Gurrieulum Organisation and Delivery* The ’Hew* Component of the Programmes

The Programme Structures: Tables la-d indicate that TVEI

subjects and courses at the schools exhibit two main structural forms which can be called separated and integrated. Separated subjects are largely homogeneous and related to a particular subject within a discipline. For example, Textiles (creative studies discipline), History (humanities discipline) and Biology (science discipline) as subjects in their own right, are

homogeneous in terms of traditional secondary school subjects. By contrast, although Biology, Chemistry and Physics are typical science subjects, the three have been integrated to produce the Science courses in Big-City, Small-City Smal1-Town Schools.

Integrated subjects are therefore heterogeneous and comprise

elements (content) from one or more subjects within a discipline, or group of disciplines or curriculum areas. Apart from Science, other integrated subjects from Tables ia-d are Design and

Humanities in in Big-City and Small-City, PSE in Big-Town and ILP in Smal1-Town. A classification of the TVEI programmes of the schools into separated and integrated subjects, and the

composition of the integrated subjects are shown in Table 4 below.

From Table 4, it can be seen that subject structures varied: some activities were provided as subjects in their own right in some schools and as components of courses in others. Thus, as earlier indicated, Guidance was provided as a subject in its own right in the City schools but as part of subjects in the Town schools. Similarly, IT was offered as a subject in Small-City School, as an element of a course in Smal1-Town School, and as a

cross-curricular (non-subject) activity in Big-City and Big-Town - 151 -

Table 4

The Structure of Subjects - Separated and Integrated

Subject Composition

Separated Business Studies Business Studies Guidance Design Tech Food Studies # IT Leisure Media Studies Integrated Design Humanities Science # ILP #PSE Guidance Design Tech Food Studies # IT Lei sure Media Studies Art, Home Econs, Textiles and CDT# Geography

Economics

History and RE# Biology, Physics and Chemistry Bus Studies

Community Studies Gudance and IT# Social Education Guidance and RE#

Schools Big-City, Small and Big-Town City schools Town schools Big-Town S m a 11-Ci ty City schools Town schools City schools City schools City schools and S m a 11-Town S m a 11-Town Big-Town school # CDT: Craft, design and technology

ILP: Integrated Learning Programme IT: Information Technology

PSE: Personal and Social Education RE: Religious Education

Schools. These variations in programme structures and modes of provision are relevant to the question about whether the 'what* component of programmes is homogeneous or heterogeneous. Thus, different components of an integrated course could make different resource demands. The implications of the separated-integrated classication of activities, as will be discussed in the next chapter, relate to the issue of whether different components

(subprogrammes) of a programme, or the same programme provided in different ways make different resource demands.

The development of integrated courses has led to a more comprehensive view of subjects and courses than the single

subject approach. Thus, rather than providing Computer Studies or Computer Science subjects, more comprehensive Information Technology courses have been developed. Similarly, rather than Office Practice or Business Communication as separate subjects, more comprehensive Business Studies courses have been designed. However, as can be seen from Table 4, both Business Studies and

Information Technology were not regarded as integrated courses in any of the schools. This is because Business Studies was

introduced new with the TVEI in all the schools, except Big-Towm. In that school, an integrated Business Studies course was not developed; rather an additional business studies subject

(Business and Information Studies) was introduced at the inception of TVEI, additional to the existing Office

Communication subject. As earlier indicated, these subjects will be referred to as Business Studies I and I I in subsequent

discussions. Information Technology was not also regarded as an integrated course in any of the schools because although it was developed from the enhancement of original Computer Studies subjects in all the schools, it was an element of the ILP course

in Smal1-Town School and was used as a (cross-curricular) resource to support other programmes in Big-City and Big-Town Sch o o 1s .

The separated-integrated classification of subjects has implications for curriculum delivery in terms of teacher

specialisation and staff deployment and development. However, the immediate value of this classification is that it provides a framework for examining the educational change implicit in the subjects. Thus, in terms of newness and enhancement, the focus will be on the whole subject for separated courses, but on both the elements and the subject as a whole for integrated courses.

In this respect, a subject introduced with the TVEI is clearly new and, therefore, represents change. In that case what needs to be further examined for a separated subject includes whether it has been added to, or replaced one or more of the existing offerings. However, apart from addition and replacement, the

injection or (withdrawal) of elements of an integrated course also needs to be considered. Similarly, if an existing subject

is enhanced, such enhancement will relate to the whole subject, if separated, and to both the elements and the whole subject if integrated. Evidence from the schools shows that enhancement is reflected in both subject content and teaching and learning

styles. In terms of 'new* (introduced with TVEI) and 'enhanced* subjects, as well as addition, replacement and injection, the TVEI programmes of the schools are summarised in Table 5 below. Table 5 indicates that four new subjects were introduced and added to the existing provisions in Big-City and Small-City, three in Smal1-Town and two in Big-Town. It also shows that, apart from IT which replaced former computer subjects in the

Table 5 Schoo1s Big/Smal1- City Big-Town S m a 11-Town

The 'Newneee* of Subjects and Cq u f c o g

Subject

New Enhanced Comments Bus Studies Design Humani ties Science Guidance IT Leisure New/Added New/Added New/Added New/Added Content enhancement. Replaced computer course Enhancement of PE course Food Studies Media Studies Bus Studies Design Tech IT PSE New/Added New/Added

Expanded and reorganised Content enhancement

Cross-curricular; Replaced computer course

Enlarged and reorganised Design Tech Media Studies ILP Science New/Added New/Added New/Added

Replaced Biology, Physics and Chemistry schools,

schools, there was little replacement. This situation is

explained by the fact that, apart from ILP in Smal1-Town School, all the integrated courses were introduced while their components were still retained as optional subjects for the same groups (4th and 5th year) of pupils. For example, in addition to the

integrated science courses in the City schools, the schools also offered Biology, Chemistry and Physics as 4th and 5th year

options for pupils who wanted more depth in these areas.

