The NCCA established a Schools Forum consisting of 43 primary schools, post-primary schools and preschools from across the country. This has now been extended to 60 schools and together, these represent the rich diversity of school contexts in Ireland. Teachers and practitioners meet every 4-6 weeks to guide and help shape the primary curriculum review and redevelopment. In the words of one teacher, the Schools Forum provides a space to ponder big questions such as what we value in education, what its purpose is, how and what children should be taught, what’s important in our current context and what the future might demand.
• Work with teachers/practitioners and schools/preschools as central agents in curriculum development
• Augment the short research papers, curriculum seminars and internal NCCA processes at the ‘practice’ level
• Learn from schools/preschools as sites of curriculum development
• Receive constructive feedback ‘soundings’ on research
• Generate commentary and feedback on the primary curriculum review and redevelopment.
• Learn about the processes involved in the primary curriculum review and redevelopment
• Work collaboratively and share their ideas, experiences and suggestions for future directions for a redeveloped primary curriculum
• Ground research in practice by offering feedback on a suite of research papers as a whole staff or individual
• Share the work of the Forum at a local level, for example, through Boards of Management, Parent Associations, and other local networks.
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