Nation, Curriculum and Identity in Conservative Cultural Analysis: a critical commentary

The article begins with a brief discussion of the recent invitation by the Chief Executive of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority to engage in debate about the role of the National Curriculum in promoting national identity. It argues the need for a more systematic analysis than has so far been provided, of the inter‐relationships within Conservative curriculum discourse between five elements: nation, culture, identity, social cohesion and curriculum. The second main section examines writing within this tradition on the themes of nation and nationalism and social integration, drawing particularly on the work of Ernest Gellner. The final section focusses on questions of culture, ‘high’ culture and cultural diversity, illustrating the long‐standing character of the critique of economic individualism within Conservative writing (broadly conceived), before critically reviewing certain aspects of contemporary neo‐conservative discourse on British culture and the curriculum.