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Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title Curriculum, Policy & Assessment
Module Code EDS1026 (ITS: PR300)
Faculty Policy & Professional Practice School DCU Institute of Education
NFQ level 8 Credit Rating 5
Description

This module is designed to enable students to engage with the philosophical and pedagogical principles that shape the second level curriculum. Participants will focus on the Irish context in particular and consider the impact of policy on curriculum change and reform. Central to the module is an analysis and critique of the professional responsibilities of the teacher in relation to design and delivery of the second level curriculum as well as the teacher’s role in the development of appropriate assessment frameworks. The module will also consider the extent to which curriculum provision reflects a multi-cultural and increasingly diverse socio-economic landscape. Significant attention will be given to the role of the assessment, formative and summative, and its alignment to curriculum content, design and delivery.

Learning Outcomes

1. Give evidence of understanding of the different curriculum theories that underpin the variety of curricular provision in Irish second-level schools with particular emphasis on the new Junior Cycle.
2. Display a detailed knowledge and understanding of the curriculum at second level education with a particular focus on the elective subjects.
3. Demonstrate the ability to generate, gather, interpret and report evidence of learning.
4. Critically engage with debates on the role of the teacher in assessing student learning
5. Engage with appropriate literature and research evidence and where possible, link to the school placement experience.
6. Partake in a collaborative team to evaluate two examples of the CBA1 in Gaeilge, discuss the learning needed to ensure success for the student and come to a consensus on the Descriptor.


WorkloadFull time hours per semester
TypeHoursDescription
Lecture36No Description
Online activity10No Description
Independent Study30No Description
Independent Study49Preparation for assessment
Total Workload: 125
Section Breakdown
CRN10477Part of TermSemester 1
Coursework0%Examination Weight0%
Grade Scale40PASSPass Both ElementsY
Resit CategoryRC1Best MarkN
Module Co-ordinatorAudrey DoyleModule Teacher
Assessment Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
AssignmentThe C/A is made up of 3 stages and draws on the assessment literacy built over the course of this module. Part 1: Students view two examples of CBA’s either in Gaeilge or MFL and write a report on what descriptor they would offer, why they would choose this descriptor and the learning needed for this accomplishment. Part 2: Students engage in a Subject Learning and Assessment Review (SLAR) meeting on Zoom with their group and debate the assessment grades they each have given to the two CBA’s, offering a final on balance judgement and feedback for each of the CBA’s. Part 3: Present a reflective piece (300 words) of the insights and understanding acquired during the assignment100%n/a
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
RC1: A resit is available for both* components of the module.
RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module.
RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element.

* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Curriculum and Assessment Theory
The study of curriculum and assessment with particular reference to the Irish context

The Curriculum Maker
Application of the principles of curriculum design to developments at second-level, especially in respect of the new Junior Cycle

The Student-Centred Curriculum
The curriculum and inclusiveness in respect of the varying abilities, talents and backgrounds of learners at second level

The role and identity of the teacher as Assessor
Issues and arguments concerning assessment

Curriculum Components, Strata and Representations
The contribution of research to the debates around curriculum and assessment at post-primary level in the Irish context

Assessment at Junior and Senior Cycle
Syllabi and forms of assessment in the elective subjects: Irish, French, Spanish

A dualistic approach to assessment: the teacher's role
The teacher’s role in formative and summative assessment

Indicative Reading List

Books:
  • Dempsey, M., Doyle, A., Looney, A.: 2021, The Craft of Curriculum Making in Lower Secondary Education in Ireland, In: Curriculum Making in Europe: Policy and Practice within and Across Diverse Contexts,, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley,
  • Eisner, E, W.: 1985, The Educational Imagination: On the Design and Evaluation of School Programs, 2nd Ed., Macmillan Publishing Co, New York,
  • Gardner, J.,: 2012, Assessment and Learning,, Sage, Dublin,
  • Gleeson, J: 2010, Curriculum in Context, Partnership, Power and Praxis in Ireland,, Peter Lang, Oxford,
  • Murchan, D., Shiels, G.: 2017, Understanding and Applying Assessment in Education,, Sage, Dublin, 248,
  • William, D.: 2009, Assessment for Learning: Why, what and How?, Institute of Education, University of London,
  • Westwood, P.: 2004, Learning and Learning Difficulties: Approaches to Teaching and Assessment, David Fulton Publishers, London,
  • Griffin, P. E. (ed.): 2014, Assessment for Teaching, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
  • Wyse, D., Pandya, J .Z., Hayward, L., (ed.s): 2016, The SAGE Handbook of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment, Sage, Los Angeles,


Articles:
  • Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. L.: 2016, Teacher Assessment Literacy in Practice: A Reconceptualization, Teaching and Teacher Education, 58, 149, doi:10.1016/j.tate.2016.05.010, 517693
  • 2017: Reconceptualising the role of teachers as assessors: teacher assessment identity, Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, January 2017, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0969594X.2016.1268090, 517694, 1
  • The development of assessment policy in Ireland: a story of junior cycle reform: Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy &Practice, February 2018, 517695, 1, Deng, Zongyi
  • ournal of Curriculum Studies,: 50:6, 691, 517696, 1, Priestly, M.,, 2015
  • https://www.ncca.ie/media/2015/a-perspective-on-learning-outcomes-in-curriculum-and- assessment.pdf: 517697, 1, Flynn, P., 2017, Embedding student voices in education discourse: Curricular co-construction and development, NCCA online,
Other Resources

  • 1: Online Resource, NCCA, NCCA Focus on Learning,
  • 414801: 1, Online Resource, OECD, 2016, OECD Synergies for Better Learning, An International Perspective on Evaluation and Assessment,
  • http://www.oecd.org/education/school/synergies-for-better-learning.htm:

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