Page Content
Pathways to Real Curriculum Change
When ATA President Carol Henderson and I visited Finland in 2011, to see first-hand the components of that country’s outstanding education system, we were struck by several significant differences between Finland and Alberta.
In Finland, curriculum is not set in detailed format by the state; a core curriculum exists and, unlike Alberta, you won’t find hundreds of learning outcomes for each grade. The core curriculum deals with what must be taught. After that, the opportunity exists for teachers to bring curriculum to life that is relevant to students’ lives and communities. For example, science could look different in a community where many parents are employed by Nokia, the cellphone giant, and for whom technology is an important aspect of life, compared to a more isolated northern community. In Alberta, such an approach might see the science curriculum in Fort McMurray adapted to reflect the area’s oilsands development, or in Jasper to reflect the mountain habitat.
In Finland, greater potential exists to create curriculum that engages students in their learning. It’s not about outlining the hundreds of curriculum objectives that must be delivered; it’s about establishing the broad strokes of learning and allowing teachers to use their creative professional talent to animate the rest.
The Finnish National Board of Education retains only 13 professional staff to draft the core curriculum. The rest occurs in schools. There is flexibility for those programs to look quite different, provided that the core curriculum’s elements are achieved. Of course, time is provided to achieve this; Finnish teachers do not have the same instructional load as teachers in Alberta. In one school we visited, I spoke at length with a mathematics teacher about the curriculum used in his classroom. Although the curriculum was his, consultation with the professional school staff and the community at large had occurred. Crucial to the process was securing students’ engagement—making the program relevant and real for them. The math teacher was so enthused about the process and the product that the discussion went on for some time (my colleagues were good enough to pry me away before nightfall).
Also central to the Finnish experience is a core belief applied across the entire system. We often hear in Alberta how the student is the principal player; it’s all about the student. Alberta has had ministers of education speak with great passion about their role as “minister for students.” Finland doesn’t see it that way—the single most important job of the teacher is to meet students’ learning needs. The teacher is the point of contact with the student; the teacher engages with the student and addresses each student’s learning needs. Accordingly, Finns do not characterize the role of other players in the education system as relating to students. The role of everyone else in the system is to support the teacher. The education system revolves around the teacher, not the student, because it is through the teacher that support services are provided. This is a key to the successful delivery of the core curriculum across all grades.
As Alberta travels along the road of educational transformation, teachers will see major changes with respect to the development of curriculum. To succeed in a world of rapid change, more professional control must reside with teachers. In a complex and changing world, a detailed curriculum is a challenge to produce; increasingly, teachers will develop curriculum in flexible and fluid ways that support schools and communities and challenge and engage young minds. Educational transformation supports the professional role of teaching and the professional judgment of teachers; both will be essential in the years ahead.
Teaching quality will decide the top-performing jurisdictions in the future. It will take more than just the skill of their professional practice to make teachers outstanding. Teachers need a curriculum that engages students and is appropriate and relevant to their students’ learning needs; teachers need a curriculum that builds students’ skills for the future. Don’t be fooled by learner analytics, programmed learning and other technological advances; it’s human endeavour and curriculum that engage.
Only by moving to a core curriculum and a school system focused clearly on meeting the needs of teachers—so teachers can focus on the learning needs of their students—will Alberta see real curriculum change.
