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CEPS Journal 2 (2012) 2, S. 71-90, One of the important positions of the last curricular reform in Slovenia, which included systemic issues of education (White Paper on Education, 2011) and curricula for compulsory subjects in primary school, is the fact that Slovenia has been integrated into Europe, and thus education should also include the development of core European competences. One such competence is cultural awareness and expression, which until now has been an issue more in the context of cultural policies than school policies in Slovenia. The purpose of the present article is to critically analyse the curricular reform of art education (i.e., visual art education), through which, in terms of certain components of the competence of cultural awareness and expression, it is foreseen that the student will gain a knowledge of art, develop an ability to experience works of art and develop a creative attitude towards art and heritage. Because the starting point and goal of curricular change is the curriculum, our analysis is derived from curriculum theories, and not from the art theories and pedagogical theories that have predominantly framed previous attempts at curriculum analysis. Critical consideration of the curricular reform of art education in primary school in terms of certain components of the competence of cultural awareness and expression was undertaken by comparing curricula in the field of aesthetic education. We compared art education with music education and literature within the Slovenian language curriculum. Qualitative analysis showed that, despite the reform, the curriculum for arts education does not realize selected components of the competence of cultural awareness and expression, largely due to the curriculum’s conceptual structure. Art education is centred principally on art-making activities, with an obvious neglect of appreciation. The integration of arts subjects at school, as proposed by the White Paper, is therefore not possible, due to the existing model of art education. From a practical point of view, the analysis also raised the question of the knowledge and competences of teachers. (DIPF/Orig.)

Balıkesir Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Ortaöğretim Fen ve Matematik Alanları Eğitimi Ana Bilim Dalı, Bu çalışmada; 1985 yılı ile 2007 yılı arasındaki Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı, Talim ve Terbiye Kurulu Başkanlığı tarafından yayımlanan ortaöğretim kimya dersi öğretim programlarındaki ve bu öğretim programlarına uygun olarak yayımlanan kimya ders kitaplarındaki değişimler hakkında öğretmenlerinin görüşlerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Amaç doğrultusunda yapılan çalışmalar iki kısımdan oluşmaktadır. Birinci kısımda öğretmen görüşmelerinin soruları hazırlanmıştır. Görüşme sorularının hazırlanması aşamasında program ve kitap analizleri yapılmıştır. Programlar içerik (konu başlıkları ve konuların içerdiği kimya bilgileri) yönünden analiz edilmiştir. Bunun yanı sıra bu programlara göre hazırlanmış olan on kimya ders kitabı da biçim (görsel öğeler, örnekler ve çalışma soruları) yönünden incelenmiştir. İncelemeler sonucunda programlarda konu başlıkları, konuların içerdiği kimya bilgileri yönünden ve kitaplarda biçimsel yönde değişimler olduğu belirlenmiştir. Çalışmanın ikinci kısmında ise birinci bölümün sonuçlarından yola çıkarak hazırlanan mülakat soruları on üç ila yirmi yedi yıl arasında kimya öğretmenliği tecrübesine sahip on iki öğretmene yöneltilmiştir. Programlardaki değişimlerinin genellikle öğrenci seviyelerine, bilimsel ve teknolojik gelişmelere, modern anlayışların zaman içersinde programları etkilemesine dayalı olarak gerçekleştiği ve kitaplardaki değişimlerin ise öğrencinin aktif katılımını sağlamak, öğrencinin dikkatini çekmek, öğrencinin konuyu daha iyi hatırlamasını sağlamak ve özel sektörü yakalamak adına yapıldığı düşüncesi öğretmenler tarafından belirtilmiştir., The aim of this study includes the chemistry teachers' opininons about the changes in the chemistry textbooks and the secondary education chemistry curriculum published between 1985-2007 years by the Ministry of National Education, Board of Education and Discipline Council from 1985 till 2007. In according with this aim, the study includes two parts. The first part is about the preperation of questions for interview with the chemistry teachers. Within the context of the analyses for cirrucilum and preparing the questions for interview, the cirrucilum and tetbooks were analysed according to content (title topics and the topics including chemistry knowledge). In this context ten chemistry textbooks written according to this curriculum was analysed considering format (visual items, examples and questions). As a results of this analyses, the differences were found in title topics, the topics including chemistry knowladge and the content of textbooks from 1985 till 2007. The second part of this study is about the application of the questions prepared in the first part to the 12 chemistry teachers having experience between 13 and 27 years. The achieved results showed that the changes in the curriculum within a period of time according to the teachers' options are because of the level changes of students, development in science and technology and the reflection of modern concept to education. As well evoluations in textbooks, provided students to be active participant in lessons and made them to create interest about the lessons, learn the topics easily and catch the quality of private sector.

