ERIC Number: EJ1196705
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 33
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0141-9072
EISSN: N/A
Narrowing the Curriculum? Contemporary Trends in Provision and Attainment in the Scottish Curriculum
Shapira, Marina; Priestley, Mark
Scottish Educational Review, v50 n1 p75-107 2018
This paper forms the first part of research into the phenomenon of curriculum narrowing within Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). It presents findings from a preliminary analysis of publicly available data -- Scottish Qualifications and school leavers' attainment data, aggregated by local authorities. Our findings show that the senior phase curriculum is becoming narrower. Fewer subjects are being taken in school year S4 for levels 4 and 5 National Qualifications. Yet, we found that the phenomenon of curriculum narrowing is more nuanced and complex than has been claimed. Attainment at SCQF levels 4-6 has risen since the introduction of the CfE and new national qualifications. The increase in the SCQF level 6 qualifications was particularly noticeable in more deprived local authorities. We acknowledge that the coarse grained nature of the available data makes our findings provisional; further phases of this research will address this through analysis of school level data.
Descriptors: National Curriculum, Trend Analysis, Educational Attainment, Excellence in Education, Dropouts, Foreign Countries, School Districts, Educational Change, Secondary School Students, Course Selection (Students), Educational Trends, Modern Languages, Language Enrollment, Enrollment Trends, English, Art Education, STEM Education, Vocational Education, Social Sciences, Classical Languages, Exit Examinations, Academic Achievement
Scottish Educational Review. School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ, Scotland, UK. e-mail: ser@stir.ac.uk; Website: http://www.scotedreview.org.uk
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Scotland)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A