Student access to the curriculum in an age of performativity and accountability: an examination of policy enactment

Journal article

The curriculum is often the target of reform and governments use a range of accountability measures to ensure compliance. This paper examines the decisions schools in England make regarding history provision, in a period of curriculum change, and the potential consequences of these decisions. Drawing on a large, longitudinal data set, of primary and secondary material, the study examines the relationship between the number of students entered for public examination in history in England and a range of situated and material factors. The data suggest that particular measures of accountability are effective in shaping school decision-making, but the type of school, socio-economic nature of the school intake, and students’ prior attainment are also important factors in understanding the decisions made. This does result in an inequitable access to history education; this inequity exists between different types of schools and socio-economic areas, and is also evident within schools where students with low prior attainment are less likely to be allowed to study history.

Authors: Harris, R; Courtney, L; Ul-Abadin, Z; Burn, K

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Journal: Research Papers in Education
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 228-248
• Publication date: 2019-01-30
• Acceptance date: 2018-12-27
• DOI: 10.1080/02671522.2019.1568528
• EISSN: 1470-1146
• ISSN: 0267-1522
• Language: English
• Keywords: history education; FFR; curriculum; policy; school decision-making