Primary Curriculum Review

Overview

Under the Education Act (1998) National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has responsibility, to review the curriculum, or any part of the curriculum, for schools and the syllabuses taught and to advise the Minister (Section 41, Subsection 2).

The purpose of curriculum review is to ask and answer questions about the effectiveness of a curriculum and the extent to which it enables teachers to support children in their learning. Review therefore is central to system improvement.

The NCCA has completed two phases of Primary Curriculum Review. This involved gathering, analysing and reporting information about how the curriculum is experienced by children, teachers, principals and parents, in order to improve it.

Each phase of review involved gathering data through the use of a Review and Reflection Template for Teachers and also interviews with principals, teachers, parents and children across a small number of case study schools.

Following from the schedule for rolling implementation of curriculum subjects/areas, each phase of review focused on specific curriculum subjects/areas:

•      Phase 1, focused on English, Visual Arts and Mathematics
•      Phase 2, focused on Gaeilge, Science and SPHE

Geography, History, Physical Education, Music and Drama have yet to be reviewed.

We are now responding to the challenges reported in the first two phases of review through our work in the Primary School Network.

Related links:

Primary Curriculum Review: Phase 1
Primary Curriculum Review: Phase 2
Science in Primary Schools: Phase 1 (Commissioned research)
Science in Primary Schools: Phase 2 (Commissioned research)
Primary Curriculum Review Publications
Primary School Curriculum
Primary School Network: Assessment
Primary School Network: Language
Primary School Network: Curriculum overload