Event overview
Hosted by the Centre for Identities and Social Justice, this roundtable will discuss the findings from research commissioned by the National Education Union on the impact of standardised curricula on teachers’ perceptions of workload and their sense of autonomy and self-efficacy.
By 'standardised curricula', we mean units/schemes of work, programmes, or packages that are ready for teachers to follow. This includes materials generated ‘in-house’ (in an individual school, or across a group of schools) as well as content that is provided by external third parties.
The government’s review of curriculum and assessment (2025) notes concerns that current trends in policy may be reducing ‘teachers’ professional capacity to consolidate, tailor, adapt or extend material for their pupils’. It wants the national curriculum to ‘support teachers to use their professional expertise in designing or selecting an engaging and stretching programme of learning that best suits their students’ needs’. Our research, however, indicates that there is a powerful counter-dynamic to these conceptions of curriculum-making. The support offered by standardised curricula may undermine the professional expertise which research shows enhances job satisfaction and motivation. The contributors of this roundtable will comment on the implications of this research for policy around teachers’ working conditions: teacher workload and retention, student disengagement and the direction of curriculum reform.
The event is hybrid. It will take place on Wednesday 24th of September, 5.30-7.00 pm at Goldsmiths, University of London, Deptford Town Hall, Room 102. A zoom link will be sent to registered attendees who prefer to join us online.
Participants
Professor Jo-Anne Baird, Oxford University
Matija Tomanovic, National Education Union
Dr Lisa-Maria Müller, Head of Research and Policy, Chartered College of Teaching
Professor Anna Traianou, Goldsmiths, University of London
Professor Emeritus Howard Stevenson, The University of Nottingham
Dr Sarah Pearce, Goldsmiths, University of London
Dr Jude Brady, Independent Consultant
www.gold.ac.uk/identity-social-justice/
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 2025 | 5:30pm - 7:00pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
