The seductive charms of a cross-curricular approach

The Rose Review has been published to sort out all those nasty curriculum and pedagogical problems that have bewildered, frustrated and exhausted so many primary teachers over the recent past! This article addresses one aspect of the recommendations, namely, the role of cross-curricular approaches to strengthen teaching and learning. Perhaps this is the ‘Holy Grail’ for which we have eagerly waited. On the other hand, perhaps it is a ‘poisoned chalice’ to corrupt the sanctity of subject divisions and impose a modern version of project work on unsuspecting teachers and learners. Hopefully, it is a welcome flash of warm sunlight beaming through the dark clouds of curriculum prescription and government ‘recommended’ teaching methods. In this short article I offer a variety of perspectives on the place of the cross-curricular proposals and suggest that whatever our viewpoint, a curriculum review of any sort is an opportunity to interrogate the purpose of education for children and young people, who deserve every chance to be happy and fulfilled.