"Curriculum reform is underway in NSW, including the development and implementation of new syllabuses from kindergarten to year 12. Recent media coverage presents this reform as a ‘silver bullet’ for improving teaching and student outcomes. But there is a troubling undertone regarding teachers’ curriculum work in general – a subtle gaslighting of teachers’ curricular expertise and professionalism."
With reference to Nicole Mockler’s forthcoming discussion paper, the author also questions the prevailing attitudes to teachers’ professionalism. He refers to curriculum work as a ‘dynamic interpretive process’, one which requires time. It is this issue, allowing teachers time to creatively develop curriculum, that he posits as the opposite of ‘externally vetted curriculum materials’ which are often proffered as the solution to onerous workloads. In response he poses the question of the teacher as deliverer or maker of curriculum and argues that teachers enter the profession because they want the opportunity to be creative curriculum makers who meet the needs of their students.
He concludes his article by suggesting that ‘curriculum made by teachers, not others, shapes the quality of students’ access to knowledge and new ways of thinking for their future.’ I think many teachers and parents may agree, an article well worth reading at a time when major changes are being made to curriculum.
Reference: Poulton, P. (2024, Sept,27). Are we now gaslighting teacher expertise? Edu Research Matters.