Core Competencies and Big Questions

In response to the current national reform and review of Curriculum for Excellence, a new way of thinking about curriculum planning for disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning is emerging. In response to recommendations from the OECD Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future 2021 (p 118-120), Education Scotland colleagues are working with educators across our system to identify how defined core competencies could structure our reviewed curriculum framework. To date, these include the following cross-cutting areas of learning for life and work:

  1. Careers
  2. Creativity
  3. Digital Literacy
  4. Entrepreneurship
  5. Financial Education
  6. Learning for Sustainability
  7. Health & Wellbeing
  8. Literacy
  9. Numeracy
  10. Political Literacy
  11. Social Justice

As you review your curriculum in your school or setting, you may want to use these broad areas of knowledge, skills and attitudes to plan new IDL units of work with your learners. In future-proofing your review of your school or centre’s curriculum, it may be useful to think about how and where these core competencies are taught within all four curriculum contexts.

When planning IDL it can be useful to examine big questions or broad curriculum purposes which include knowledge, skills, and attitudes which should be essential parts of every child’s education. Our Falkirk Learning for Sustainability Framework  starter plans are celebrated as excellent examples of IDL planning across all CfE levels – click here for more information via our Sway or watch this video which examines the role of the LfS framework in curriculum review processes.