chilean secondary education curriculum reform seminar on growth strategies for secondary education...

CHILEAN SECONDARY EDUCATION CURRICULUM

REFORM

Seminar on Growth Strategies for Secondary Education in Asia

Kuala Lumpur, September 19-21, 2005

Cristián Cox

Ministry of Education, Chile

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

Scheme of the presentation

• Policy and school system contexts

• New curriculum definition process

• Dimensions of curriculum change

• Implementation

• Questions and issues

1

POLICY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL

CONTEXTS

Policy context in the 90s

• Improvements in education’s quality and equity as driving goals (not access)

• Change of paradigm : from subsidiary (1980s) to pro-active role of the state in education (1990s)

• National consensus on strategic priority of education . (National commissions and consultation processes: government-opposition agreements on

fundamental policies)

• Trebling of public budget for education between 1990-2001 (from 2.4 to 4.4 per cent of GDP)

Policy Context (cont.)

• Stability of policies during three governments of same center-left alliance (1990 - 2006)

• Combination of state and market policy tools

• Governance: low levels of conflict(38 days of teachers strike in 16 years (20 of which in one conflict in 1998)

Policy Context (cont.)Policy Context (cont.)

Curriculum changes embedded in comprehensive educational reform, whose main other components are:

• Expansion of school time (Full School Day reform)

• New educational infrastructure and learning resources: computers, texts, libraries, buildings

• Teacher initial training and professional development programs

• Pro-equity, affirmative action programs

Secondary Education Context (2000)Secondary Education Context (2000)

Structure: 4 grades (years 9 to 12)

First 2: Common, general education curriculumLast 2: Differentiated curricula –general and

technical professional-

Gross enrolment ratio 15 to 18 years old: 85 %

Enrolment (2001) : 850,713

Drop-out (average four grades): 7 %

Gender Parity Index : 1

Average number of students per teacher: 29

92 % of students with ICT in their schools 78 % with Internet in their Schools

CHILE IN PISA 2000

PISA: Literacy Score

2

NEW CURRICULUM DEFINITION PROCESS

Mapa de progreso

• information and knowledge society• crisis of other agencies of value

transmission (family and social order as a whole)

• competitiveness of the Chilean economy increasingly based on educational level of its population

• modern citizenship requirements

CURRICULUM REFORM AS SCHOOL SYSTEM’S ANSWER TO NEW EXTERNAL REQUIREMENTS

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

CURRICULUM REFORM PROCESS

 Focal policy problem  Knowledge, abilities and values for XXI century• Decision field

Government + public deliberation: school system-wide participatory process

• Conflict -Political Conflict in 1992 on values-Opposition in 1997 from technical-education

teachers and institutions-Major conflict on changes in university entrance

examinations – from ‘academic aptitude tests’ to‘curriculum referred tests’ (2002). 

• Implementation strategyGradualCombination of centralized and decentralized tools

CURRICULUM DEFINITION PROCESS’ MAIN FEATURES

•Prolonged : Time of agenda setting, elaboration and decision-making

5 ½ years in two periods: 1991-92, and 1995-1998.Time of initial implementation4 years (1999-2002)

•Two generating ‘triple helixes’ : i) leading academics- secondary school teachers-MOE’s experts (for general curriculum)

ii) leading industry representatives-technical secondary school teachers-MOE´s experts (for technical-professional curriculum)

• Recurrent consultation processes : between generating bodies and schools and other institutions

•Participative•Technical basis which combined leading university academics and school teachers , and leading representatives of industry (for technical-professional education)•Explicit component of international comparison

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

Elaboration, consultation......: multi-step process

. Antecedents13 research projects (1992) 'National Conversation' on secondaryeducation process, 2,043 discussiongroups (1992)Orientations of Technical Committee ofNational Commission on Modernization ofeducation (1994)

3. First elaborating teams - TPExternal commissions byeconomic sectors (368 people)June 95-dic.96

2. First elaborating teams -HC

(89 people) teachers andacademics

June-august 96

4. UCE team.Elaboration teams of teachersand academics (between 3and 4 people for discipline)July 96-january 97

7. High level -political- externalConsultation Committee ofrepresentative actors (15 people)(March 31, and April 7, 97)

5 . E x t e r n a l p e d a g o g i ccommittee(21 secondary school principalsand academic coordinators) (oct.96)

