Can the National Curriculum Help Reduce Working‐class Under‐ achievement?

Summary

This paper reviews some of the evidence which demonstrates under‐achievement in working‐class children together with important analyses and interpretations, and contemporary practical attempts to redress the problem. It is argued that practical innovations have not greatly influenced or improved the relationship between class and achievement. An attempt is made to discover to what extent the introduction of a National Curriculum as part of the Education Reform Act can be seen as a potential solution to the problem of working‐class under‐achievement. It is argued that the means of redressing working‐class under‐achievement in the National Curriculum must lie ultimately with individual teachers and their ability to present the National Curriculum in relevant forms to all children. In any mass education process there will be those for whom the given curriculum is removed from everyday experience. This does not invalidate the idea of “worthwhile’ knowledge but it means that we must be constantly questioning how we can transmit the curriculum while, as far as is possible, reducing the gap between everyday experience and classroom experience.