By Keith Aitken in Edinburgh | 12 April 2012
Scotland’s flagship school reforms are being implemented in a piecemeal and incoherent fashion, academics have warned.
A study published by Stirling University’s School of Education examined progress in implementing the Curriculum for Excellence, which is designed to provide a more flexible and diverse education from pre-school through to age 18.
The study found that the vast majority of teachers backed the principles of the curriculum, which focus on developing pupils into well-rounded citizens, and more than half thought their school was making good progress. However, 78% said central guidance on assessment was inadequate, three-quarters complained of an increased workload, and many believed pupils were being treated as guinea pigs.
The report suggested that some schools started to bring in the CfE only when it became ‘absolutely necessary’, in spite of having six years to prepare. The authors noted a tendency to box-ticking rather than whole-hearted adoption of the core principles.
They identify a risk that in many schools the effects of the curriculum will fall short of ‘transformational change’ because of lack of clarity and coherence in the documents’ guiding implementation.
The CfE was launched by the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2004 and embraced by the successor Scottish National Party administration as the centrepiece of its schools policy. It was phased in from 2010, with the first exams due in 2013/14.
Responding to the report, the Scottish Government said the findings were based on a snapshot of one year in one local authority area. ‘Great strides’ had been made since then to build teacher confidence and ensure effective implementation.
‘The relevant council, we understand, has already learnt from the findings of the research and has reviewed its implementation programme, building on the strengths identified in the report, and addressed areas where further work is required,’ a spokeswoman said.
‘We have listened to teachers’ views and have responded supportively – most recently providing an additional £3.5m support package relating specifically to the transition to the new qualifications, linked to wider CfE implementation.’