8. UCE team(may 97)

6. Version 1 of Curriculum Framework

9. Minister andCurriculum Executive

Committee(may 97)

10. Version 2 of CurriculumFramework.

Published and distributed to everysecondary

School -"Blue Book". (May 97)

11. National Consultation process.National sample of Teachers of thedisciplines (330).All secondary Schools(31, 614 teachers).Institutions (61).International Panel (5 disciplinaryexperts)(May-August 97)

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

12. UCE teamintegrates results of

Consultation process

16. Higher Council of EducationEvaluates presented draft andproposesChanges .(December 15, 97 -February 12, 98)

15. Version 3(December 15),

97

13. Minister andCurriculum Executive

Committee(October-December 97)

17. UCE team(March 98)

18. Minister andCurriculumExecutiveCommittee(March 98)

14. Ad-hoc technical-professionaleducation Commission13 people (nov 97)

19. Version 4Final document presented

to Higher Council ofEducation

(March 23, 98)

20. Higher Council ofEducationOfficial approval of newCurriculum(April 2, 98)

21. Official Decree N° 220, legallypromulgates the new Curriculum framework

(May 18, 98)

22. Implementation in schools(March 1999)

UCE: Curriculum and Evaluation Unit, Ministry of EducationHC: Humanistic and Scientific modality of secondary educationTP: Technical and Professional modality of secondary education

Source: Cox (2003)

Elaboration, consultation, decision, approval: multi-step process (continued)

Schools’ Subject Departments response to proposed curriculum (Selected subjects; % over national total = 12,888)

Subject No change Addition of contents

Elimination of contents

Addition & elimination

History &

Social Sciences 42.7 38.6 4.9 13.8

Chemistry 45.9 22.7 9.4 22.0

Mathematics 53.1 19.6 14.7 12.8

Language 54.1 34.5 3.8 7.6

Biology 55.7 12.0 21.7 10.5

Technology 65.5 19.0 4.3 11.2

Visual Arts 77.1 15.2 4.4 3.4

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

THE DIALECTICS OF ‘GENERATION AND CONSULTATION’ PRODUCED....

A National, mandatory, CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK:

• Of ‘Fundamental Goals and Minimum Obligatory Contents’

• Which ‘negotiated’ tradition and innovation Initial proposal was more radical in terms of innovation than the approved one. Loss in innovation-value was a gain in terms of implementation’s

feasibility.

• Schools could now choose to develop their syllabi within the parameters of the framework, or use MOE’s defined programs of study

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION’SPROGRAMS OF STUDY (SYLLABI)

Highly specific with respect to:

• Contents

• Expected learning outcomes

• Learning activities• Assessment activities

Explicit definitions of:

• Time per major units of teaching-

• Pedagogical orientation

• Examples of activities for each learning goal

3

DIMENSIONS OF CURRICULUM CHANGE

CURRICULUM REFORM : FOUR DIMENSIONS

CONTROL –decentralization-

STRUCTURE –postponement of differentiation-

ORGANIZATION –cross-curricular strands-

SUBJECT –new contents and learning goals-

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

CONTROL STRUCTURE ORGANIZATION SUBJECT

From centralized control resting on the Ministry of Education, to curriculum decentralization:

Schools have the option to define their own programs of study (syllabi) –within the parameters of a national curriculum framework-.

A new institution –state but not government- in charge of the curriculum : Consejo Superior de Educación (CSE) Ministry proposes, CSE evaluates and approves curriculum and programmes.

CONTROL

La organización

No change in the 8-4 years structuring of the primary/secondary level divide of the school system.

postponement in 2 years of point of differentiation between general and technical secondary education (from year 9 to year 11)

STRUCTURE

La organización Differentiated formation in technical –vocational education: from more than 400 specialities with uncertain or inexistent links with production, to 46 jointly defined by industry and educators.

Differentiated formation in general education, means options of specialization in the common humanistic-scientific disciplines, open to students’ and schools´definitions -within nationally defined parameters-.

STRUCTURE….cont.

