52.4.1 Findings
We found that involvement in this programme exerted a powerful effect on the
teachers who participated. In turn, this opened up new ways of working in school,
through CCPE with the potential for enhanced practice and outcomes for children.
We found significant evidence of enhanced understandings of the new curriculum,
addressing one of the major concerns that had originally stimulated the programme
development. In a sense this is not surprising; research (e.g. Priestley and Minty
2013 ) had already suggested that schools have not provided adequate spaces for
sense-making as the new curriculum was introduced, and the programme estab-
lished such spaces, through the setting up of structured dialogue for this purpose.
Enhanced understandings were seen in relation to three main areas:first, partici-
pating teachers appeared to have a better grasp than previously of the core aims and
principles of the new curriculum; second, participants developed better under-
standing of the potential links between purposes and practices; third, there was an
increased familiarity with related and relevant concepts such as metacognition.
Enhanced understandings of the substantive conceptual issues, related to the cur-
riculum and its development, were manifestly accompanied by enhanced under-
standings of processes for school-based curriculum development; this includes a
deeper familiarity with the principles and practices of CCPE and its potential
contribution to school-based curriculum development, as well as new knowledge of
appropriate models for curriculum development. Accompanying this better
knowledge and understanding of professional principles and processes has been
increased confidence exhibited by many of the participants.
Enhanced understanding and increased confidence have led to the emergence of
more tangible outcomes. The project has stimulated the development of new and
innovative pedagogical practices (in response to the demands of the new cur-
riculum), which had not previously been considered. These include a primary
school where there was a systematic development of a culture of questioning by
children, notable in that it greatly extended opportunities for children’s voice and
participation in the classrooms. In some cases these changes were radical; in
another primary school, innovation in pedagogy was noted with surprise by an
external inspector, who complimented the school on their practice, and inquired
into its origins and the processes by which collaborative inquiry had stimulated
innovation.
As we indicated in the earlier part of this chapter, radical changes are not
uncommon in the pilot phase of a project such as this. Sustainability is a different
matter altogether. While it is too early to judge definitively, there is emerging
evidence that this programme has improved the sustainability of innovation in some
of the schools. This is especially evident in schools where there is not only evidence
of innovation, but also of sustained engagement with CCPE methodology. In some
schools we have witnessed school leaders, who had been participants in the
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