Wilmad Kuiper

Curriculum landscapes and trends

Preface. 1. Curriculum perspectives: an introduction J. van den Akker. 2. Contrasting traditions: the English experience of curriculum change 1960-2000 B. Moon. 3. Images of the inquiry curriculum: innovative profiles of primary schools in Germany U. Hameyer. 4. Curriculum reform in Israel: the power of individuals and other forces M. Ben-Peretz. 5. Dutch secondary curriculum reform between ideals and implementation J. van den Akker. 6. Mathematics textbooks and their use by teachers: a window into the education world of particular countries B. Pepin, L. Haggerty. 7. Implications of the modular curriculum in the senior secondary school in Finland J. Valijarvi. 8. Efforts to implement an open environmental education curriculum K. Stokking. 9. Substantive trends in curriculum design and implementation: an analysis of innovations in The Netherlands J. Terwel, M. Volman, W. Wardekker. 10. Social and political factors in the process of curriculum change J. Letschert, J. Kessels. 11. Curriculum development from a technical-professional perspective W. Kuiper, N. Nieveen, I. Visscher-Voerman. 12. ICT tools for curriculum development S. McKenney, N. Nieveen. 13. Consequences of ICT for aims, contents, processes, and environments of learning J. Voogt. 14. Digital learning materials: classification and implications for the curriculum E. van den Berg, P. Blijleven, L. Jansen. Aboutthe Authors.

Balancing curriculum freedom and regulation in the Netherlands

The extent to which the goals and contents of (compulsory) education should to be regulated has been a complicated balancing act in the Netherlands. Against a background of a longstanding statutory tradition of freedom of education, governmental decisions about ‘what knowledge is of most worth’ have been delicate. The purpose of the analysis described in this article is to disentangle, interpret and discuss this complicated balancing act between curriculum regulation and curriculum freedom during the past 40 years and to learn from other countries by putting the results into a wider European curriculum policy perspective. The contribution will end with discussing issues that need to be carefully considered with respect to the recent Dutch policy shift towards output regulation by means of mandatory achievement tests for mathematics, mother tongue and English at the end of lower secondary education.

Towards a More Curricular Focus in International Comparative Studies on Mathematics and Science Education

From international comparative studies (TIMSS, PISA) it appears that students in lower secondary education in the Netherlands perform relatively well in mathematics and science compared to their peers from other participating countries. Policy-makers, especially, are eager to bring these positive outcomes into the limelight. However, one may wonder whether, in case of the Netherlands, there is good reason for such zeal. An evaluation study, conducted by the Netherlands Inspectorate of Education, shows that lower secondary schools do not meet the quality required in implementing a curriculum reform that started in 1993, entitled ‘basic secondary education’. So, in spite of all rhetoric on the positive outcomes of TIMSS and PISA in the Netherlands, when putting the relatively good student performance in the context of the implementation of this ambitious curriculum reform, many people become puzzled. Research findings on the quality of mathematics and science education seem to be in conflict with the results of TIMMS and PISA. This conclusion and also the observation that international comparative assessment studies have serious difficulty in meeting the goal of providing proper interpretations of student achievement, especially from a curriculum perspective, give reason to attempt to disentangle the conflicting images.

Students' mental models with respect to flood risk in the Netherlands

Until now various quantitative studies have shown that adults and students in the Netherlands have low flood risk perceptions. In this study we interviewed fifty 15-year-old students in two different flood prone areas. In order to find out how they think and reason about the risk of flooding, the mental model approach was used. Flood risk turned out to be not very salient and the mental models had a piecemeal character with fundamental misconceptions. Furthermore, the mental models consisted largely of descriptive concepts instead of concepts about underlying processes with respect to explaining and predicting flooding. Concepts with respect to hazard adjustments and disaster response were lacking most. Conclusions about how to use the results of this study in geography education were discussed.

Meaningful learning and summative assessment in geography education: an analysis in secondary education in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT Enhancing meaningful learning is an important aim in geography education. Also, assessment should reflect this aim. Both formative and summative assessments contribute to meaningful learning when more complex knowledge and cognitive processes are assessed. The internal school-based geography examinations of the final exam in pre-vocational secondary education in the Netherlands are an important test case to reveal the extent to which geography teachers construct examinations containing complex knowledge and cognitive processes. In this study, internal school-based examinations were analyzed based on a taxonomy table derived from a revision of Blooms taxonomy and discussed with teachers and experts. The results of the content analysis showed that more than half of the test items in the internal school-based examinations are based on remembering knowledge, especially factual and conceptual geographical knowledge.

Designing a flood-risk education program in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT This study focused on designing a flood-risk education program to enhance 15-year-old students’ flood-risk perception. In the flood-risk education program, learning processes were modeled in such a way that the arousal of moderate levels of fear should prompt experiential and analytical information processing. In this way, understanding of flood risk in the surroundings should prompt students’ threat and coping appraisal. To accomplish this, the program consisted of a variety of student-directed parts, such as serious games and flood simulations. The design of the program was based on theoretical understandings from learning theory, information processing, and risk communication. Furthermore, empirical findings about students’ risk perceptions were incorporated. The design process was guided by the principles of Educational Design Research and had an iterative character.

Aligning science curriculum renewal efforts and assessment practices

There is ample evidence that failure lies ahead when curriculum renewal goals are not (or are inadequately) reflected in assessment approaches, procedures and instruments to be linked with the renewal. Changes in curriculum goals require concurrent changes in assessment and examination policies and practices. However, restructuring assessment is one of the most significant challenges facing science education curriculum reform. This chapter focuses on the importance of the alignment between science curriculum renewal efforts and assessment of learning by means of external exit examinations, and the traps involved in seeking this alignment. Three recently completed science curriculum renewal pilots in senior secondary education in the Netherlands (2007–2010) are used as exemplifying cases. These subject-specific pilots aimed at the development and piloting of new so-called examination programmes, outlining the goals to be attained and tested in the internal and external exit examinations for physics, chemistry and biology. The focus in all three renewals is on a context-based approach.

Context-Based Science Education in Senior Secondary Schools in the Netherlands

Chemistry, physics, and biology curricula for upper secondary education1 in the Netherlands are characterized, like in many other countries, with poor coherence within and across subjects as well as with a lack of content relevance for a large group of students. Most programs are fragmented and overloaded with content. As a result, most students lack interest in science, and only few students decide to choose science-based subjects as part of their program of study in upper secondary education and to enrol in post-secondary science-based studies (cf. CVS, 2003).