Curriculum: The Outliers

 

Missing Chapters

There are some excellent books out there on curriculum. My eyes were opened by Mary Myatt (2018); Clare Sealy and co. (2020) enriched my understanding; Ruth Ashbee (2021) schooled me further in theory, concepts and language. But every time I get to the section on ‘subjects’ in any education book, I flick tentatively through the pages, yet I know in my heart of hearts that there probably isn’t going to be a section on my subject!

That is absolutely not a criticism of these amazing and incredibly useful books though. There are a great many ‘small’ subjects out there and there are, of course, practical limits to what can and should realistically be published in a book that is written for all teachers, and thus (obviously) not every subject can feature. Furthermore, even if one attempted obsessively to try to include them all, what would one actually write? Often very little exists for small subjects in terms of a developed subject community or relevant published work to draw from. Subject experts who are engaged in relevant work can be very hard to find, or they might not even exist! Inclusion for inclusion's sake is likely unwise if there's little of value to be written. 

Therefore, this situation is inevitable, understandable and sensible. Yet this small illustration demonstrates the great challenge often faced by everyone teaching these small subjects. Not only must we work to understand the complex ‘substantive knowledge’ of curriculum terms and concepts, we must also attempt to apply them ourselves to our subject areas with very little outside input as to what that might look like. Very often, due to the nature of these subjects, they may also only be taught by one or two people in a single school, so the pool of subject thinking in the organisation itself is also very small*.  

These small subjects also present a challenge for the conscientious senior leader. The ‘big subject’ curriculum thinking might be sorted, but what about those outliers? It is not acceptable to just leave a few quiet corners of the school bubbling away by themselves without ensuring that the same rigorous thinking and planning is applied there as everywhere else. This matters.      

So, for the teachers of economics, business, finance, politics, sociology, psychology, child development, travel & tourism, health & social care, law, media, agriculture, classics, Latin, and the poor souls who have not even made this list, this blog is for you. (And your SLT link!!).

How to Proceed – Some Strategies for Teachers & Subject Leaders

1. Reading

Allocate plenty of time to reading.

This is not the first time I have faced this problem. On reading the literature surrounding cognitive science, the same sorts of issues presented themselves. I have read many excellent books on numerous aspects of evidence-informed teaching and most of the examples provided, sensibly enough, refer to core or other large subjects. I have found, in order to apply principles comfortably myself, that I needed to read widely to ensure a very firm knowledge foundation with regards to the concept I was exploring and to protect myself as much as possible from misconceptions. For curriculum, I would thoroughly recommend you read Myatt (2018), Sealy (2020), Ashbee (2021) and Counsell (2018).

2. Subject Community

Get involved.

All the books recommend this of course. The writers (rightly) encourage you to engage with others out there. This might just be more difficult and it might take longer to find people, but there are people out there. Persevere! Put messages on Twitter for re-tweeting to seek contacts. Google hard to find subject associations or blogs. Scour the exam board websites for all the specifications, not just your own. Dig deep into blogs and tweets from anyone teaching your subject. Make contact with senior curriculum leaders who might be able to put you in touch with relevant contacts in their own schools who are not online.

I have uncovered a number of curriculum blogs recently that I did not even know existed from people who I had been following for a long time. People out there are probably being asked to think about these things more than ever (due not least to the Ofsted agenda), so you’re not the only one!

Ruth Ashbee’s website (https://www.ruth-ashbee.com/) also contains a very handy subject directory – I have contributed some sources for seekers to use to access curriculum thinking and thinkers for business and economics (coming soon to Ruth's site, not there yet!). If you have extra sources for your subject, or you cannot find your subject on her page, then drop her a line to contribute and suggest some additions!

3. DIY

If not you, then who?

If you cannot find writing on your subject, then maybe you need to write it! If you are an expert in your subject, then why not you? You might be able to demonstrate your thinking to others who are not as far down the track in their thinking as you are, or who are less experienced. You might create some new knowledge in the domain of your subject pedagogy as you fuse new ideas together in your attempts to apply the ‘generic’ concept to your particular subject area. Things have to start somewhere. Maybe it is with you.

