Schools across the world are struggling to balance the statutory requirements of a national curriculum with their desire to provide the wide, engaging and exciting curriculum that they know children need. Concerns about standards often lead to a narrowing of the curriculum and many schools lack the confidence and approach to design that would enable them to resolve what seems like an impossible dilemma. In this authoritative yet engaging book, Brian Male and Mick Waters look at how schools can meet the requirements of a national curriculum and yet be flexible enough to meet the needs, interests and concerns of pupils, to be rooted in their lives and localities and to give scope for teachers to use their own creativity. The Secondary Curriculum Design Handbook is a practical guide to designing a curriculum that will engage children's interest, excite their imaginations and at the same time provide them with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to live successfully in the 21st Century.

Introduction Section 1: How do we Design a Curriculum? 1. Curriculum Design 2. A 21st-Century Curriculum? 3. A Framework for the Curriculum Section 2: How do we Organise Learning? 4. The Curriculum Tree 5. The Deep Roots of Learning 6. A Canopy of Leaves: the Subject Disciplines 7. How do Key Concepts and Key Skills impact on learning? 8. Qualifications 9. Vocational Contexts and Work-Based Learning 10. Making Learning Irresistible 11. National Expectations in a Local Context 12. How will this Ever Work on the Timetable? Section 3: How will we Know if we have been Successful? 13. Assessing Success 14. Keeping an Overview: Evaluation Section 4: How do we Make it Work in Schools? 15. Making the Change 16. Managing the Institutional Challenge 17. Postscript: a World-Class Curriculum Index