Pedagogy and the Curriculum 2000 reforms at post‐16: the ‘learn it, forget it’ culture?

This article reports findings from a small‐scale project investigating the introduction of the Curriculum 2000 reforms at post‐16 in four state comprehensive schools in England. These reforms aimed to broaden the curriculum at post‐16, to provide parity of esteem for academic and vocational qualifications, to promote participation and lifelong learning, and to introduce greater consistency within and across different types of qualification. A key impact on schools was the change to the structure of A levels. This article reports findings from semi‐structured interviews with thirteen heads of department and four heads of sixth form to investigate teachers' perceptions of the consequences of the introduction of A level reforms on teaching and learning in the post‐16 classroom. Despite general support for the principles of change at post‐16, those interviewed were concerned about the quality of teaching and learning in the AS year. They reported greater didacticism in the classroom, with content‐heavy syllabuses and the need to focus on exams resulting in fewer opportunities for applying learning and for consolidating conceptual development. As a result, teachers reported less pedagogical breadth and less enjoyment in teaching the new syllabuses.