Scottish Qualifications Authority Research Articles

Latin Challenges: Perceptions, Policy and Curriculum for Excellence. Barriers to Teaching Latin in Scottish Schools

Over the last decade, the number of Scottish learners presented for National Qualification exams in Latin has declined. There are a number of factors contributing to this decline. Some of these relate to the study of Classics generally, such as perceptions around the subject being socially and academically elitist, while others are specific to the study of Latin and the challenges arising from it being a language. Some factors are relevant to the situation of Latin internationally, for example the desire for education which is more explicitly relevant to the demands of modern societies, while others relate to specific features of the Scottish education system. Examination of the impact of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and of the Scottish Language Learning policy on education will give context to the current position of Latin within primary and secondary schools. Significant institutional support for the learning of Gaelic and Mandarin and the challenges currently facing all language learning in Scotland in the senior phase of formal schooling must also be considered in any discussion of the barriers to the provision of Latin. The decision of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the body responsible for the accreditation of educational awards in Scotland, to cease offering a National Qualification in Ancient Greek in 2015 was based on low uptake of the subject, making the provision of external assessment no longer viable. It is, therefore, crucial to examine the current status of Latin within Scottish education and to determine the reasons for its decline in order to better understand how to address those issues, where possible, so as to secure the sustainability of the subject in the curriculum as well as its accreditation through National Qualifications.

Developing a teacher professional learning workshop on the general theory of relativity

The development of a teacher professional learning workshop to support the General Relativity section of the Scottish Qualifications Authority Advanced Higher Physics course [1] for 17-18 year old secondary school students is described. This professional learning workshop is designed to support the development of teachers’ subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge so they are better able to provide a conceptual, non-mathematical approach to teaching curved spacetime, spacetime diagrams and evidence of the tests for General Relativity. The professional learning workshop draws on a number of resources including the educational outreach materials from the Perimeter Institute [2,3,4].

Design, delivery and evaluation of a bioinformatics education workshop for 13-16-year-olds

ABSTRACT Bioinformatics is the use of computers in biology, particularly to analyse DNA and protein sequences and associated data. Bioinformatics has become crucial to most areas of life sciences research. However, bioinformatics education has not kept up with the pace of these advances. To help address this problem, we have designed an open-access bioinformatics workshop for secondary school biology pupils. The workshop is linked to the curriculum in Scotland, addressing learning objectives for Scottish Qualifications Authority Higher Biology and Human Biology. Furthermore, it aims to inspire pupils more generally and includes critical evaluation of evidence as a more generic skill. We delivered this workshop to biology pupils of seven schools in Scotland and conducted evaluations of pupil and teacher feedback. Quantitative pupil and teacher feedback suggests the workshop is useful and enjoyable, with no statistically significant difference between pupils identifying as female and pupils identifying as male. Qualitative responses suggest the workshop gives an increased knowledge of the field of bioinformatics and its importance in everyday life, and that pupils enjoy working in groups. Teachers also highlight the importance of hands-on experience in the classroom. We conclude the workshop is successful in its aims and is suitable for wider deployment.

Social class inequalities in Scottish school qualifications

ABSTRACT The qualifications that British children gain at school are strong determinants of their futures in both education and the labour market. Studies of the relationship between parental social class and children’s outcomes in school qualifications report the general finding that pupils from families in less advantaged social classes on average have poorer outcomes. This paper investigates social class inequalities in Scottish school qualifications. Scottish data provide an interesting case study because Scotland has its own set of school qualifications and has a widespread system of comprehensive secondary schools that do not select children through academic testing. This paper is innovative because it analyses new linked administrative data on individual pupils from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) with parental information from the Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS). Standard Grades were the main qualifications undertaken by Scottish pupils at the end of compulsory schooling. We present multivariate analysis of pupils’ overall school Standard Grade scores. We find an overall negative relationship between parental social class and children’s outcomes in Scottish school qualifications. Pupils from families in less advantaged social classes, on average, have lower overall Standard Grade scores. A more nuanced finding that emerges from the analyses is that there is a cleft between the Standard Grade scores of children from families in the white and the blue collar classes. We conjecture that the complexity of parents jobs, especially in the more advantaged social classes, fosters forms of family and home life that are conducive to children having more favourable outcomes in school qualifications. Standard Grades have been replaced by the ‘National’ qualifications framework. Changes in the structure and content of the curriculum and assessment could affect the pattern of parental social class inequalities. Further detailed empirical analyses of social class inequalities in outcomes in Scottish school qualifications is therefore imperative.

