EDUC51001: Contemporary Themes in Education Policy

The Assignment

Students will undertake a theory informed critical analysis of a policy that includes a critical exposition or analysis.

The paper should be no more than 3000 words (only the first 3000 words will be assessed).

Papers must include a reference list of primary and secondary sources. Note: the reference list is not contained within the word limit. Please note further, that your reference list should only contain

references that are used within your assignment. Please ensure that you follow the citation and end reference conventions outlined in the course guidance.

Assignment Task

The main task requires that, with reference to the theories or ideologies discussed in the course, you provide an analysis of the policy document published by the Government of Norway:

Ministry of Education and Research, 2017. Core curriculum – values and principles for primary and secondary education.

The paper should begin by providing a short introduction that sets the policy document in its context.

Secondly, the paper should briefly set out and explain, with reference to primary or secondary texts, four theories of education. This explanation should include one common objection or criticism made against each theory.

The main section of the paper should provide an analysis that identifies, with reference to the text of the document, instances (examples) of any of the theories of education explained in the preceding section of the paper. In other words, analyse this policy document, looking for the influence or possible instances of any of the ideologies of education discussed in the second section of the paper. The analysis should seek to detect the presence of as many of the four ideologies or theories of education as can be found in the text; or inferred or interpreted from a close reading of the text.

In the penultimate section, the analysis should consider the balance of ideologies, is any one ideology or combination of ideologies dominant across the whole text? Conclude this section by making an argument for which of the philosophies or ideologies of education (or combination of ideologies) present in the policy text are dominant or given the most importance.

The final section of the paper should, from your research on the recent history of the country of origin and your close reading of the text, consider if the text produced by the curriculum authority contains aspects or goals that could be explained by the influence of political ideologies or concerns, or economic ideas as discussed in this course or social or cultural factors exerting influence on this curriculum policy.