Balıkesir Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Ortaöğretim Fen ve Matematik Alanları Eğitimi Ana Bilim Dalı, Bu çalışmada, 1957 yılından 2007 yılına kadar geçen 50 yıllık süreçte, Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı, Talim ve Terbiye Kurulu Başkanlığı tarafından yayımlanan ortaöğretim kimya dersi öğretim programlarının “gerekçe”, “amaç” ve “içerik” yönünden incelemesi yapılmıştır. Çalışmada nitel araştırma kapsamında doküman incelemesi yapılmış olup, gerekçe analizinde, programların yayımlanma gerekçeleri analiz edilmiştir. Amaç analizinde, incelenen öğretim programlarında yer alan amaçlar Bloom Taksonomisi’ndeki bilişsel, devinişsel ve duyuşsal öğrenme alanları doğrultusunda analiz edilmiştir. İçerik analizinde ise, öğretim programlarının önerdiği içeriklerde yer alan kimya bilgileri analiz edilmiş ve sınıflandırılmıştır (örnek, kavram veya teori/model kategorisinde; nesne, olay, özellik veya semiyotik gösterim statüsünde). Gerekçe analizi sonucunda; 50 yıllık süreçte Kimya Eğitimi’nin altı farklı dönemden geçtiği belirlenmiştir: (i) klasik programlı dönem, (ii) modern programlı dönem, (iii) klasikmodern program farkını ortadan kaldıran programlı dönem, (iv) ders geçme ve kredi sistemli dönem, (v) sınıf geçme sistemli dönem ve (vi) yapılandırmacı programlı dönem. Amaç analizi sonucunda; 50 yıllık süreçte incelenen ortaöğretim kimya dersi öğretim programlarının ait oldukları altı farklı dönemde, bilişsel, devinişsel ve duyuşsal öğrenme alanlarında içerdikleri amaç sayıları bakımından farklılık gösterdikleri gözlenmiştir. Ayrıca, program amaçları yazılırken genellikle bilişsel alanın, devinişsel ve duyuşsal alanlara göre üstün tutulduğu belirlenmiştir. İçerik analizi sonucunda; 50 yıllık süreçte incelenen ortaöğretim kimya dersi öğretim programlarında yer alan kimya bilgilerinin sayısında dönemlere göre farklılık olduğu ve en fazla kimya bilgisini içeren programların ait olduğu dönemler arasında klasik programlı dönemin ön plana çıktığı belirlenmiştir. Programlarda yer alan kimya bilgilerinin genellikle kavram kategorisinde, bazı durumlarda da örnek kategorisinde en fazla düzeyde temsil edildiği gözlenmiştir. Programlarda yer alan kimya bilgilerinin örnek kategorisinde nesne statüsünde, kavram kategorisinde ise hemen hemen bütün statülerde ağırlıklı olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Kimya dersi öğretim programlarının geniş bir perspektifte incelenmesini hedef alan bu çalışma, ihtiyaçların belirlenmesi aşamasında program tasarımcıları için birçok fayda sağlayacaktır. Ayrıca bu çalışma kapsamında inşa edilen analiz yöntemi, kimya ve diğer alanlardaki derslere ait öğretim programlarının incelenmesinde araştırmacılara yol gösterici olabilir., In this study, the examination of secondary education chemistry curricula published by the Ministry of National Education, Board of Education and Discipline Council in the process of fifty years, from 1957 till 2007, was made based on “rationale”, “goals” and “subject-matter” dimensions. In this study, document examination in the scope of qualitative research was carried out. Under the section of rationale analysis the purposes of publishing curricula were analyzed. The goals of the curricula were analyzed according to the Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning domains as cognitive, psychomotor and affective. The subjectmatters that the curricula deal with were analyzed according to classification of chemistry knowledge (in the categories of example, concept or theory/model; in the statuses of object, event, property or semiotic representation). As a result of rationale analysis; it was determined that Chemistry Education passed through six different periods in the fifty year process: (i) classical curriculum period, (ii) modern curriculum period, (iii) curriculum period that removed the difference between classical and modern curricula, (iv) subject passing and credit system period, (v) classpassing system period, and (vi) constructivist curriculum period. As the result of goals analysis; it was observed that secondary education chemistry curricula examined in the fifty year process included different numbers of goals according to cognitive, psychomotor and affective learning domains in its own six different periods. Besides, while writing the curricula’s goals, in general, the preferences of cognitive domain to psychomotor and affective domains were determined. In the consequence of subject-matter analysis; it was determined that the number of chemistry knowledge included in secondary education chemistry curricula examined in the fifty year process had differences according to the periods, and it was also determined that classical curriculum period was the most prominent among the periods, which contained the highest number of chemistry knowledge. The highest level representations of the chemistry knowledge in the curricula were observed in general in the concept category and in some situations in the example category. It was determined that the chemistry knowledge in the curricula was in the object status in example category; however, it was in almost all statuses in concept category. The present study, which aims at the comprehensive examination of chemistry curricula, will provide a great deal of advantages for the curriculum developers in the phase of needs analysis. Besides, the analysis method constructed with the help of this study can be a guide for the researchers examining chemistry and other subjects’ curricula.

