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Article

Narrowing the Curriculum? Contemporary trends in provision and attainment in the Scottish Curriculum

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Citation

Shapira M & Priestley M (2018) Narrowing the Curriculum? Contemporary trends in provision and attainment in the Scottish Curriculum. Scottish Educational Review, 50 (1), pp. 75-107. http://www.scotedreview.org.uk/online-content/2018/501/

Abstract
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 ¨C 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.

Journal
Scottish Educational Review: Volume 50, Issue 1

StatusPublished
Publication date31/12/2018
Date accepted by journal01/05/2018
URL
Publisher URL
eISSN0141-9072

People (2)

Professor Mark Priestley

Professor Mark Priestley

Professor, Education

Dr Marina Shapira

Dr Marina Shapira

Associate Professor, Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology

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