It’s the Curriculum, Stupid: why the Executive Office IliAD Report was a Waste of Public Money

“If the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.” Charles Darwin

Introduction

This essay concerns the Investigating Links in Achievement and Deprivation (ILiAD) Report, volume three of which was placed in the public domain on September 5th 2017 by the Northern Ireland Executive Office (formerly OFMDFM). The research was commissioned from Queen’s University Belfast with Professor Ruth Leitch as principal investigator  in 2012.   In the next section, I will argue that the focus on the role academic selection plays in explaining the attainment gap between rich and poor is unjustified.  I will identify the real culprit, namely, the curriculum and demonstrate that my analysis is confirmed by the international literature.  Furthermore, given the Curriculum Vitae of the Queen’s University academics…