Curriculum for Excellence is Scotland’s national education framework, which sets out the ambition that all children and young people in Scotland should have the knowledge, skills, values, and attributes to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens, and effective contributors to society. The framework is underpinned by four key principles – ambition, coherence, capability and confidence – guiding its design, implementation, review and evaluation.
This article will explore the four principles of Curriculum for Excellence and their implications for teaching and learning in Scotland.
What is Ambition in the Curriculum for Excellence?
Ambition describes the purpose and desired outcomes of the Curriculum for Excellence, being to create a curriculum that enables all learners to succeed. This includes giving learners the opportunity to have their individual talents recognised, having the chance to reach their own aspirations, and challenging the highest attainers with the aim of achieving even higher levels of success.
The ambition principle focuses on developing young people to their full potential, based on their individual abilities, backgrounds, experiences and interests. Ambition involves setting high expectations of every child and young person to develop essential skills in core subjects such as English and mathematics, but also encourages its learners to develop socially, emotionally and physically in an holistic manner. This involves teaching skills such as communication, collaboration, problem solving, thinking and creativity, as well as encouraging students to be self-directed, resilient and reflective learners.
Ultimately, Ambition underpins the Curriculum for Excellence’s ultimate aim of creating a suitable learning opportunity for everyone.
What is Coherence in the Curriculum for Excellence?
Coherence, or the ‘joining-up’ of different aspects of learning and teaching, is an important element of the Curriculum for Excellence. This involves considering the learning journey of a young person throughout their schooling, which should be seen as an interconnected process. The idea is that learning should be deep and connected, with the different disciplines within schools – such as English, maths, sciences, physical education and creative arts – being combined to create meaningful and engaging learning experiences.
Coherence also involves maximising the opportunities for pupils to apply and develop the skills, knowledge and understanding gained in different areas of their learning. This could involve activities such as project work, which would provide the opportunity for pupils to develop their skills applying them in new contexts.
Coherence also ensures that the learning and teaching in Scottish schools is designed to allow pupils to gradually build up their confidence as learners, and to make connections between the different subject areas.
What is Capability in the Curriculum for Excellence?
The principle of Capability describes the knowledge, understanding, skills, and attributes that the Curriculum for Excellence seeks to develop among its learners. These capabilities include literacy and numeracy skills, critical analysis, problem solving, working with others, creative and practical skills, and resilience – all of which are essential for young people to become successful and productive members of society. To develop these capabilities, the curriculum should ensure that learning experiences result in engage and meaningful learning, taking into account different learning styles, backgrounds and needs of the learners.
Capability also includes the development of the ‘soft skills’, such as communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking, which are essential for working in today’s changing world. To promote these kinds of skills, meaningful learning experiences should be created, which explore social and environmental issues and encourages pupils to question and challenge the world around them.
Through this, pupils can gain the confidence to express their own ideas and opinions, as well as develop a range of transferable skills that can be used in different contexts.
What is Confidence in the Curriculum for Excellence?
Finally, the principle of Confidence involves the promotion of a culture of entitlement and respect for young people. This should be achieved by creating conducive learning environments, where pupils feel safe and supported to take risks and experiment in the classroom, and fellow learners are respected and celebrated. Confidence includes feeling confident in expressing opinions and ideas, being able to utilise the knowledge and skills acquired, and having the self-belief to take on new learning opportunities.
The underlying message of the Confidence principle is that young people should have a sense of ownership of their learning and take responsibility for their own progress. In practice, this can involve developing opportunities for pupils to take on leadership roles, support each other’s learning, and take responsibility for their own decisions and learning.
Conclusion
The four key principles of Curriculum for Excellence – Ambition, Coherence, Capability and Confidence – provide a sound theoretical basis for designing and teaching the curriculum in Scotland. Through this, young people are given the opportunity to develop and realise their potential, encouraged to take risks and be creative in their learning and gain essential skills, knowledge and attributes both in and out of the classroom. Ultimately, the underlying message remains the same – that all learners have the right to experience an education that is suitable and tailored to their individual needs and aspirations.