Notes from a Small Country: Teacher Education, Learning Innovation and Accountability in Scotland

Abstract

Internationally, twenty-first century teacher education is enmeshed in a globalized world where the only constants are socio-cultural and economic change. This chapter examines these ideas critically in the context of teacher education policy in Scotland. Although Scotland has not been immune to the influences of the Global Educational Reform Movement, its impact has been mediated by its traditions and culture. The chapter begins by exploring the Scottish context and the historical influences on current accountability policy and societal values. Using Ball’s (2015) theory of policy as text and policy as discourse, the chapter analyses three seminal policy documents related to teacher education in Scotland exploring their differing value positions through the lens of accountability and considers their potential impact of the changing landscape on teacher education: Teaching Scotland’s Future (Donaldson, 2011), the Evaluation of the Implementation of Impact of Teaching Scotland’s Future (Ipsos Mori, 2016) and Improving Scotland’s Schools (OECD, 2015). The chapter concludes that consensual change in teacher education has been possible for three reasons. First, the firm location of teacher education is in higher education within a series of complex stakeholder partnerships. A second factor has been the generally respectful relationships across Scotland’s educational communities, and third, the largely positive attitude to teaching and teachers in Scottish society, often sustained despite the media. However, although recent reports have praised the professional standards that lie at the heart of teacher education in Scotland, they have identified a remaining challenge—to ensure high-quality enactment across the country. If teacher education in Scotland is to continue to be trusted and accountability systems are to remain learning focused, then the challenge of high-quality, consistent enactment needs to be addressed.