Aim: The overall aim of the thesis was to describe and analyse experiences of learning in the intensive care nurse’s knowledge and competence areas. What knowledge content is learnt in the study program, what competence is developed in the profession and what prerequisites of learning are experienced in the study program and the profession are addressed. Method: Data were collected via questionnaires and interviews on two different occasions. The sample consists of one annual cohort of students (n=221) from all the higher education institutions in Sweden (n=18) where specialist study programs for nurses in intensive care (ICU) were offered in 2000. The response rate is 81 per cent in sub study I and 85 per cent in sub study II. Chi-square was used to test for any differences between variables and groups, respectively, and McNemar was used to analyse changes. Content analysis has been used to analyse questions with open answers. Interviews (n=7) were carried out for further elaboration of the answers in the questionnaire. Results: The students’ age, educational background and professional experience vary. Forty per cent of the students had prior experience from intensive care. One year after having completed the study program, 21 per cent of the students were no longer working in intensive care. The research group as a whole rate learning highest in the knowledge and competence areas, which are related to monitoring and medical treatment, both at the end of the study program and after one year of professional practice. At the end of the study program, the relation-oriented areas of ethics and communication are considered to be equally important to the professional function, although they take longer to learn. However, after one year in the workplace, ethics was no longer considered to be as important. In the case of academic schooling, the group with a nursing education after the 1993 reform rated their competence higher than the group with an older nursing education. The group with previous ICU experience considers this competence to be more important to the professional function than the group without ICU experience. After having worked for a year, all the nurses feel that they have achieved self-mastery in their work, i.e. that they can take responsibility and initiatives and that they know the limits of their own competence. There is correspondence between formal competence and job-related competence. There are, however, differences between the rated competence and the competence utilised. The competence developed to carry on development and quality work is either utilised in full or, alternatively, is utilised but not officially required or recognised. Conclusions: The relative incongruence between the students’ rated competence and the competence required in the health care sector indicates that we have an important task to further influence the educational and health care systems to increase the academisation process.

Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) is a continuous, flexible and dynamic area of engineering. Its intervention relates not only in manufacturing industry, but also in hospitals, education systems, transport systems, financial institutions, etc. Thus, there is the need to prepare students to the extended scope of IEM and the curriculum has to provide this broad vision. This range of IEM is evident in curriculum rationale. Graduates have to be ready for a wide range of jobs in the labour market. This is a challenging demand to cope with when designing and developing the curriculum. Thus, a selection of a special focus is the basis for the curriculum design process and for that reason the curriculum programs have different emphasis. The aim of this study is to analyse four IEM curriculum programs in Europe based on a classification of courses by areas of knowledge. Furthermore, the relative weight of areas was computed based on courses’ credits. Two interrelated group of areas were used, one aggregated and another one for IEM specific areas. This framework revealed to be useful for curriculum analysis and the results show that the four program curricula have a comparable weight of specialization area of IEM and that Production Management is the specific area with the larger weight in all programs. The results show that one of the characteristics of IEM curriculum programs is diversity in the knowledge areas related to IEM specialization. This study also emphasizes the importance of a structured framework for characterization of IEM programs, enabling benchmarking exercises, and facilitating the dialogue between academia and the profession of IEM., This work was partially financed by National Funds of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, namely by Project PESTOE/EME/UI0252/2011 and SFRH/BD/62116/2009.

