Equal Opportunities in the Secondary‐School Curriculum in Scotland, 1977‐91

This article analyses differences in participation in the formal curriculum by social class, gender and measured ability. It uses data on trends from a national survey to examine questions of (in)equality, including the relations between different dimensions of inequality. It shows the effects of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the introduction of a common core curriculum after 1983. It shows differences between comprehensive and independent schools in levels of participation in each mode of the formal curriculum.