Selective and comprehensive school systems vary in both the degree and timing of selection. To study the consequences of such variation, cross-national comparisons are usually undertaken. Given that cultural differences between countries affect pathways and outcomes, apportioning causal influence in such studies can be difficult. In 1970s Britain,…

Drawing on a recent empirical study of curriculum change in English secondary school mathematics and on the work of Kuhn, Bucher and Strauss, Archer, and Bhaskar, a tentative model for analyzing how and why changes occur in the legitimacy of particular definitions of secondary school mathematics and science subjects is developed. (Author/IS)