Curriculum and Assessment uses storylines to provide students with a solid understanding of how theoretical considerations relate to the practicalities of teaching curriculum. Stories are used as a way of recognising the dynamic themes of curriculum and enable understanding about the issues on which they are based. The most important curriculum questions, critical problems and issues faced by educators are dealt with in an engaging manner, equipping students to enter the classroom and use curriculum and assessment to create rich and ongoing learning experiences. Includes, reflections questions, case studies, discussion questions and theorist profiles to assist student learning.

New to this edition

• Increased coverage of the National Curriculum and how to implement it
• Chapter on Reporting is now included in the text
• The storylines have been made even stronger in this edition.

Secondary Teaching Resource Category winner - Educational Publishing Awards Australia 2014

1. Towards Some Definitions of Curriculum and Assessment
What is narrative?
Why a narrative approach?
Practical decisions: A teacher’s dilemma

2. Conflicting Ideologies: Objectives or Outcomes?
Different ways of making sense
The importance of process
The outcomes-based education storyline

3. Implementing the Curriculum: A Question of Quality
Process not product
Quality teaching and learning storylines

4. Evaluation and Assessment Storylines
Setting the scene
Understanding the terms
Towards meaningful assessment: Rich tasks and developing metacognitive skills

5. Inequity of Educational Opportunity: A Never-ending Story
Longstanding issues Poverty in Australia
Completing education and finding work
School choice?
Addressing inequality of opportunity
A new kind of curriculum
Quality teaching and learning practices
Assessment and reporting practices
Increasing social capital through schools

6. Shifting Gender Storylines
Some caveats
Gender equality
Shifting storylines
Too much success for girls?
Boys ‘in crisis’
Current brain research
The current storyline

7. The National Curriculum Storyline
A recurring storyline
Setting the scene: Australia as a group of states and territories or a nation?
National Curriculum ‘vignettes’ 
The Australian National Curriculum storyline
The current storyline

8. Stories of Reporting Student Curriculum Outcomes to Parents and the Community
i) Reporting student curriculum outcomes to parents
ii) Public reporting of school and student achievement: The good or the bad news?

9. Stories of Curriculum Reform
The nature of change and reform
Setting the scene

10. Curriculum and Assessment Futures
Curriculum futures: No easy answers
The role of ICT and a future curriculum
Future scenarios
What we would like: Our wish list
Some integrated curriculum examples

11. The Reflection Storyline: Bringing the Stories Together
Why reflection?
So what is reflection?
Storylines of reflective practice
John Dewey and reflection
Schon: Different times for reflection
Van Manen: Different levels of reflection
Why reflect?
Strategies for reflective practice in curriculum

Conclusion

Appendix: Sample Programs

Robyn Ewing AM: Professor of Teacher Education and the Arts, Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney and Member in General Division of the Order of Australia

Access the appendix of the first edition of Robyn Ewing's Curriculum and Assessment to view additional sample programs.

Read a sample chapter from Curriculum and Assessment

Chapter 1: Towards Some Definitions of Curriculum and Assessment