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building the curriculum - the case for change
Recent developments in education and the economy, both locally and globally, provide powerful drivers for change in the way we organise young people's learning.
Curriculum for Excellence is one of the most ambitious programmes of educational change ever undertaken in Scotland. For the first time, we are focusing on what the Scottish education system should be delivering for children and young people from ages 3 to 18. The aims of Curriculum for Excellence are that every child and young person should:
- know they are valued and will be supported to become a successful learner, an effective contributor, a confident individual and a responsible citizen
- experience a traditionally broad Scottish curriculum that develops skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work, with a sustained focus on literacy and numeracy, that encourages an active, healthy and environmentally sustainable lifestyle and builds an appreciation of Scotland and its place in the world
- benefit from learning and teaching that strikes a better balance between equipping them with the skills for passing exams and skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work. There should be no need for groups of young people to take examinations before the end of S3
- has the benefits of an assessment system that supports the curriculum rather than leads it and ensures that their transition into qualifications is smooth
The HMIE report Improving Scottish Education3 said that "inspection evidence shows that Scottish education does many things well and some things particularly well. Most learners are well supported and well taught… In primary and secondary schools, young people generally make sound progress in their learning, behave well, have good relationships with their teachers and ultimately achieve an appropriate range of formal qualifications." However, HMIE identified areas for improvement. In particular "while many of our young people perform well in school and beyond, too many do not develop sufficiently the competences, capabilities and values which are vital for the future success and wellbeing both of themselves and Scotland as a whole."
The HMIE report suggested that Curriculum for Excellence "was both necessary and timely" in encouraging learning and teaching of the highest quality. The issues that HMIE recommended Curriculum for Excellence should address include:
- being clear about the elements that should form part of every young person's education, irrespective of perceived ability, social background or school attended
- being much more rigorous and explicit about the development and certification of essential skills, particularly literacy and numeracy. This requirement goes beyond pupils with specific difficulties to all pupils, including those entering higher education
- providing space for imaginative teaching that can capitalise on approaches which make learning relevant, lively and motivating
Most recently, the OECD report, Quality and Equity of Schooling in Scotland4 identified many strengths in Scottish education. The OECD suggested that Scotland performs at a consistently high standard in the Programme for International Student Assessment ( PISA). Scotland also has one of the most equitable school systems among OECD countries. However, the report also identified some major challenges for Scottish education. There are still continuing issues of inequality. Children from poorer communities and low socio-economic status homes are more likely than others to underachieve, while the gap associated with poverty and deprivation in local government areas appears to be very wide. The OECD identified particular concerns over inequalities in staying-on rates, participation in different academic levels of national courses and pass rates in those courses.
Like the HMIE report, the OECD report stressed that too many of Scotland's young people are leaving secondary education with minimal or no qualifications. The OECD report also suggested that the Scottish qualifications system contains complexities which have accumulated over time and that young people have an "uneven quality of learning experience in compulsory secondary education." They recommended a bolder and broader approach to vocational studies in schools. In setting out the challenges for Scottish education, the OECD report also identified potential solutions. In particular, the OECD praised the "breadth of vision and commitment to both high standards and social inclusiveness" of the Curriculum for Excellence programme.
The Scottish Government is determined to meet the challenges identified by the HMIE and OECD reports. A more successful Scotland can only be created by developing the talents of all Scotland's children and young people in this and future generations. This will help to achieve the Government's principal purpose of sustained economic growth and its strategic objective of a Scotland that is smarter, safer and stronger, wealthier and fairer, greener and healthier.
The framework for the curriculum needs to provide scope for partners to plan appropriate learning and teaching to meet the challenges young people will encounter. Partnership working is an important element in curriculum planning. Partners are referred to at various points in this document; the term should be interpreted widely to include all those who can contribute to delivery of the experiences and outcomes and development of the four capacities. It will include, for example, further education colleges, Careers Scotland within Skills Development Scotland, youth work staff, health professionals, voluntary sector providers, training providers, children's services staff, parents, employers and community learning staff. Those involved in planning the curriculum will need to integrate personal support with learning. There will be a significant but important challenge for schools, colleges and other agencies to work in partnership to achieve this.
The changes proposed in this guidance will be supported by:
- the future arrangements for national qualifications
- future developments in assessment
There will be a need for further guidance as the programme continues to develop and this is also signalled in the document. Case studies of emerging practice will follow, illustrating steps that schools and other establishments are taking now to adopt the values, purposes and principles of Curriculum for Excellence. It is also intended to provide examples of the wider opportunities and implications raised by this guidance and by the next generation of national qualifications. These will provide exemplification for planning and resourcing questions.
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