Scottish Education Research Articles

Curriculum, pedagogies and assessment in Scotland: the quest for social justice. ‘Ah kent yir faither’

This paper explores the ways in which assessment has developed and is developing in Scotland. The article begins by providing background information on Scotland's educational system. The second section tracks the relationship between curriculum and assessment in Scotland for children aged 3–14, 14–16 and 16+. The third section explores Scotland's current attempt to develop a coherent assessment system. The fourth section focuses on the major curriculum review presently underway in Scotland and reflects on the emerging future for Scottish Education. Connections between ideas of Learning, Assessment and Excellence are explored and issues being faced by one small country trying to develop a coherent assessment system that is both just and dependable are identified.

The New Public Management of Scottish Further Education, 1979-2004

This article reviews developments in the management of further education in Scotland over a 25-year period as a case study of the implementation of New Public Management Scottish further education policy in the period from 1979 represents a clear example of change being externally imposed on the further education system. Barrett and Fudge (1981) argue that the policy-action relationship needs to be regarded as a process of interaction and negotiation, taking place over time, between those seeking to put policy into effect and those upon whom action depends. The system of further education in Scotland presents an opportunity to examine the interface between policy and its implementation. Public policy initiatives invariably imply change through the manipulation of a large-scale system making use of variables such as changes in legislative provision, changes in funding patterns and changes in organisation structures. This study of policy implementation in Scottish further education demonstrates all three-system variables. The Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 changed the legislative provisions governing further education. Funding moved from being a local authority responsibility to direct funding initially from the Scottish Office and, since 1999, from the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. Organisation structures also changed from further education being a sub-division of the education service

Forging the compact of church and state in the development of Catholic education in late nineteenth-century Scotland

Introduction: the contexts of Catholic schooling As post-devolution Scotland passes the milestone of a third Scottish parliamentary election, the question of state-suppo rted Catholic education, and the peculiar nature of the 1918 UK l egislation that underpins it, is once again the subject of intense scrutiny. Emboldened by devolution and fuelled by a wave of progressive UK and European law concerned with issues of equality and diversity , opponents of separate Catholic schools have renewed their demands for the provisions of the 1918 Act to be reviewed or, indee d, abolished. With the ninetieth anniversary of the passage of the Act approaching, influential commentators from across the political spectrum have argued that its principal terms reflect the social and religious controversies of a distant era, increasingly incong ruent with the inclusive culture of a multiethnic and mostly secul ar twenty-first century Scotland. 1 The character and scale of the objections currentl y levelled at the continued existence of Catholic sch ools in Scotland suggests that reconsideration of the transactions b etween Church and State that led to the signing of the 1918 Act is pe rhaps overdue ‐ especially as a realignment of the relationship bet ween the two forces seems currently to be well advanced. This article examines a particular phase in the rel ationship between the Catholic Church and the Scottish state authorit ies with reference to the development and reform of the Catholic schools system leading up to the watershed settlement of the 1918 Education A ct. It analyses the collaboration of Church and State in the context of wider developments in the culture of Scottish education in the period 1872‐1918, focusing particularly on the experience of Glasgow and the e mergence there of a fully state-supported network of Catholic schools. It brings to bear on the material from this period an interpretation tha t places greater emphasis than previous studies on wider state attit udes to institutional religion and changing perceptions of the role of Ch urches in the provision of mass education in a modern society. Th e concordat struck between the Scottish authorities and the Catholic C hurch in Scotland regarding the governance of schools in the early pa rt of the twentieth

Applied Educational Research in Scotland: Some History and Challenges for the Future

In this invited piece, Sally Brown provides a personal perspective on where applied educational research in Scotland has come from over the last few decades and the challenges it currently faces. The paper draws on the direct involvement of the author in a number of major research projects, either as a researcher directly involved in data gathering and analysis, or as an adviser on important programmes of research. The paper outlines the expectations of research of policy-makers, practitioners, and of researchers themselves, before charting some attempts at collaboration among Scottish institutions in the production of educational research. The key issue of capacity building in order to produce high quality research is discussed in the context of the merger of the former teacher education colleges with universities. Some of the challenges to capacity building are identified, including institutional policy and practices and the commitment and enthusiasm of the current workforce. A major challenge is sustaining the collaborative practices which AERS has attempted to foster. In a globalised environment, the added value of Scottish higher education institutions working together seems to be self-evident. The paper asks us critically to examine this assumption.

