FOI21/22 044 NQ Geography
FOI reference: 21/22 044
Date received: 02/07/2021
Date responded: 16/07/2021
Information requested
Do course specifications for N4, N5, Higher or Advanced Higher courses in Geography or any other subject for 2021-22 include any text relating to benefits of Climate Change?
On 20/06/2020 SQA website course specification document for N5 Geography said... "Equal consideration should be given to environmental and economic benefits that could be created... " from Climate Change.
Response
SQA can confirm that no SQA Course Specification for 2021/22 for N4, N5, Higher or Advanced Higher, for any subject, includes reference to ‘benefits’ or ‘equal consideration’ in relation to climate change.
The terms referred to above only ever appeared in the Support Notes Appendix of the Course Specification for N5 Geography, as optional support for teachers. However, course content for N5 Geography was devised a number of years ago, and since then views on climate change have evolved to a point whereby this terminology became open to misinterpretation so SQA have worked with the teaching profession to remove both these terms to ensure the National 5 wording is appropriate for today’s learners. The revised Course Specification for N5 Geography was posted on our website on 15 July 2021 and can be accessed National 5 Geography and then select Course Specification.