In an increasingly globalized world, the call for internationally comparable competence measurements has emerged. After several international studies on pre-college education, the focus has shifted to international assessments of vocational education and training (VET). VET researchers in Germany developed a computer-based test (ALUSIM) that measures the competence of German apprentices in internationally defined core commercial areas. Our own study deals with the adaptation of this test to Switzerland and a discussion of the challenges involved, with the aim of providing guidance for future adaptations. More specifically, despite commonalities between the German and Swiss VET systems, it is necessary to examine whether the contents and technical aspects of ALUSIM are appropriate for Swiss conditions in order to ensure validity and evidence based on test content. Several methods were used to examine the criteria context, construct, and IT components of the German computer-based test ALUSIM in order to successfully adapt it for Swiss commercial VET. To this end we first analyzed and compared the German and Swiss commercial VET systems and commercial curricula (context) to assess whether the tasks of the test were also embedded in the Swiss curriculum and whether any specific Swiss commercial contents were not represented by the test. Second, we interviewed experts in the commercial area to learn more about representative commercial job requirements (construct). Finally, we interviewed apprentices and tested our initial adaptation of ALUSIM to the Swiss context in order to assess the test’s IT requirements. The analysis revealed similarities between the German and Swiss VET and the construct ‘commercial competence’. However, commercial work conditions and cultural characteristics differ between these countries and lead to different job requirements. Therefore, only a subset of ALUSIM tasks is valid for the construct ‘commercial competence’ in Switzerland. Thus, the addition of further tasks for Switzerland would more validly represent the construct ‘commercial competence’. Moreover, IT components need to be adjusted because the technical implementation represents the measured construct. The proceedings and findings of our adaptation study imply that context, construct, and IT components need to be analyzed before doing adaptations. Even when dealing with countries with a similar context such as comparable educational system and language, it is necessary to carefully examine and test an adaptation in advance. Therefore, creating a successful and internationally comparable adaptation is admittedly possible but challenging, costly and time-consuming.

This paper presents a framework of competences developed for Industrial Engineering and Management that can be used as a tool for curriculum analysis and design, including the teaching and learning processes as well as the alignment of the curriculum with the professional profile. The framework was applied to the Industrial Engineering and Management program at University of Minho (UMinho), Portugal, and it provides an overview of the connection between IEM knowledge areas and the competences defined in its curriculum. The framework of competences was developed through a process of analysis using a combination of methods and sources for data collection. The framework was developed according to four main steps: 1) characterization of IEM knowledge areas; 2) definition of IEM competences; 3) survey; 4) application of the framework at the IEM curriculum. The findings showed that the framework is useful to build an integrated vision of the curriculum. The most visible aspect in the learning outcomes of IEM program is the lack of balance between technical and transversal competences. There was not almost any reference to the transversal competences and it is fundamentally concentrated on Project-Based Learning courses. The framework presented in this paper provides a contribution to the definition of IEM professional profile through a set of competences which need to be explored further. In addition, it may be a relevant tool for IEM curriculum analysis and a contribution for bridging the gap between universities and companies., (undefined)

This paper reports on curriculum analysis of climate change expectations in Canada’s provincial curricula. The research is focused on curriculum policy in Canadian provinces; however, it pertains to an international audience as Article 12 of the Paris Agreement, the international treaty on climate mitigation, adaptation and finance, calls for signatories to “enhance climate change education,” and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have called for environmental education to be a core curriculum component by 2025, which will require all countries to evaluate and improve their curricula globally. Curriculum policy within Canada has not yet been aligned with these policy calls, and our analysis showed fractured and uneven inclusion of climate change. Data findings present explicit climate change education curriculum expectations for each province according to grade, subject, and mandatory versus elective courses. The review shows uneven inclusion of climate change topics, themes, and units within grade 7 – 12 curricula, with most expectations occurring in elective senior secondary courses. A second level of analysis with a ranking tool indicates shallow inclusion. The paper concludes with recommendations for addressing gaps.