Strong and weak ‘brands’ in the school curriculum: towards a framework for levelling the curriculum hierarchy

Abstract

In the school curriculum, some subjects tend to be regarded more highly than others. Various accounts have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. Most of them draw attention to the nature of different subjects and the type of knowledge that these promote. While such epistemological narratives help to illuminate the origins of the curriculum hierarchy, they are limited in their ability to point to directions for addressing it. Drawing on empirical data concerning an increasingly unpopular A level subject, namely Design and Technology, this paper exposes a number of additional factors eroding the status of lowly regarded subjects. These factors capture more tangible aspects of the issue, introducing a more practical and concrete perspective into a debate which, to date, has been largely theoretical and abstract. The paper reconceptualises the curriculum hierarchy, arguing that its perpetuation is linked to issues relating to the definition, or ‘brand’, of subjects. Against the backdrop of this conceptualisation, it proposes a framework which offers a complementary explanation for the existing subject hierarchy alongside tools for levelling the playing field within the curriculum.

Keywords:

• Curriculum hierarchy
• subjects
• Design and Technology
• A level
• brand

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Jessica Bowyer for her help with the data collection, the participants in the study and the anonymous reviewers for their comments.

Notes

1. Many universities also accept alternative qualifications such as the Cambridge Pre-U, the International Baccalaureate and BTECs.

2. To ensure anonymity and therefore maximise the likelihood of honest responses, the academics were not asked to name their institution, but only to indicate to which group it belonged (e.g. Russell Group, University Alliance).