Theory, Research and Conceptions of Curriculum for High Ability Learners: Key Findings, Issues and Debates

The intense global competition for talents and the development of the knowledge economy as well as advancements in learning sciences and instructional methods have brought about tremendous changes and possibilities in using and designing innovative curriculum and pedagogies in classrooms. Thus, ensuring school curriculum meets the needs of learners living in an increasingly complex, fast-changing and interactive world which is a major concern for educators in almost all countries (in the most recent International Handbook of Curriculum Research (2014), Pinar (International handbook of curriculum research. Routledge, New York, 2014) brings together curriculum change efforts in at least 34 countries that accordingly reflect “the localised and reconstructed character” of curriculum across unique histories and culture (p.1).). In Singapore, curriculum initiatives such as the Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (TSLN) and Teach Less, Learn More (TLLM) attempt to strengthen teacher capacity to customise curriculum and instruction to engage the learners. Two major changes took place involving the high-ability learners (HALs). In 2004, the Ministry of Education (MOE) implemented the Integrated Programme (IP) at the secondary level to enable schools with high-ability learners to focus less on preparation for high-stakes examination and instead spend the time on opportunities that broaden their learning experience. Three years later, the MOE announced the extension of the Gifted Education Programme (GEP)-like curriculum to the next 4 % at the primary level (refer Neihart, M. F., & Tan, L. S. (2016). Critical assessment of gifted education in Singapore. In Y. D. Dai & C. C. Kuo (Eds.), A critical assessment of gifted education in Asia: Problems and prospects (pp. 77–96). New York: Information Age Publishing). These initiatives require teachers to widen the scope of curriculum for high-ability learners and provide classroom experiences that build deeper conceptual understanding and broader skills. Thus, a curriculum innovation such as the IP is arguably “a programme that is intentionally designed to engage learners in activities or events that will have educational benefits for them” (Eisner, E. W. (2001). The educational imagination: On the design and evaluation of school programmes (3rd ed.), p. 31. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.) beyond the requirements of the high-stakes examination. Even as changes are taking place in differentiating curriculum to meet the needs of learners, with the increasing speed of change and the information explosion around the world, teaching with an emphasis on thinking (Alexander R, Towards dialogic teaching, 3rd edn. Dialogos, New York, 2001; Paul R, Elder L, A miniature guide for students and faculty to scientific thinking. Foundation for Critical Thinking, Tomales, 2003) and for building conceptual understanding has been heralded as an effective approach within many curriculum frameworks (Erickson LH, Concept-based curriculum and instruction: teaching beyond the facts. Corwin Press, Inc., Thousand Oaks, 2002; Tomlinson CA et al, The parallel curriculum: a design to develop high potential and challenge high-ability learners. Corwin Press, Inc., Thousand Oaks, 2002; VanTassel-Baska J, Stambaugh T, Comprehensive curriculum for gifted learners, 3rd edn. Pearson Education, Inc. Boston, 2006). There is therefore value in analysing and documenting the efforts in creating concept-based curriculum and pedagogies for high-ability learners (HALs), both in the Singapore context and around the world. This is particularly important in the context of the continued use of standards-based and high-stakes examinations in educational systems in Asia and in other parts of the world.