The Role of Social Capital in Scottish Education Policy

This paper explores the relevance of social capital to the construction of education policies. In particular, it examines the four central social capital concepts of trust, norms, reciprocity and values and how these could be more explicitly employed in the construction of Scottish educational policy to enhance relevance and accountability. We draw on work from the Schools and Social Capital (SSC) research network of the Scottish Applied Educational Research Scheme (AERS1), and particularly from the work of the SSC policy review group. This and other reviews are published in the digital repository of the AERS web site. This paper also incorporates elements from other reviews conducted by the SSC network. The paper concludes that for policy to promote the kinds of social capital that will improve the lives of the most marginalised people a more inclusive and well resourced policy process is needed.

The Infrastructure of Educational Research in Scotland

This article offers a descriptive and analytical account of the current state of educational research in Scotland, viewed against the background of constitutional change within the United Kingdom and debates about the nature, function and quality of research activity and output. It starts by considering how to undertake the task in hand and argues that it is necessary to draw on a combination of institutional, developmental and interactive approaches. Thereafter the relatively disappointing Scottish results in the 2001 UK Research Assessment Exercise are reported to set the scene for subsequent efforts to improve research capacity. The role of the Scottish Executive in determining research priorities, commissioning projects and using the findings of research in helping to inform policy is outlined, taking account of important structural changes following devolution. A key development has been the Applied Educational Research Scheme (AERS), a collaborative university-led initiative, funded jointly by the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Funding Council (previously the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council). This consists both of substantive research networks and a capacity-building programme of research training for beginning and developing researchers. Established research centres, with different histories and emphases, are described in order to raise issues about the balance between applied research, linked to policy priorities, and fundamental research which seeks to develop new theories and models. The role of the Scottish Educational Research Association, which has links with the British and European Educational Research Associations, is considered. Various attempts by different bodies to promote teacher engagement in research are also described. In the final section an attempt is made to assess what progress has been made. It is concluded that while the overall climate for the conduct of educational research has improved, providing real opportunities to demonstrate the value of research, there remain a number of challenging problems. These include: issues of research quality; inadequate opportunity to undertake fundamental (as distinct from applied) research; tensions between the demands of teacher education programmes and universities' research aspirations; the risk of ‘collaboration’ becoming ‘consensus’; and the absence of a developed international perspective.

Teachers' views on the construction, management and delivery ofan externally prescribedphysical education curriculum: Higher Grade Physical Education

Background: The level of influence teachers have over changing developments in curricula to suit their individual schools is not matched by the influence they possess in the development of such curricula outside of the school context. Bernstein's model of the social construction of pedagogic discourse allows examination of the development, mediation and reproduction of curricula using three fields of knowledge production that he terms ‘primary’, ‘recontextualising’ and ‘secondary’. Particular tensions emerge when teachers (secondary level) are expected to deliver a curriculum constructed by agents and agencies external to the school context (recontextualising level). Purpose: To examine teachers' view towards the process of a particular curriculum innovation in Scottish secondary school physical education (Higher Grade Physical Education, HGPE), the consequent subject content and the management of the subject in schools, in an attempt to identify factors that aided or hindered teachers from supporting and delivering HGPE. Participants and setting: Physical education teachers teaching in schools belonging to the largest local regional authority (at the time) in Scotland. Research design: A descriptive study aiming to examine physical education teachers' view towards the process of a particular curriculum innovation in school physical education. Data collection: A questionnaire for the attention of the physical education staff was sent to all 170 secondary schools in the chosen regional authority. The questionnaire set out to investigate teacher curriculum decision making, particularly in relation to how teachers read and interpreted issues related to HGPE. Data analysis: Analysis was completed by manually sorting, organising and indexing the data. Comparing, developing and describing the comments resulted in the analysis of comments under three headings: (1) the process of construction and the agents and agencies involved; (2) subject content and the level of prescription; and (3) management and delivery. Findings: It was evident that teachers wanted to receive considerably more specific central guidance related to the delivery of HGPE with less of an appreciation that the lack of central prescription offers teachers more professional freedom to develop courses that are more appropriate to their own specific contexts. There was also a lack of understanding as to the expected roles between the recontextualising agents and those operating in the secondary field. This lead to tensions in the level of support and provision provided to teachers on what was likely to produce an effective discourse and a lack of assistance and feedback concerning assessment. Conclusions: While it is evident that teachers were not central to curriculum planning and development in this instance, it could be interpreted that many teachers did not necessarily wish to be involved in the curriculum development process but were more concerned with receiving appropriate training and resources from central agencies. However, this does not excuse the need to involve teachers in curriculum planning and development, accepting that it is ultimately teachers who decide whether or not to implement an innovation. Teachers' insights into what aided or hindered supporting and delivering HGPE are valuable in determining what should be changed, and what should be preserved, in order to encourage teacher investment in curriculum developments.

