Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence and History Teachers' epistemologies: a case of Curricular Epistemic Socialisation?

Abstract

This paper proposes the concept of 'Curricular Epistemic Socialisation' as a process through which the school curriculum shapes the disciplinary epistemologies and identities of high school (11-18) teachers. Drawing on a survey of history teachers in Scotland (n=101), a cohort comparison is made between those trained since the introduction in 2010 of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and those who qualified to teach before this. Analysis of this data suggests that the CfE-trained cohort hold weaker subject identities (p=0.0002) and a more instrumental view of the purpose of the subject (p=0.052) than their more experienced colleagues. Although this is a small study, the paper proposes that something stronger than a performative response to policy change. Instead, the evidence implies that curricular framing can encourage teachers to adopt new epistemic frames. The paper concludes by suggesting a qualitative follow-up study to investigate the processes behind this socialisation and teachers' consciousness of it.