Negotiating the curriculum was championed by Australian educator, Garth Boomer, and involves teachers and students undertaking curriculum as a process of co-construction. Whilst the current applicability of Boomer’s ideas is supported by research and policy focused on student agency at a local, national and international level, the current emphasis on standardisation and datafication in education systems presents challenges for both teacher and student agency to be realised. In light of these tensions, this presentation explores the findings of a recent PhD study focused on how the process of negotiating the curriculum can be sustained over time within a primary school setting. The study reviewed expert insights and analysed a case study of a primary school that has undertaken a negotiated curriculum for 25 years. Three major contributions to the field emerging through this analysis will be presented. These include a new model for sustaining curriculum negotiation across a whole school, exploration of how the findings contribute to understanding the role of the teacher and how teaching and learning is undertaken, and discussion of threats to the sustainability of curriculum negotiation. The study demonstrates that although many challenges exist for teachers and schools seeking to negotiate the curriculum, sustaining a negotiated curriculum is still possible, and Boomer’s ideas are highly relevant to classrooms today.

Nadine Crane

Nadine Crane is a primary school teacher who is currently a lecturer at the Faculty of Education. Her current roles include Lead of Research in Schools for the Ngarrngga project. Prior to joining the FoE, Nadine worked extensively with schools as a consultant in the areas of integrated curriculum and inquiry based learning, with a specific focus on the inclusion of student voice and agency by negotiating the curriculum. During her time lecturing in the Master of Teaching, Nadine has worked across the core subjects in pedagogy and assessment, and was the coordinator for Clinical Teaching Practice practicum subjects in the Master of Teaching Primary for many years. Nadine's PhD research is focussed on how primary schools sustain the pedagogical practice of negotiating the curriculum with students.