Hitos más relevantes

ORGANIZATION

Inclusion of cross-curricular objectives (moral and cognitive)

Inclusion of ICT across curricular objectives (secondary level)

Technology Education substitutes the traditional Manual Arts subject (years 1 to 10)

Foreign Language is made obligatory as from year 5 (previously year 7)

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

CONTROL STRUCTURE ORGANIZATION SUBJECT

CRITERIA FOR CHANGES WITHIN SUBJECTS

• REORIENTATION: not only knowing-that, but also knowing-how, knowing-why, judging, evaluating

• BREADTH AND DEPTH: objectives and contents which are richer and contemporary; higher standards

• RELEVANCE: consistent connections with students’ and society’s concerns and life

Hitos más relevantes

EACH SUBJECT’S REORIENTATION DESIGNED TO ENHANCE THE ACQUISITION OF TRADITIONAL COMPETENCIES; OR NEW

COMPETENCIES DEMANDED BY EXTERNAL CONTEXTSMAINLY:

• Capacity for abstraction

• Thinking in terms of systems

• Experimenting and learning to learn

• Communicating and team work

• Problem resolution

• Managing of uncertainty and adaptation to change

Subjects’ new focii, higher level knowledge

From....... To (or and)

Language Sentence analysis Discourse analysis

Mathematics Calculation algorythms

Problem solving & mathematical reasoning

Biology Organisms and environment

Microbiology: Celular organization and activity

History & Social Sciences

Events Contexts and tendencies

Art Expression Expression, knowledge, critical appreciation

Citizenship-related skills promoted in language, history and philosophy

subjects

Interpretation of public information (facts /judgment distinction)

Expression and debate (argumentation, persuasion, seduction)

Critical thinking and moral discernment (ethics and power)

Organization and participation(collective coordination for action)

4

IMPLEMENTATION

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

CONTROL STRUCTURE ORGANIZATION SUBJECT

– Gradual : one grade per year (between 1999-2002)

- In-service teachers’ training for ‘familiarization’ with new curriculum: one week and a half per year. Criticized by majority of teachers as ineffective

– New ‘differentiated structure’ adopted by over 95% of secondary schools

– Gradual increase of curriculum coverage by teachers

CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

CONTROL STRUCTURE ORGANIZATION SUBJECT

– Differences between subjects : the greater the degree of innovation, the lower its coverage by teachers

– Curriculum coverage improves with time

– What tends to be skipped? .- what’s new for teachers;

.- what’s at the end of the school year (in the syllabi)

CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION (cont.)

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

Implementation (cont.)

• Decisive impact of extension of school hours

261 more chronological hours per year in first two grades of secondary;

174 hours per year in the last two grades (about 10 and 7 additional

weeks of classes) • Expanded time and the accomodation of innovation

• Teaching practices not yet consistently up-graded and transformed

LEARNING RESULTS IN SECOND GRADE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

(YEAR 10) 1998, 2001,2003

Based on standardized tests applied to the whole relevant cohort

Learning results in Language, 10th grade, 1998-2003.

5

Questions and Issues

Estándar de Desempeño

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN THE CURRICULUM

CONTROL STRUCTURE ORGANIZATION SUBJECT

– New curriculum as change force

- if too far from tradition…disconnection from teachers understanding and sense of the possible

- if too close…, external pressures for change unanswered; and no internal (school system) pressure for change and improvement

– How to reach the right equilibrium point?

What knowledge and institutional basis are needed for answering this adequately?

QUESTIONS

ISSUES and KEY TRADE-OFFS

• Trade-off between degree of specificity of national curriculum definitions and curriculum-development capacities in schools

Dynamic character of balance to strike here...The weaker the national teaching basis, the

greater the need for explicit and highly specific national definitions; conversely...

• Trade-off between extent of sought innovation in the curriculum and teachers’ participation and support for implementation

• Different dimensions of quality (inputs, process, learning outcomes), coupled with different time-scale of outcomes and asynchrony with political times.

CRITERIA FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ?

• Answer with similar consistency and force, to requirements of competitiveness and social cohesion

• Dedicate similar energies to answer national needs and global demands

• Sympathize with your opposition

• Strive for balance of epistemologies regarding vision and of power regarding implementation

THANKS