A national curriculum is a set of educational standards developed by the federal government and implemented in public schools. The United Kingdom is the most prominent example of a national curriculum, with a system in place since the 1980s. The issue of a national curriculum is a source of occasional heated debate in the United States, Australia, and other countries around the world; supporters argue that the program can provide a well-assessed general base of knowledge for all students, while detractors argue that it is overly restrictive and potentially biased toward the makers’ educational preferences.
The majority of countries lack a national curriculum. State governments frequently set learning standards in the United States, but these guidelines are not strictly enforced and allow for a wide range of interpretations by individual schools and teachers. Teachers, people fear, would not be able to engage the individual needs and interests of students if they were forced to teach specific subjects in a specific manner if they were forced to teach specific subjects in a specific manner.
However, a close examination of the British curriculum program reveals that teachers have considerable latitude in imparting national standards with personal flair. Government standards focus on what should be taught rather than how it should be learned. Students of a certain age, for example, are required to study literature, but teachers are free to use whatever books they want to teach literature.
Every few years, most national curriculum systems require some form of assessment or standardized testing. Rather than evaluating a student’s intelligence, the assessment tests are used to determine how well a teacher or school is meeting the curriculum’s objectives. Students in the British education system are tested several times throughout their education to assess their progress and success. Low scores may not prevent a student from completing compulsory education, but they can have an impact on college admissions in the same way that a low SAT® or ACT® score can.
The question of whether a national curriculum should be implemented in other countries is constantly debated. In response to various protests, Australia has drafted several versions of a curriculum, one of which is set to be implemented in 2011. Fear of socialism has made national curriculum a touchy subject in the United States. Many people are disturbed by the inclusion of religious education in the British model, fearing that it will compromise freedom of expression and disrupt parental attempts at a specific religious upbringing. The debate over whether or not a curriculum would improve education is often overshadowed by questions about what should be taught and who should have the authority to determine what subjects are acceptable.