Abstract
Modern concepts of “intended curriculum,” “implemented curriculum,” and “received curriculum” are used in an analysis of RMS curriculum development during the period 1673–1798. Although early RMS intended curricula were framed in terms of topics deemed to be appropriate for prospective navigators, RMS masters implemented a curriculum by which the boys prepared cyphering books which summarized what they were studying. From the outset the received curriculum—what the students experienced and learned from the implemented curricula—was assessed by external examiners who visited Christ’s Hospital from time to time, and by experienced and reputable navigators associated with Trinity House, an independent, semi-government naval authority. Analysis reveals that both the RMS students and their masters struggled to cope with unrealistic curricular expectations, with the students being expected to learn too much, too quickly. When, during the period 1673–1708, the RMS program was seen to be failing, it was the masters who were blamed.
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Ellerton, N.F., Clements, M.A.(. (2017). Developments in RMS Curricula 1673–1798. In: Samuel Pepys, Isaac Newton, James Hodgson, and the Beginnings of Secondary School Mathematics. History of Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46657-6_5
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