Curriculum Relevance

Scotland

The series has been made specifically to resource the Scottish curriculum. It has direct relevance to parts of the Standard Grade and Higher Still Modern Studies curricula. All programmes except one (Programme 4) are suitable for Standard Grade, Intermediate or Higher classes. Programme 4 (which looks at how Catalonia has dealt with devolved power over the past twenty years) is particularly suitable for Higher.

The series is particularly relevant to:

• Standard Grade Modern Studies: Syllabus Area 1 (Living in a Democracy) and the concepts of participation, representation, and rights and responsibilities. Other concepts, for example ideology and power, are considered. The series provides opportunities to develop enquiry skills and to consider aspects of participating and open-mindedness.
• Intermediate 1 and 2: Study Theme 1 (Local Government in Scotland — (a) ‘interrelationships between local government, Scottish Parliament and UK Parliament’) and Study Theme 2 (Power and Influence in Decision-Making — (b) ‘the functions of the Scottish and UK Parliaments; decision-making in the Scottish Parliament’).
• Higher: Unit 1 (Political Issues in the United Kingdom): Study Theme 2 (The Government of Scotland — (a) ‘decision-making in Scotland: structure and functions of Scottish Parliament’; (b) ‘relationship between Scottish Parliament and UK Parliament: distribution of powers; conflicts between them’; (c) ‘relationship between Scottish Parliament and local government in Scotland: distribution of power; conflicts between them’); Study Theme 4 (The Electoral System, Voting and Political Attitudes — (a) ‘the Scottish electoral systems and alternative voting systems: how they work; effects upon the distribution of power’; (c) ‘the shaping of political attitudes (e.g. through the media)’).

The series has some relevance to:

1. Intermediate 1 and 2: Study Theme 3 (Equality in Society: Gender and Race — (d) ‘gender and race in politics — for example, parliaments’).
2. Environmental Studies 5—14: P7-S2 (Modern Studies / Understanding People in Society — participation in decision-making in society).

England, Wales and Northern Ireland

The series may be of interest to students of politics and citizenship.