This has been the rationale I have taken with regards to my Twitter account, blog and contributions to the field in general. There’s plenty out there on generic theory; I try to offer the theory applied to my subject areas. And I have been really pleased and grateful to able to contribute to ensuring future readers will open edu-books and see my subject by writing a section for Kate Jones’s (2021) second book on retrieval practice, and Oliver Caviglioli and David Rodger-Goodwin’s (2021) upcoming book on organising ideas.

The joy of and freedom to openly publish your thoughts online also means you do not even need to get your work to paper. Start a blog! My blog series on curriculum is another part of this journey, and you will be able to find my curriculum thinking, applied to my subjects, written here as I develop it.

How to Proceed – Some Strategies for Senior Leaders

1. Notice & Support

‘I know this is ambitious, but…’

Be attentive to the issues raised here. Don’t give these subject leaders the impression they are forgotten or ‘add-on’s’ in your wider curriculum thinking and planning programme, which might not seem like it relates to or has been designed for them. One of the crystal clear messages that comes across in all of the best curriculum literature is the need for the focus to be on subject specialism (that is oddly how we got here in the first place!), but do ensure that does mean all subjects, not just the big or easy ones. Communicate awareness to subject leaders of the distinct challenges that they might be facing and provide additional support. It may even be useful to support in seeking help from outside, depending on the context. Also, be aware that a person who works largely on their own (as often the case in many small subjects) might not be used to working with others in the same way as those in larger teams. They might like it that way and enjoy the freedom and control, or they might feel isolated and overwhelmed. Listen.  

2. Language

'What does this look like in your subject?'

One powerful and exceptionally useful aspect of Ashbee’s (2021) book is that she spends time carefully developing explanations of curriculum theory and language. This is incredibly useful for the senior leader and I would thoroughly recommend this book for this reason (amongst many other reasons!). If senior leaders can develop understanding of this theory and technical language, and develop this across the teaching body, then they can ask theoretical questions which subject leaders can then think about and apply (as suggested above). Ashbee (2021) proposes this approach as a sound strategy for senior curriculum management in general, but I feel this is of increased importance for the smaller subjects who may not be able to lift help from elsewhere, so will be thinking from scratch.

I have been incredibly fortunate to have worked closely with Tom Hurst in sharing and developing curriculum thinking recently. I can say with absolute certainty that his probing questions and keenness to explore my subject as an outsider, in order to understand it in theoretical terms as a senior leader, has been extremely useful in further developing my own thinking. Senior curriculum leaders would do very well in adopting this approach and I believe it can be highly effective when working with experienced subject practitioners in particular.   

3. Patience

This work will be harder and take longer.

For single person departments and certain individuals, this work may well be very challenging, so be patient if it takes a bit longer. You can afford a little more thinking time with small subjects as the implementation part of the mix is at least likely to be much easier with tiny teams! Rushing and pushing, especially with an inspection mindset, is likely to hamper progress and lead to poorer outcomes.

Final Thoughts

Small subjects often provide students with specialised and/or vocational knowledge that will support their future pathway in a unique and valuable way. Every hour of preciously awarded time on a student’s timetable is important, and due care and attention must be paid to all of those hours. Small subjects have particular challenges in this era of deep curriculum thinking, but these can be met head on with careful attention in order to generate high quality implementation and impact for all.

For further reading on economics curriculum thinking, click here. 

 

Reading & Contacts

Ashbee, R. (2021) Curriculum: Theory, Culture and the Subject Specialisms.  Twitter: @Ruth_Ashbee

Caviglioli, O. & Rodger-Goodwin, D. (2021). Organise Ideas.  Twitter: @olicav @MrGoodwin23

 

Counsell, C. (2018). https://thedignityofthethingblog.wordpress.com/ Twitter: @Counsell_C

 

Jones, K. (2020) Retrieval Practice 2: Implementing, embedding & reflecting.  Twitter: @KateJones_teach

Myatt, M. (2018) The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to Coherence. Twitter: @MaryMyatt

Sealy, C. (2020) The researchEd Guide to the Curriculum. Twitter: @ClareSealy

@TomHurst7

 

 

 

 

 

 

*They will be smiling when everyone else is sweating about consistency and reducing in-department variation though! Every cloud!! :-D