ABSTRACT
In his classic study of school curricula, Basil Bernstein (1971, 2000) used the notions of classifi cation and framing to generalize about the European (particularly British) approach to secondary schooling. He stated that some subjects, such as physics and chemistry, are strongly classifi ed and strongly framed (that is, there are clear boundaries between subjects, and clear understandings on the part of teachers and students about what should or should not be taught). Other, more integrated, subjects, such as environmental, media or global studies, are weakly classifi ed and weakly framed (that is, the boundaries between subjects are unclear, and there is ambiguity about what should or should not be taught). Bernstein’s ideas explain much about why integrated programmes often struggle to establish their identity in a school system that is generally rigid, differentiating, hierarchical and highly resistant to change.
