Opening Keynote: The Next Curve
Carmel Gallagher (Manager of the CCEA) opened the conference by setting the scean. During her presentation she outlined some of the problems facing school and education within our emerging global society. She touched on some of the problems facing Northern Ireland and emphasised the fact that Northern Ireland was a small nation on the edge of Europe. It has no natural resources apart from its people, 60% of all jobs are in the public sector. Like other parts of the world it also faces a number of problems including competition in the workforce, slowing down of the school population, rural to urban migration and uneven distribution of wealth,
Carmel however remained positive. The new curriculum recently introduced in Northern Ireland is trying to embrace the challenges presented by the modern day world by encouraging creativity and developing thinking skills. The philosophical aims of the Northern Ireland Curriculum are similar to that of the Curriculum for Excellence (although I don’t think they roll off the tongue in the same way).
Carmel was followed by Mick Walters who is the Director of Curriculum for the QCA. Mick’s role in the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is ‘to develop a modern, world-class curriculum that will inspire and challenge all learners and prepare them for the future’. (My new remit at Musselburgh has plunged into insignificance by comparison!)
Mick started his presentation by defining what he understands as ‘all’ and then went on to give an excellent presentation on a future curriculum which make the best possible use of technology.
I really enjoyed Mick’s presentation, we was a great speaker and really very inspiring. The following pints from his presentation particularly stick in my mind:
‘The World Wide Web is changing the power relationship between students and teachers because students have more access to information than ever before.’
‘We still teach things in schools the students don’t really need to know about.’
‘Every moment of every day counts’ (great example of getting changed for PE and missed opportunities of assemblies)
‘Education and the curriculum should include what goes on outside school. It should include clubs, charity work and part time jobs.’(I still want to find a way that we can record these experiences in schools – A wealth colleague on my table seems a ahead of the game here, I have his email!)
‘Its funny that lots of young people in the UK have part time jobs for up-to two years before work experience.’
‘A good curriculum will be a local interpretation within a national context. It is OK for schools to be different.’
Lots to think about.