Curriculum for Excellence is the national

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

for Scottish schools for learners from the ages 3–18. It was developed out of a 2002 consultation exercise – the 'National Debate on Education' – undertaken by the-then Scottish Executive on the state of school education. In response to the National Debate, Ministers established a Curriculum Review Group in November 2003 to identify the purposes of

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

for the 3-18 age range and to determine key principles to be applied in a redesign the curriculum. Its work resulted in the publication in November 2004 of the document ''A Curriculum for Excellence''. This document identified four key purposes of education; those that enable young people to become, "successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors." The Curriculum for Excellence was implemented in schools in 2010−11. Its implementation is overseen by

Education Scotland Education Scotland ( gd, Foghlam Alba) is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, tasked with improving the quality of the country's education system. Origins The creation of the Agency was announced by Scottish Government Education a ...

. In Scotland, councils and schools both have some responsibility for what is taught in schools and they must also take national guidelines and advice into account. A review was undertaken by the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

, having been commissioned by the Scottish Government to look at the broad general education.

Qualifications

New qualifications were set out in 2014 by the

Scottish Qualifications Authority The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA; Gaelic: ''Ùghdarras Theisteanas na h-Alba'') is the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educational awards. It is partly funded by the Ed ...

to meet with the Curriculum for Excellence. The new qualifications are National 1, National 2, National 3, National 4, National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher which replaced the former Standard Grade. National 1–4 qualifications are internally assessed by teachers, whereas National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications are externally assessed by the

Criticism

Before its introduction, many within the Scottish teaching profession, including the teachers' trade union The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and its members, believed that the Curriculum for Excellence was too vague, in particular regarding its supposed 'outcomes and experiences'. There existed a fear that this imprecision would result in a lack of clarity in what was expected of teachers in the classroom and in the assessment of pupils' progress and attainment. The original concerns led

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of ...

, one of the most educationally successful local authorities, to delay implementation of the secondary school phase of the new curriculum by one year. Some Scottish independent schools, including St Aloysius' College, in Glasgow, chose to do the same.

Qualifications

Criticism

References

See also

Other UK curriculums

External links