ABSTRACT
The history of the National Curriculum Geography Orders in England and Wales1
provides a depressing commentary on the status of educational research, especially in relation to curriculum development. Rawling (1992) provides a telling account of the political constraints that operated inside the Geography Working Group, set up by the Department of Education and Science (DES) and the Welsh Office, which placed much emphasis on the mastery of knowledge by pupils. She writes of the Interim Report (DES and Welsh Office 1989) ‘with many paragraphs drawing attention to pupils’ lack of place knowledge and the inadequacy of thematic-based courses (e.g. see para 2.14), (Rawling 1992: 229). She further quotes the Secretary of State for Education calling, in the House of Commons, for young people to learn about places and where they are and not just vague concepts and attitudes. As recorded in the government-prescribed Orders, the Statements of Attainment (SoAs) constitute a deficit model of the curriculum by stating precisely what pupils need to know.