The Connecting School and the Intranet Librarian

A growing number of Scottish education authorities are providing intranet technology to schools. This article is based on grounded research investigating the role of the school librarian within an intranet environment. The evidence suggests that despite a lack of expectation by school library services and authority intranet officers, school librarians are taking on roles of intranet building, management, and content creation. It appears that far from distancing librarians from traditional areas of interest, their involvement in the intranet has promoted their relationship with whole-school resourcing and literacy support. Despite evidence that recent graduates are more likely to take on roles with the intranet, it is shown that a key factor is the attitude of the librarian and linking of the intranet to resource provision.

Gender, National Identity and the Royal (Argyll) Commission of Inquiry into Scottish Education (1864–1867)

Concern over the state of education in Scotland saw the Argyll Commission set up in 1864. Its reports revealed differences in the experience of schooling throughout Scotland as well as resistance to Anglicisation. Nevertheless, the influence of English attitudes is reflected throughout the reports. So too are the themes of social control and the interaction of class, gender and nationality. The Commission was not primarily concerned with gender issues, but it insisted that the ‘democratic’ tradition, which favoured the talented poor boy, should be safeguarded, while it was clear that the position of women in Scottish education would be profoundly affected by its outcome. The hope was that increased employment of schoolmistresses would not result in loss of the schoolmaster’s professional status. Rather, the former were to be enlisted in defence of the national education tradition against the encroachment of inferior English policies.

What’s in a vision? Introducing an organisational learning strategy in a local authority’s education service

It is frequently asserted that schools and local authorities should become ‘learning organisations’ as a pre‐condition for school improvement, but there is very little evidence about the specific processes and activities involved in such a transformation. This paper analyses the initial stages of the implementation by a Scottish local authority Education Department of an organisational learning strategy, whose ultimate purpose was to improve pupils’ attainment and achievement by developing the Authority’s collective capacity to learn new ways of meeting their needs. The analysis focuses on some of the processes that, despite a huge literature on the subject of organisational learning and change, have hitherto remained somewhat mysterious. Adopting an analytical framework derived from activity and actor network theory, we explore empirical evidence of the key stages in ‘vision building’, showing how sense‐making was structured and highlighting the processes and activities which constituted the initial stages in learning to learn as an organisation.

The government line

As the new year begins, Scottish education minister Peter Peacock gives his view of how things stand, and makes his pledges for the future

New lecturer development programmes: a case study of Scottish higher education institutions

This article examines key issues in lecturer development programmes (LDPs) in Scottish higher education institutions, within the context of the national standards established recently for those who teach in United Kingdom higher education (HE). Many of the LDPs were developed in response to the Dearing Committee recommendations that university lecturers should receive training in teaching and learning and that this should be delivered through accredited programmes. The article presents four different programme models that emerged within the sector in terms of programme structure and delivery, participant support and institutional factors, and explains the wide variety of provision in terms of cultural factors and the nature of the national framework for HE teacher development. The article will be of interest to those who are involved in the policy and practice of lecturer development, in the challenges posed in the implementation of LDPs and the future of such initiatives. Although the research was carried out in Scotland, consultation with educational developers in England revealed similar trends there. Given similar lecturer development initiatives in other countries (e.g. Sweden, Norway and Australia), the application of the research goes beyond the geographical area described.

