Curriculum Making

In this essay I will be reflecting on a scheme of work from my placement college. My placement college is East Kent College in South East England. I am teaching within the Engineering department. My specialist subject is electronic engineering, which I deliver to HNC, HND (level four and five higher education courses) and EAL1 level two learners. This reflection will focus on a scheme of work developed for the EAL level two learners.

During this reflection I will discuss how recent political changes are shaping the curriculum. Furthermore, this will be a discussion on the focus of embedding English and Maths into the curriculum. I will also examine the dichotomy of academic versus skills based curricula. This will lead on to the final debate; the impact on access into higher education.

(Wolf, 2011) highlights that around 94% of 16 and 85% of 17 year olds are choosing to stay in education instead of joining a competitive job market. However, she also concluded that many are repeating lower level courses and not progressing onto higher level courses. As a result (Wolf, 2011, p. 115) recommends “Their programmes should also include at least one qualification of substantial size (in terms of teaching time) which offers clear potential for progression either in education or into skilled employment.” A responsibility has been placed on FE colleges to place learners on appropriate courses that allow them to progress and become employable. This makes enrolment a difficult task. Many learners at this age do not know which path they wish to choose and may not have an open and honest discussion at this point. At East Kent College, the level two engineering learners are given a muti-skilled course. This was a request from employers, but does give the learner the opportunity to experience both mechanical and electronic engineering. They can then choose their desired path at level three and beyond. This multi-skilled course also offers plenty of opportunities to embed...