The Effect of TVEI on Curriculum Development

Abstract

Part of the philosophy of TVEI is directed towards increasing the pace of curriculum development. In the past, this develpoment was the responsibility of individual schools influenced by LEA policy and HMI and DES suggestions. However, the ability to influence curriculum development has now been extended to include the MSC through the power it derives from its financial resources and Government backing.

The MSC's influence is exerted partly through LEAs, because of its financial input, and partly through its involvement with the Project Steering Committees (PSC) which are responsible for the oversight of TVEI including the nature and relevance of the curriculum the pupils pursue. The MSC has only one representaive on each PSC, acting apparently in an advisory role to ensure that any recommendations made by the PSC are consistent with aims of TVEI. However, during the first year of the pilot scheme, MSC has appointed its own advisors, drawn from the secondary and further education sectors of education, who are each resposible for a number of TVEI schemes. Part of their function is to look at the contract agreed between each authority and the MSC, look at the curriculum implications of each scheme, and assess how successfully an authority is meeting its part of the contract and the aims of TVEI.