Lorraine Barker

This book reports the outcomes of a research project which involved developing and implementing a research-informed curriculum for low-attaining further education students.

This book reports the outcomes of a research project which involved developing and implementing a research-informed curriculum for low-attaining further education students. Key aims of the curriculum were to ameliorate some of the social and educational disadvantages faced by the students, and to support secure and sustainable transitions to employment or further education. The book begins by outlining the characteristics of the lowest-attaining young people and considering the challenges they face. Subsequent chapters describe the educational and geographic contexts, the curriculum, and the pedagogical approaches adopted. It moves on to describe the outcomes of the project, drawing on narratives of individual students and staff to illustrate the benefits of a broader curriculum which acknowledges earlier disadvantage. The book concludes with a discussion of how the curriculum could be adapted in different contexts and considers the implications of such change in terms of policy, practice, future research and social justice.