ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors set curriculum issues into a broader context and, by so doing, challenge certain assumptions. They focus upon recent curriculum frameworks designed for students with special educational needs in Further Education (FE). All educational institutions are involved in a social practice. The curriculum they offer is selected from a range of existing knowledge. Programmes in FE for students with moderate learning difficulties have had, as one of their basic aims, a preparation for employment. However, as Griffiths illustrates, the changing nature of the labour market places young people with learning difficulties at the periphery of employment opportunities. A social skills training for students with learning difficulties or disabilities is seen as an essential component of their preparation for adulthood. The social skills identified as significant in training packages have usually been decontex-tualised with little regard for cultural diversity.
