Holding a Mirror to English Curriculum

1. Holding a Mirror to English Curriculum Neil McLennan Author, CPD Provider, Education Manager and former SATH President www.neilsgleeeclub.wordpress.com

2. www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/aberdeencity

3. Development of the Curriculum • Two phases- Broad General Education & senior phase (National Qualifications) • Previous system • 5-14 based on students achieving levels (A-F) of competence. In essence, never robust and not moderated effectively. • At NQ level: Standard Grades (everyone certificated) (Level 1 – 7) for S3/S4 two year course. Thematic base- (Change & Continuity; Conflict & Cooperation; People & Power) • Higher Still reformed gold standard qualification and brought better mix of skills and knowledge. Revised Higher in 2010 clarified and made even more explicit the criteria for A-D awards. Geographic based (Scottish, British, European & World). • New Curriculum: Curriculum for Excellence • CfE: Devolved much to the practitioner with ‘loose’ Es and Os open to interpretation and application content. • CfE NQs National 1-5. Maintenance of balance between Scottish, British, European and World History.

4. Design Principles of CfE • Challenge and enjoyment • Breadth • Progression • Depth • Personalisation and choice • Coherence • Relevance

7. Design • Ongoing debates: • Social Studies or discreet disciplines (IDL increasing in PS….or at least ‘making connections’) • ‘Plato to NATO’ / ‘Adam to Atom’ or ‘local to global’ • Content : skills • Lack of skills progression • Efforts to bring together all of the above with planning tool which balances off themes; eras; geographic location. (See ‘History in the Making Report’)

8. Public debate • Limited to media platform • False narratives and one dimensional presentation despite complexity. • History in the making report attempt to stimulate public debate to inform curriculum planning- poor uptake • Outcries after results published

9. Public debate • 1. Which significant people should students learn about in school? • 2. Which events should history students learn about in school? • 3. What themes should history students learn about in school? • 4. What skills should history students learn about in school?

11. Table 3: Time period of ‘significant people’ who the public think Scottish school students should study in history lessons: (%)

12. Table 5: Type of history the ‘significant people’ fall into (%) :-

13. Table 9: Themes history students should learn about in school (responses received in alphabetical order)

14. Table 10: Skills history students should learn about in school (responses received in alphabetical order):-

15. Impact of these debates • Little done to move forward on issues with an intelligence base. i.e changes to NQs based on student uptake/attainment in question types etc. • Creeping nationalism- Scottish Studies • Social Studies Curriculum Impact Report shows long term high uptake and positive results in the subject areas.

17. Conclusion • History well taught and liked subject in Scotland. This was affirmed in Social Studies Curriculum Impact Review • Need to maintain local, Scottish, British, European and World balance in NQs (and also in BGE) • Need to establish local action research which generates ‘history guarantees’ • Need to get ahead of curve with policy making • Need for clearer skills progression routes • Need to focus more on best practice in pedagogy> SHP, SATH Bursary • Need to learn from each other and ‘protect each other’ internationally. • Need to work with Governments to establish direction for history education which focussed more on pedagogy and not another debate on content.

18. Politics of national identity as we approach 2014 referendum • Need for education debates to take place in education. • Need to take an ‘intelligence led’ approach based on pedagogy and needs in a changing world. • Getting ahead of the curve. • Not so much politicisation as ‘mediaisation’ • TESS>Daily Mail>BBC • Scottish Field > Daily Mail / Daily Express

19. Social Studies Curriculum Impact Strengths • 1. Social studies is a strong and an improving area of the curriculum. • 2. Most staff prepare well and learning and teaching in the classroom is generally of a high • standard. Subject specialists at the secondary stages are knowledgeable and enthusiastic • about their subject area. • 3. Most children and young people are motivated by and enjoy their learning in social studies. • 4. Overall, most children and young people are achieving well. In the senior phase, the social • subjects are popular choices and most young people are progressing well from prior levels • of attainment. Levels of attainment are generally in line with other subjects. 14. Schools are taking much better account of the Scottish dimension as they develop new • programmes of learning. This is starting to impact on learners’ understanding and sense of • Scotland’s development as a nation.

20. Social Studies Curriculum Impact Development Points • 2. Transition arrangements need to be developed further in the context of social studies to • support effective progression. • 3. Skill progression, in particular, needs to be more carefully planned and tracked, for • example developing a better sense of chronology, good mental mapping, progression in • critical thinking and analysis. • 4. Schools need to continue to develop approaches to assessing and recording progress in • social studies. Across the broad general education in social studies, assessment information is not robust enough. • 5. There are issues around breadth of coverage in relation to ‘people in society, business • and economy’ which is affecting learners’ development of political literacy skills. At the • early years and in primary stages, staff do not always plan for breadth well enough in this • aspect of the social studies curriculum. In secondary schools factors include the lack of • clarity as to the contribution of business education staff and, in around 20% of schools, no • modern studies specialist. • 6. Secondary schools should ensure that early subject choice and specialisation is not • impacting on young people’s breadth of learning in social studies. Their entitlement to • experience all of the experiences and outcomes up to and including the third level should • be met.

23. History in Making Recommendations • More joined up thinking • Better balance • Need for public consultation • Need for intelligence led changes to curriculum and policy

24. History Curriculum Review Group Strategic Objectives • Children and young people have a coherent history curriculum from 3 to 18. • Important information about the history curriculum is used to evaluate what young people study and support practitioners to develop a broad general history education. • Through the study of history within the broad general education, children and young people develop a range of skills for the further study of the past and for life and work. • Children and young people understand appropriate aspects of their local history. • Teachers participate in a range of professional learning which supports them to develop learning and teaching in history. • Children and young people make appropriate continuous progress in the development of historical knowledge and skills from 3-18.

25. Conclusion • Well taught and liked subject in Scotland • Need to maintain local, Scottish, British, European and World balance • Need to establish local action research which generates ‘history guarantees’ • Need to get ahead of curve with policy making • Need for clearer skills progression routes • Need to focus more on best practice in pedagogy> SHP, SATH Bursary • Need to learn from each other and ‘protect each other’