School education in Scotland is often said to conform to the truism that primary schools teach children and secondary schools teach subjects. There is a sharp transition at age 11 from the single class teacher in the primary school to the multi-teacher focus on subjects in secondary schools. Prior to the 2010 implementation of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), the early years of secondary schooling (S1-2), were viewed traditionally as a preparation for the ensuing senior phase (S3-6), with its focus on gaining qualifications. Following CfE, this situation remains substantially unchanged, despite the policy intention that years S1-3, the so-called Broad General Education (BGE), would become focused on providing a foundation phase of secondary education, with the senior phase starting in S4. The system has thus seen significant backwash, as curriculum making is driven by the needs of future assessment and other accountability mechanisms that are strongly developed in the Scottish system (Cowie, et al. 2007; Bradfield & Priestley, 2021, OECD, 2021) Our Nuffield-funded ‘Choice, attainment and positive destinations: exploring the impact of curriculum policy change on young people’ research project has explored curricular provision in the BGE as part of a wider analysis of curriculum making in Scottish secondary schools. The research explored patterns of provision, curriculum making practices and the conditions which shape those practices. In this presentation, we draw upon three datasets: a survey of Headteachers (n=116) representing about a third of secondary schools in Scotland; national focus groups with groups of stakeholders (local authority officers, Headteachers, teachers, students and parents); and three school case studies with differing demographic characteristics (interviews with senior leaders, focus groups of teachers, students and parents). Findings indicate that Scottish secondary schools have very fragmented provision in S1-3, based often around quite traditional subjects; students typically see 15+ teachers per week in S1-2 and 12 in S3. Our survey data suggests that while CfE policy is at least moderately influential in most schools in shaping curriculum making, the purposes of the curriculum – the Four Capacities – are not influential at all. Key drivers of curriculum making in the BGE are pressures to raise attainment in the senior phase. This manifests as provision in S1-3 which focuses on preparation for the senior phase and as curriculum narrowing (e.g. reduced provision in expressive arts and modern languages, and early specialisation through choices of qualification as soon as the end of S1). [

Bradfield K & Priestley M (2021) Educational governance through outcomes steering: ‘reforms that deform’. University of Stirling/The Scottish Greens. Cowie, M., Taylor, D. & Croxford, L. (2007). 'Tough, intelligent accountability' in Scottish secondary schools and the role of standard tables and charts (STACS): a critical appraisal. Scottish Educational Review, 39[1], 29-50. OECD (2021). Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future, Implementing Education Policies. Paris: OECD Publishing.