The Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE), in partnership with the School of Education, University of Wolverhampton, ran a 3.5 year project starting in 2007 to develop for the then Qualifications and Curriculum Authority the Evidence Base underpinning its development of the curriculum. The project included four activity strands focused on exploring successful approaches to the obstacles to progress which schools were encountering.
The project included pupil and school surveys complemented by research maps, bounded research-reviews, probes and action research in order to facilitate more differentiated and targeted monitoring. This approach also enabled the evidence gathering process to be related to the needs and interest of practitioners.
The final thematic synthesis of the 3+ years work is available here
Surveys (Strand 1)
In the first year, this strand of work involved interrogating the data QCDA collected in conjunction with Manchester University, based on broad surveys of schools’ perceptions. This was extended in with new data from a national pupil survey in the form of an on-line questionnaire and more in depth follow up interviews with a sample of pupils. The pupils’ survey explored pupils’ knowledge and understanding of their experiences of the curriculum as they progress through school. This strand focussed particularly on securing breadth of evidence and complemented the more in depth and therefore smaller scale approaches in other strands
In Year 2, we added a sample of the views of staff in a core representative group of schools. We looked at the ways in which schools in the system were adapting to the new secondary curriculum. The survey was designed to get a 'pyramid' of views from senior and middle leaders and from classroom practitioners
STUDENT DATA
To download the first two years of student survey data analyses:
You can also:
- Click here for a precis of the first year (2008) survey, (PDF, 33KB)
- Click here for the full technical appendices for the first year report (PDF, 1.1 MB)
- Click here for the full technical appendices for the second year report (PDF 548k)
STAFF DATA
- To download the staff survey final report click here
Note: the data for the third and final year of the project will be published in the near future. click here to be notified when it is available
In the meantime, we have produced practioner summaries of the third year student surveys - which can be downloaded below:
- How was it for you? - summary of primary pupils' views
- How was it for you? - summary of secondary students' views
Action Research and Probes (Strand 2)
This second strand of work involves both action research and case study probes.
We will co-ordinate and support 10 multiple site action research projects to explore the implications of curriculum innovation in a range of contexts. CUREE will identify 10 sites (primary/secondary schools) support and guide them in their action research projects through providing mentors, tools, data processing back up and collaborative interpretation in workshops. The use of common data collection tools will help us read across from one site to another, enabling us to draw out common themes and findings that are more likely to have relevance and application outside each individual context.
Please click on the following to view the action research summaries:
Getting pupils to take greater responsibility for their own learning during collaborative group tasks (PDF, 297 KB)
Transition and beyond: moving forward together (PDF, 142 KB)
Engaging primary school learners through a creative curriculum (PDF, 263 KB)
Knowledge and understanding + skills = wonder child? (PDF, 253 KB)
Moving towards a more innovative and creative curriculum (PDF, 277 KB)
Transition and beyond (PDF, 249 KB)
Rubrics: a self-evaluation tool that supports children's learning (PDF, 271 KB)
How does involving the children in classroom learning affect their learning? (PDF, 263 KB)
The probes are designed to study the process of curriculum innovation in depth. In each year of the project there will be several probes into specific areas of interest emerging from the project and from consultation with QCDA. The probes will invovle multi-site case studies approach. Using a triangulated approach to data collection, bringing together face to face and telephone interviews, observation and documentary evidence they will move beyond description to provide detailed analysis and understanding of the process of curriculum change . To download the probes click on the following links:
Probe 1 - Assessment and Curriculum Development
Probe 2 - Dialogue and Curriculum Development
Probe 3 - CPD and Curriculum Development
Probe 4 - Curriculum Innovation, Participation and Engagement
Probe 5 - Wellbeing and Achievement
Synthesis and Challenge Focus Group (Strand 3)
For the third and final year of the project, strand 3 will be focusing on synthesising the accumulated evidence across all three years of the project with a specific focus on the success measures for the curriculum. The synthesis will highlight the strategic contribution QCA/QCDA has made to the curriculum evidence base and will set a base line for many aspects of the new success measures. Although each strand has yielded useful curriculum related evidence, the synthesis effectively represents a triangulated approach to scrutinising such evidence in relation to the success measures.
As well as synthesising the evidence, strand 3 this year will also be exploring and illustrating the findings from the systematic review on challenge in the curriculum conducted in Year 2. Constructing challenge in the curriculum was also an issue identified from the student survey data. Reflecting the curricular emphases in the systematic review studies, CUREE will be running six focus groups, two for each of mathematics, science and English at both primary and secondary level. This will enable meaningful comparisons between primary and secondary, between different core subjects and between different approaches to curriculum design and enactment.
Click on the links below to download outputs from previous years of this strand:
To download the map of research reviews click here
To download a summary of the map aimed at practitioners, click here
To download the review of individual studies from systematic research reviews click here
To download the challenge review, click here
Diffusion and Dissemination (Strand 4)
This strand of the project draws heavily involves supporting each of the other three strands through consultation and networking with practitioners and policy makers and diffusing and disseminating their findings. The strand is aiming to promote practitioner and policy maker interest in developing the evidence base for the curriculum. The work approaches the diffusion and dissemination from a number of angles. For example the project will develop pages of engaging summaries of evidence for inclusion in a range of QCDA produced communication streams. It will also involve researching and developing tools and activities that help practitioners and policy makers engage with the evidence emerging from the project and the wider public knowledge base, enabling them to both test it and adapt it for their own context.
To download CUREE's summary of the work of Jerome Bruner, click here [PDF, 171 kB]. To download an activity based Bruner's work, click here [PDF, 99 kB].