Curriculum and Educational Development

The course discusses on one side the national governing of schools, with national curricula as the most important means, and on the other, how local freedom, local development work and teachers’ professional freedom to shape schooling and learning possibilities, function in practice. The course will also focus on the conditions for local development work. In this context, the following will be discussed; teachers’ ”pedagogical working space,” pupils' influence through interaction in teaching, the importance of school management and school culture, and how the cooperation between schools and homes influence work in schools. Market oriented strategies that open up to the outside world, and competition between schools, will also be discussed. The course consists of lectures and seminars, and field trips to, and analysis of especially development oriented schools.

After having completed the course, students should have acquired insight into various governing strategies in the field of education, and to recognize which strategies contribute to development and change in schools. Through practical and theoretical approaches, students should be able to analyze and evaluate national and/or local initiatives of development in schools.

Teaching method and activities: 2 hours of lectures per week, 1 hour seminar per week.
Compulsory activity: Written assignment (4-6 pages).
Form of assessment: 4-hour individual written exam.