Social and emotional skills in curriculum reform. A red line for measurability?

Autor/inn/en	Restad, Frode; Mølstad, Christina Elde
Titel	Social and emotional skills in curriculum reform. A red line for measurability?
Quelle	In: Journal of curriculum studies, 53 (2021) 4, S. 435-448Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-0272; 1366-5839
DOI	10.1080/00220272.2020.1716391
Schlagwörter	Quantitative Forschung; Soziale Kompetenz; Curriculum; Kritischer Realismus; Politik
Abstract	This article applies a current example of curriculum reform to investigate mechanisms driving the push for international comparative assessment of social and emotional skills in contemporary education. Using a combination of bibliometric and content analysis the article identifies key sources in the recent Norwegian curriculum reform. The article considers how understanding and measurability of social and emotional skills is negotiated in policy documents and the cited knowledge base. Nine international sources are identified in the policy documents underlying the reform. Arguments from these sources are compared with arguments in policy documents to demonstrate overlap and potential misalignment. The final curriculum is found to be in non-alignment with the knowledge base that supports of a broad understanding of social and emotional skills and the measurement of such skills in schools. Drawing on critical realism the authors argue that Norwegian policymakers have rejected the global push for comparative assessment. They have drawn a red line to prevent social and emotional skills from becoming part of students' subject competence and to protect students from standardized assessment of such skills in schools. This position represents a strong case against measurability that may influence ongoing debates on quantification and comparisons in education.
Erfasst von	IPN - Leibniz-Institut für die Pädagogik der Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik an der Universität Kiel
Update	2021/4