However, at the time of the investigation, the schools indicated that they intended to phase out the components of the science course and actually did so in the 1990/91 session. The

components of the integrated Design and Humanities courses in the City schools were also offered separately as options. The

situation was similar in Smal1-Town School until September 1989 (just before the fieldwork started) when the components of the integrated science course were phased out of the curriculum

offerings of the school of the 4th year. As will be discussed in the next chapter, this has resource implications since, in

addition to time/period allocation to subjects, pupil number and group size, the more subjects there are on offer, the more the teacher-periods that will be required to teach them. There was little injection of programmes into existing provisions apart from in Big-Town School where religious education was added to the PSE course in September 1989 following the introduction of the National Curriculum. Similarly, Small-Town School included RE and Leisure in their Integrated Learning Programme in

September 1990.

Although cross-curricular activities are not included in Table 4, some of them were introduced with the TVEI while others were

all the schools before the TVEI, it was linked to a few select subjects in the Town schools and undertaken by a proportion of the relevant year (4th or 5th) groups in the four schools. After the introduction of TVEI, work experience was enhanced in all the schools by targetting it to the whole year group. Similarly,

residential experience was undertaken in all the schools before TVEI but was enhanced through greater pupil participation after the introduction of the Initiative. With regard to records of achievement, the activity existed in less developed forms in the City schools before TVEI, but was introduced new with the TVEI in the Town schools.

The Status of Subjects and Courses: As noted in chapter 2 and reflected in the research framework outlined in chapter 4, of equal importance to the question of whether new and enhanced should be added or replaced, is the status of subjects in terms of core and options. A classification of the TVEI designated subjects of the schools into core (undertaken by all pupils in a year group) and options (undertaken by a proportion of pupils) is given in Table 6 below.

Table 6

The Status of TVEI Subjects - Core and Options

Big-City S m a 11-Ci ty Big-Town S m a 11-Town Core Design

Humanities DesignHumani ties Science Guidance Le i sure IT PSE ILP Design Tech Media Studies Science Science Guidance Leisure (5) (6) (1) (4)

Option Bus Studies Bus Studies

IT Bus Studies Design Tech Food Studies Media Studies

(i) (2) (4) (0)

It will be noticed that Table 6 answers a question implicit in Table 5: In terms of subject status, how are subjects added and/or replaced? The classification of subjects into core and options is also relevant to the issue of pupil participation and, therefore, to the impact of an educational initiative. Table 6 indicates that most of the designated TVEI programmes were

undertaken by whole (4th and 5th) year groups in Big-City,

Small-City and Small-Town schools while the reverse was the case in Big-Town School. Infact, all the TVEI subjects and courses were in the core in Small-Town school. The Table also shows that

IT was offered as both a core and an option in Small-City school. The obvious implication of having most of the TVEI subjects in the core is that it leads to greater pupil participation (since more pupils will be involved) and, therefore, a greater impact of the Initiative. At the same time, the decision has implications for the degree of freedom given to pupils in the selection of their learning experiences and, in the context of TVEI, appears to be inconsistent with the TA requirement that pupil

participation in TVEI should be voluntary.

To summarise the organisation of the activities (programmes), a comparison of Tables 4, 5 and 6 indicates that integrated courses

in all the schools were offered as core activities, and that, apart from PSE in Big-Town School, they were newly introduced

with TVEI (see Tables 8a-d). The inclusion of integrated courses as core rather than options has a number of resource and

educational implications. First, other conditions being stable, core subjects, as pointed out in chapter 2, enhance economy in staff utilisation since pupil group sizes will not depend on pupil choice. Secondly, decisions on core and optional subjects could affect curriculum breath, balance and differentiation where

the subjects in the core are skewed towards particular

disciplines. This problem is addressed in City schools by

offering core integrated courses in the three areas of creative studies, humanities and science. By contrast, in Small-Town School where ILP, Design Technology and Media Studies were all creative studies/techno 1ogy based, there appears to be an

emphasis towards creative studies in the core. The degree to which this is the case, however, also depends on the proportion of the total curriculum time devoted to these subjects.

While the allocation of time/periods to subjects and other curricular activities will be treated in the next chapter in conjunction with the resource implications of the outcomes of decisions in the schools, the approaches which the schools have adopted to link activities, pupils and resources will now be examined. This will form the basis on which the distribution of resources will be explored in the next chapter.

7.1.4 Curriculum Delivery: Linkages Between the Components of