Research and teaching cultures in two contrasting UK policy contexts: Academic life in Education Departments in five English and Scottish universities

The paper explores academic staff and departmental research and teaching cultures in the Education Departments of five universities in Scotland and England, countries with increasingly diverging public policies in respect of education. The relationship between research and teaching, how the purposes of universities are defined and the status of research in Education are current UK higher education policy preoccupations. Data is drawn from interviews with 40 academics, observation of department settings, documentation and websites. The analysis draws on the work of Bourdieu, considering the changing habitus of individual academics, their departmental and academic subject context and the forms of symbolic capital now required in Scottish and English Education departments in response to new policies affecting their academic field. The paper also utilises recent literature on the research–teaching relationship. The career trajectories of respondents, their habitus and the forms of symbolic capital that they bring to academic life are examined, as are the extent to which the teaching and research cultures in each of the five departments studied mirror each other and whether these also reflect the two different policy contexts. The themes how academic cultures are shaped and research/teaching connections viewed have international as UK relevance.

Diversity in the Academy? Staff Perceptions of Equality Policies in Six Contemporary Higher Education Institutions

The article is based on recent research involving qualitative case studies of staff experiences of equality policies in six English, Scottish and Welsh higher education institutions (HEIs). Recent changes to UK legislation (e.g. on ‘race’ and disability) and a series of European Union employment directives (including on religion and sexual orientation) have caused more attention to be paid to equality policies and their implementation in higher education. The wider context for equality policies has also changed, from a predominant focus on individuals and redistributive equality policies to viewing inequality as a generic and relative concept which can be policy-mainstreamed, with greater concentration on organisational cultures and diversity and a focus on recognitional rather than redistributive approaches to inequality. The article uses the authors’ recent research findings to consider how higher education institution employees who participated in the study understood notions of equality and diversity. There is a particular focus on whether different forms of inequality are seen to be interconnected, whether diversity is seen as desirable by most employees interviewed, the potential tensions and conflicts between equality policies applying to students and those concerned with staff and the visions of equitable HEIs of the future held by senior managers. It is suggested that whilst all HEIs studied had equality policies and senior managers who have benefited from equality training, nevertheless the shift away from redistributional notions of inequality (except in respect of occupational inequality) towards greater emphasis on recognitional forms, the tensions between student and staff equality issues, and the pursuit of organisational diversity may reflect a relative depoliticisation of the staff equality agenda in higher education.

The Evacuation of Children in Wartime Scotland: Culture, Behaviour and Poverty

This article examines the experience of, outcomes of, and lessons drawn from the evacuation of Scottish schoolchildren during the early part of the Second World War. We begin by discussing the historiography of evacuation in Great Britain. The focus then shifts to the particular circumstances of Scotland. Here the mechanisms of evacuation were different from elsewhere in Britain in that children were evacuated in family rather than school class groups. This difference was attributed by contemporaries to the particularity of Scottish education and educational structures. We then examine three influential responses to evacuation in Scotland. As we show the tendency here, in contrast to England, was to blame the purportedly poor state of the evacuees on structural rather than behavioural or individual factors. In other words, the socio-economic environment rather than personal failings was fore-grounded, although this is not to say that Scottish analyses entirely eschewed what were seen as individual shortcomings. We conclude by assessing what the Scottish experience adds to our knowledge of evacuation and the extent to which it confirms or refutes ‘revisionist’ interpretations; and what implications this experience had for the subsequent development of Scottish welfare provision.

