CURRICULUM MATTERS
There is much spoken and written about school curriculum delivery. Curriculums abound, each endeavouring to prepare students appropriately for the world. School curriculums worldwide, viewed together, resemble a rich tapestry, each highlighting those elements deemed of greatest importance in a particular society. Some remain local, some are used internationally and others emerge in a transnational form, responding to the greatly increased interaction between peoples and systems in recent times. Below are some examples.
ENGLISH NATIONAL CURRICULUM
Nearly thirty years in existence, in various editions, this curriculum is most often featured in international schools with a British link or flavour. International schools will often recalibrate it to a greater or lesser degree to maintain relevance in their unique context.
Its systematic progression and rigour is often appealing particularly, perhaps, in lower Secondary.
IB CONTINUUM
Since 1968 the International Baccalaureate Organisiation has offered programmes which now encompass the 3 – 18 age range.
Not so much a strictly formal curriculum as a methology of learning, though maintaining a significantly rigorous practice in the final two years of study.
It is characterised by a wider range of opportunities and practices than the ENC. It is sometimes viewed as a particularly good preparation for further education, vocational or academic.
US CURRICULUM
Routinely found in American international schools and usually as a preparation for further study in the USA or American institutions abroad.
Influenced by the particular demands of entry to US further education.
IPC/CIC/INDIAN/ AUSTRALIAN/OTHER
A number of countries administer schools offering their home curriculum in other countries where their is a significant population of their citizens – France, South Korea, Japan, for example.
Private enterprises also offer curriculums, often modelled on a national curriculum, or related to a prestigeous academic institution.
These will often reflect the English National Curiculum or the IB system.