Educational and health outcomes of children and adolescents receiving antidepressant medication: Scotland-wide retrospective record linkage cohort study of 766237 schoolchildren.

BackgroundChildhood depression is relatively common, under-researched and can impact social and cognitive function and self-esteem.MethodsRecord linkage of routinely collected Scotland-wide administrative databases covering prescriptions [prescribing information system (PIS)], hospitalizations (Scottish Morbidity Records 01 and 04), maternity records (Scottish Morbidity Records 02), deaths (National Records of Scotland), annual pupil census, school absences/exclusions, special educational needs (Scottish Exchange of Educational Data; ScotXed), examinations (Scottish Qualifications Authority) and (un)employment (ScotXed) provided data on 766 237 children attending Scottish schools between 2009 and 2013 inclusively. We compared educational and health outcomes of children receiving antidepressant medication with their peers, adjusting for confounders (socio-demographic, maternity and comorbidity) and explored effect modifiers and mediators.ResultsCompared with peers, children receiving antidepressants were more likely to be absent [adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.85–1.95] or excluded (adjusted IRR 1.48, 95% CI 1.29–1.69) from school, have special educational needs [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.77, 95% CI 1.65–1.90], have the lowest level of academic attainment (adjusted OR 3.00, 95% CI 2.51–3.58) and be unemployed after leaving school (adjusted OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.71–2.08). They had increased hospitalization [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 2.07, 95% CI 1.98–2.18] and mortality (adjusted HR 2.73, 95% CI 1.73–4.29) over 5 years’ follow-up. Higher absenteeism partially explained poorer attainment and unemployment. Treatment with antidepressants was less common among boys than girls (0.5% vs 1.0%) but the associations with special educational need and unemployment were stronger in boys.ConclusionsChildren receiving antidepressants fare worse than their peers across a wide range of education and health outcomes. Interventions to reduce absenteeism or mitigate its effects should be investigated.

GENDER AND SCIENCE ENROLMENT AND ATTAINMENT TRENDS IN SCOTLAND

This paper presents the trend of science enrolment and attainment for the National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher in Scotland. Also, analysis of enrolment and attainment in the core science subjects of biology, chemistry and physics by gender for all three qualifications have been presented. Results in public domain from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) from 2008 – 2018 (for Higher and Advanced Higher) and 2014 – 2018 (for National 5) were accessed and analyzed. Data were analyzed using simple percentages and t-test for significance, using SPSS. The results show a slight decline in enrolment in the three core science subjects especially for the National 5 and Higher qualifications. An independent sample t-test conducted using SPSS, to compare the mean percentage attainment of boys and girls in Higher biology, physics and chemistry showed a significant difference in the mean percentage physics attainment for boys and girls with t(20)=9.99, p<.05. The result also shows significant difference in the mean performance by gender in all three subjects at the Advanced Higher level. The study also affirm the gross underrepresentation of girls in physics that has been reported in many countries and that a greater proportion of girls than boys generally attain better grades in science, especially in physics. Finally, the paper calls for a need for further research in investigate for instance, the persistent underrepresentation of girls in physics classrooms despite all efforts to mitigate this imbalance by government and other organizations such as the Institute of Physics (IOP), the Royal Society of Chemistry. Article visualizations:

The Coronavirus Pandemic, Exams Crisis and Classics in Scottish Schools

On 19th March 2020, the Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Education John Swinney reported to the Scottish Parliament that, in light of the global coronavirus pandemic, schools across Scotland would close from 20th March, mirroring the policy of the UK government announced by the Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson the previous day. As part of this closure, Swinney announced that there would be no examinations set for the 2019-20 session, and that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) would instead enact a certification model employing coursework, teacher estimates of grades and evidence of prior achievement. In outlining the Scottish Government's plan to Holyrood, the Deputy First Minister declared: ‘It is a measure of the gravity of the challenge we now face that the exams will not go ahead this year. With the support of the wider education system, a credible certification model can be put in place that can command confidence in the absence of the exam diet – to ensure that young people in our schools and colleges who through no fault of their own are unable to sit exams, are not disadvantaged.’ (Scottish Government, 2020).

