Document Type

Theses, Masters

Rights

Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

Disciplines

5.3 EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

Publication Details

Successfully submitted to the Technological University Dublin in part fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Masters in Third Level Learning and Teaching, 2009.

Abstract

This thesis research set out to examine the factors which have contributed to curriculum evolution at the National Bakery School, Technologicl University Dublin (DIT) from 1998 to 2008. It focused on a number of dimensions which have contributed to a radical shift in curriculum. Those dimensions include biographical, cultural, micro-political, structural, socio-historical, technological and scientific. The research design was essentially a hermeneutical, interpretative case study using qualitative data gathering techniques. The primary research methods employed were interviews conducted with lecturing staff, and a survey conducted with students travelling to Germany for continuing professional development. An extensive literature review was conducted of primary and secondary sources to support the elements of the research design and contextual background. The findings of the study clearly indicate a radical shift in curriculum in the Bakery School, in student intake and in pedagogies since 1998, and that this shift was caused by multiple factors which converged in a short space of time: external factors such as radical changes in the bakery industry, in consumer patterns and in the economy, and internal factors such as modularisation, the increased use of technology and a change in student profile. The study revealed that other external and internal factors are emerging such as a downturn in the economy, proposed changes to fee support structures and organisational re-structuring and re-location which are likely to impact further on curricula in the School. The study concludes with recommendations arising to the National Bakery School and to future students.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/D7777F


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