Government Attitudes towards Teacher Training in Scotland

Abstract

Prior to the partial settlement of the teachers' dispute in Scotland in March 1986 there was a period of almost two years of unparalleled disruption by industrial action in Scottish schools. At the height of the dispute it is estimated that over 90% of all Scottish teachers were on strike. As John Pollock, General Secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, Scotland's largest teachers' union told a rally in Glasgow in December 1985: Teachers are absolutely determined that never again will they allow the provision and development of education to be carried out at the expense of an under-paid, under-valued, under-resourced and grossly over-stretched teaching profession [ 1]. The fact that this situation had ever arisen must be seen against the background to the educational policy of the present Conservative Government which has been determined to bring about radical changes in education but which has found it difficult to finance such changes. In fighting and winning their case for an independent review of teachers' salaries and conditions of service, Scottish teachers demonstrated a determination and militancy which surprised the Government, government officials, parents and perhaps teachers themselves. No doubt this action can be explained as a response to Government policies but it reflects the changes which are taking place in Scottish education as school rolls continue to fall.