CUREE’s first foray into mapping evidence relevant to QCA’s new and wide ranging curriculum framework took the form of a map of existing reviews of research . The results have enabled us to start to identify:
• the range and types of curriculum related research
• significant gaps in the research base
• emerging trends in research findings
63 research reviews were included in the map. Three main types of review were identified which were classified as • systematic – ie using a comprehensive search strategy, transparent inclusion criteria and a rigorous weighting of the evidence from which to synthesise across the studies• interpretive – ie using expert knowledge to identify studies, without a rigorous and transparent weighting of the evidence but with a synthesis• descriptive – ie an account of the research and the relative weight of evidence but with no synthesis
The overall findings from the review of reviews represented syntheses of research in several key areas whilst at the same time pointing to significant gaps in the evidence base.
Evidence from a number of diverse review topics, including a number of science and maths based reviews, coalesced around six key areas:
• the effectiveness of learning that is “context based” (dealing with ideas and phenomena in real or simulated practical situations) most notably in reviews of studies in science and maths)
• the importance of connecting the curriculum with young people’s experiences of home and community and the related, but also distinctive theme of parental involvement in children’s learning in the home
• the impact on pupil motivation and learning of structured dialogue in group work and of collaborative learning
• the need to create opportunities to identify and build on pupils’ existing conceptual understandings – again, notably in science and maths. Several reviewers also found evidence of unexplored poor understanding or misunderstandings arising from “teaching to the test.”
• the need to remove rigidity in the approach to the curriculum –to allow time and space for conceptual development, to encourage integration of cross-curricular learning.
• the need for excellence and professional development in subject knowledge – without which teachers would be unable to seize opportunities for curriculum innovation, particularly in relation to context-based learning.
• However there was very little data in many of the reviews about strong findings or processes emerging from the individual studies.
