Curriculum Matters in Ireland
Anton Trant
€27.50 PB
ISBN 978-1-84218-136-2 234x156mm October 2007
Curriculum Matters in Ireland takes the core of any educational system - the curriculum - and analyses it in the context of western thought from ancient times to the present, with particular reference to Irish education since the foundation of the state.
Ireland's educational system is currently influenced by marketplace values that go largely unquestioned. Curriculum Matters in Ireland analyses the negative impact of this exam- and results-oriented approach, and points to alternative value traditions in education through the ages.
The author discusses the essential elements of curriculum, and the teacher's central role in interpreting and communicating these. Curriculum in action is explored through the themes of disadvantage in education, saving the environment, and peace and reconciliation.
Drawing on his experiences as a teacher in Ireland and abroad, as principal of a vocational school in Dublin and as a founding director of the Curriculum Development Unit, the author brings practical knowledge and years of research to his vision of what a curriculum should encompass, and how it can be implemented to bring out the best in individuals and in society as a whole.
Anton Trant was the founder of the CDVEC Curriculum Development Unit and, for twenty-six years, was its first director. Previously, he was a teacher in London and Malta before joining the City of Dublin VEC. In 1966, he was appointed principal of Ballyfermot Vocational School with a brief to develop a comprehensive curriculum in a community context. In 1973, he became a research fellow in education in Trinity College Dublin, where he subsequently lectured in Curriculum Studies on the M.Ed. programme. He also directed two environmental education networks, the first comprising sixty schools from ten European countries, the second with twenty-six schools in Ireland, North and South. In 1985 he received the Lorado Taft Award from the University of Illinois for his contribution to outdoor education. From 1987 to 2004 he acted as evaluator of the Wider Horizons Programme of the International Fund for Ireland.
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