Collaborative Practice in an Inclusive Environment

This paper developed out of a collaborative opportunity that arose in an independent high school with an inclusive policy at the time that Curriculum 2005 was introduced. Definitions of collaboration and inclusion are offered with a discussion on the inter-relationships between these two concepts and Information Literacy. The paper describes the classroom practice and provides links to examples of the planning and the students’ work. The positive outcomes for both teacher and student learning are described.

Comparison of Turkish Elementary School Science Curriculum: 2005-2013-2017

Change is an inevitable reality of life. The developments in the world affect the qualities expected from individuals and this reflects on the educational systems. For this reason, the high competitiveness of the countries in the international arena requires that the education systems comply with the requirements of the age. In Turkey, it is seen that the curriculum has been changed in various times since the announcement of the Republic. In 2005, a major change was done and the curriculum was prepared in line with the philosophical and structural approach as well as the the requirements of the age. These programs were updated in 2013 by reviewing the 4 + 4 + 4 education system which was designed in 2012. In 2017, the curriculum has been updated with stakeholder’s feedback in line with the problems faced by previously developed programs and practices. In this context, the aim of the study is to compare the elementary school science curriculums which were prepared based on the constructivist approach in 2005, updated in 2013 and re-revised in 2017, and to reveal their similarities and differences. In the study, the elementary school science curriculums (2005-2013-2017) were compared by investigating in terms of basic philosophy of the curriculum, the general aims of the curriculum, key competences in the curriculum, and the approaches during the teaching situations, the evaluation process, the subject areas, the achievements and the course hours. The research was carried out by document analyzing method of qualitative research methods. As a result of the study, we found out that while there was not much difference between primary school sciences curriculums in 2013 and 2017, there was a great deal of differences between the 2005 curriculum and the 2013 and 2017 curriculum especially in the number of achievements and course hours.

‘Not waiting for the initiative to arrive’: Teachers promoting and sustaining reading

The phases of post-apartheid curriculum reform starting with Curriculum 2005, to the revisions ushered in by the National Curriculum Statements and the recent Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements display a trend toward increasing prescription in terms of content to be taught and allocation of curriculum time per subject, both of which are useful. In order to prepare school teachers for these ongoing curriculum reforms and an increased assessment burden, the national and provincial Education Departments have held regular workshops and provided bursaries for teachers to embark on academic studies in their teaching field. In addition, estimates are that non-governmental sources have spent R1 billion annually since 1994 on school improvement and teacher development programmes.

Critical Challenges Of The South African School System

The emphasis in the new curriculum after 1996 in South Africa was placed on the transition from the traditional aims and objectives approach to Outcomes-based education (OBE) and Curriculum 2005. This paradigm shift was interpreted as a prerequisite for achievement of the vision of an internationally competitive country. When analysing the school system in South Africa it became clear that the education system was flawed, with poorly performing teachers, poor work ethics, lack of community and parental support, poor control by education authorities, poor support for teachers and very low levels of accountability. These factors further spilled over into the morale of learners and could be seen in the lack of discipline, brutal violence in schools, low moral values, truancy, absenteeism, late coming and high dropout rates from Grade 1 to Grade 12 and very poor performance in essential areas such as Mathematics and Literacy. Citizens in historically disadvantaged areas tend to become victims of poverty, gangs and drug abuse. These factors further blend with the evil of politics in South African schools which are furthermore plagued by various forms of corruption and socio-economic challenges. Eighteen years after the end of the apartheid dispensation, apartheid is still blamed by many for any real or imagined ills in society, but the reality is that there is no political will to enforce the law or to meet public expectations of accountability, efficiency and delivery. In the light hereof, recommendations are proposed that will address these challenges. The critical message of this article will convey that the fact of the matter is that learner enrolment is not the same as attendance and attendance does not imply learning. Therefore, teaching in South Africa must become a profession of preference and pride as opposed to the present very lackadaisical attitude.

Use of an Integrated, Anatomic-Based, Orthopaedic Resident Education Curriculum: A 5-Year Retrospective Review of Its Impact on Orthopaedic In-Training Examination Scores

Introduction Experts have called for a comprehensive didactic curriculum in orthopaedic residency training. This study examined the effects of an anatomic-based, integrated conference program on annual Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE) scores at a single orthopaedic residency program. Methods We implemented a new, integrated, anatomic-based curriculum in January 2005. Differences between scores were analyzed by postgraduate year (PGY) of training. OITE scores (percentile ranking and raw scores) of year 1 (PGY-2) through year 4 (PGY-5) residents exposed to the curriculum (2005–2009) were compared to prior PGY-2 through PGY-5 residents (2000–2004) who had experienced the previous unstructured curriculum. To evaluate for cohort effects, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step I scores for these 2 groups were also compared. Results Eight residents were exposed to the new conference program and 8 to the prior conference program. All residents' percentile rankings improved after exposure to the curriculum, although improvement was not statistically significant for all participants. The most dramatic improvements in OITE scores were seen for PGY-4 and PGY-5 residents, which improved from 65th to 91st percentile (P = .03) and from 66th to 91st percentile (P = .06), respectively. There were no differences between the cohorts in USMLE Step I scores. Discussion Initiation of an integrated, anatomic-based, resident conference program had a positive impact on resident performance on the OITE.