An investigation into copyright concerns as a barrier to the widespread development of e-learning practice within scottish further education colleges

Electronic learning has the potential to transform the way teaching is both designed and delivered. Government at local, national and international levels have heralded the advent of e-Learning as a positive contribution towards the achievement of a wider lifelong learning agenda. In actuality, the adoption of online learning practices by public education providers has been much slower than anticipated. Frustrated by limited progress to date, educational agencies have recently sought to identify major factors impinging development. Variables such as access to technology, adequate funding strategies and increased awareness of initiatives at senior level within educational institutions have all become the focus of further research. The issues of cultural change among academic communities and re-engineering of operational procedures within schools, colleges and universities can be seen as the key determinants of successful widespread adoption and development of e-Learning practice. This article reports the findings of research carried out within the Scottish further education community. The primary research conducted investigated academics' copyright concerns as a barrier to the widespread adoption of e-Learning practice. The study surveyed Scottish further education academic staff regarding levels of usage of existing e-Learning environments and found copyright concerns to be the legal area of most concern, even greater than data protection or freedom of information. Copyright was the most frequent area of request for legal awareness training among teaching practitioners. The survey and report takes account of major initiatives in e-Learning development including JISC studies, funding council reports and governmental strategic planning. Detailed consideration of the impact of these initiatives form a major part of the secondary research along with an analysis of staff development support to date. A need for coherent training and guidance focused on practitioners' needs was highlighted by the research. Reflections were that this had not yet been made available in a form recognised by the practitioners. Following the adoption of the European Union Copyright Directive into British law in 2003, the exemptions afforded to education have been radically altered. The article also contains an in-depth analysis of these changes and a review of existing literature on the subject. It makes recommendations for future support and highlights the need for a strategic approach to e-Learning development with clear guidance information available to all.

The shaping of things to come: Scottish medical education 1700-1939

The history of medical education in Scotland is quite well known. It is largely told as a story of universities, of high standards and of an education mainly available to men from ordinary backgrounds who became general practitioners and servants of the British Empire. This paper asks whether there was anything peculiarly Scottish about the medical education to be had north of the border. The answer to this is yes. The paper shows there was a commitment among Scottish teachers to present medicine as a practical art based on general principles that brought the subject together in all its aspects, notably uniting internal medicine and surgery. Modern academic medicine has ironed out these differences and medical education in Scotland today is much the same as western medical education in excellent universities anywhere in the world.

Learning from participants’ responses in educational drama in the teaching of Education for Sustainable Development

The context for this paper is an on-going research project that sets out to examine the use of educational drama in the teaching of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the upper stages of primary school. The drama lessons link with some of the key aims in ESD, with a particular locus in the Scottish education system. As 2005–15 has been designated by UNESCO as ‘The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development’, it is particularly important to examine and emphasise the key role of drama in the learning process. The main focus of the paper is the examination of what pupils’ evaluations of the drama work reveal about how drama might be particularly appropriate for use in ESD-related work. The relationships between the participants in the drama, teacher and pupils, both in and out of role are explored. The conclusions suggest that active, participative learning and the unique way of working within the dramatic context might allow children to develop skills and attitudes necessary for active citizenship and might facilitate learning in ESD.

Collaborative working across children’s services: Where are we now?

This study explores how collaborative working across mental health and psychological (educational psychology) services is developing in Edinburgh, Scotland. Recent reports from the Scottish Executive, Health and Education, have advised on the importance of developing collaborative working practice. This study looks at to what extent this is currently being implemented and how it might be improved in the future. Questionnaires were distributed to psychological services and child and adolescent mental health services in Edinburgh and follow-up semi-structured interviews were carried out with representatives from these services. The study explored role perception, current levels of collaborative working, what does or does not lead to good collaborative working and how the services might move forward in this respect. All case carrying staff across the services received a questionnaire. However, four professional groups were the focus of questions regarding role perceptions: psychiatrists, community mental health workers, clinical and educational psychologists. One hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed and 48 (32 per cent) were returned. Five follow-up interviews were then carried out to explore further the arising themes. The results supported much of the literature surrounding this issue. Good communication, improved resources or resource management, informal links and a better understanding of the roles of others leads to better collaborative working. There needs to be change at both individual and systemic levels to promote collaborative working in services. Implications of these findings are discussed and in particular the need for initiatives at a systemic level is highlighted.

Paterson, Scottish Education in the Twentieth Century

Paterson, <i>Scottish Education in the Twentieth Century</i>