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1. The Purpose of School
As previously mentioned, the purpose of curriculum is no longer about defining the knowledge that must be remembered and later tested; but rather, it should establish the desired learning culture for the country, district, or school, and the learning experiences that each child engages with during the time they are attending school. The six foundational pillars for curriculum design were introduced earlier and these pillars now need unpacking and explaining. The six pillars provide a framework for the learning that takes place within schools around the world. The contexts for each of the six pillars may be provided by the learner, class, local school, district, state or national Ministries or Departments of Education. The flexibility of this approach to curriculum design has the potential to be outworked into a customised curriculum for each individual school, level or learner.167
In the ideal world, the school, in consultation with its community, would clearly define their purpose and adapt the national curriculum accordingly, based on the desired outcomes that the local community has collectively identified. The community needs to debate the purpose of education so that everyone is clear as to the aspirations schools have for the 10–13 years of learning experiences the learners in that community will be exposed to.
The brief background reading that follows, provides a framework for stimulating debate about what the purpose of school could be.
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We dominate planet Earth for four key reasons. While this may seem somewhat esoteric to the purpose of this resource, it is, in fact, fundamental to the establishment of a curriculum based on the six pillars expressed earlier. We desire that our young people have the understanding and capability, not just to survive in life, but rather to flourish and take on the responsibility that we have as human beings to all species and ecosystems. We want our young people to aspire to be caring, considerate and thoughtful about how they interact with each other, as well as understand our role as guardians of Planet Earth. We want learners to understand how to learn, and apply that capacity individually and corporately, so each can make a positive difference while here on Earth.
167 The chapter 23 summary video can be found here –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYWv-fMR3rE&t=405s if you are reading the book, otherwise click on the video icon at the top of the page