Gender and STEM Subject Choice

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics’ (STEM) knowledge and skills are of increasing importance to the Scottish (and UK) economy in terms of economic growth and better-paid employment opportunities. Shortages of suitably qualified individuals mean that policymakers are concerned to increase the study of STEM subjects at both tertiary and secondary education levels, as the latter feeds the former. Persistent, gendered patterns of STEM subject choice exist at all school qualification levels with, for instance, Biology more likely to be studied by females and Physics by males. These differences have been attributed to social conditioning and gender-biased environments rather than any innate, biological differences with little known about the latter. This paper used Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) administrative data for 2002-2009, linked to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), to explore whether biological factors may play a part in STEM subject choice in Scottish state secondary schools. Specifically, it examined the impact that potential exposure to increased levels of testosterone, in-utero, for female twins with male co-twins (the Twin Testosterone Transfer hypothesis) may have on their STEM subject choices. Twins and a control group of closely spaced sibling pairs were identified from SQA administrative data. Logistic regression was employed to examine Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, general Science and Computing subject choices. No evidence of any testosterone effect was found despite clear patterns of gender segregation. The impact of socio-economic background was stark. The odds of individuals from more disadvantaged backgrounds taking named sciences fell as deprivation levels rose. Age-14 educational choices and general age-16 attainment were seen to be critical for studying STEM subjects at Higher, the crucial qualifications for university entry, indicating that policy interventions to increase uptake need to begin well before this to redress social inclusion and gender imbalance issues.

The Impact of Gender and Socio-economic Background on Attainment in Scottish State Secondary Schools

Attainment in Scottish Secondary education is characterised by entrenched socio-economic and gender gaps. Pupils from the most deprived 20% of households are significantly less likely to achieve benchmark attainment thresholds set by policymakers in terms of the number of awards gained at different levels. In general, females have outperformed males in secondary education since the 1970s. Subjects studied for formal qualification are important too, not just the number of awards and/or grades. Some subjects carry more weight than others, facilitating entry to more prestigious universities and degree programmes that attract higher labour market premia and social status. This paper used Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) administrative data for 2002-2009, linked to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), to investigate the influence of gender and socio-economic background on attainment in so-called facilitating subjects: English, Maths, Geography, History, Modern Studies, Modern Languages, Biology, Chemistry, Physics. Multinomial logit models were estimated for each subject, at each qualification level, to examine within subject attainment in terms of the likelihood of achieving either a low, middle or high pass compared to failing. The impact of socio-economic background was greater than that of gender. Individuals’ relative ability was important for securing low passes but not strong enough to overcome disadvantage to achieve high grades. The effects were particularly stark for age-16 qualifications, with the likelihood of securing any pass grade, in any subject, falling dramatically as disadvantage increased. Socio-economic effects were much reduced at Higher, the crucial qualification for university entry in Scotland, but increased as pass grades rose. Females outperformed males in most subjects at different qualification levels with the notable exceptions of Maths and named sciences at Higher, where males were significantly more likely to pass these at all grades.

Do schools matter? An exploration of the determinants of lower secondary school subject choices under the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence

This paper explores school level determinants of curriculum narrowing in the senior phase of secondary education, under the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). It presents findings from an analysis of longitudinal administrative education data (2011–2017), and Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) data on subject enrolments for Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework National 5 level qualifications, undertaken by 14–15‐year‐old students in year 4 of secondary education (S4) in Scotland. The data are aggregated at the level of schools and linked with Scottish School Census data that provide information about school characteristics (in terms of their size, number of qualified teachers, socio‐economic composition, etc.) and school area characteristics. We used descriptive methods of statistical data analysis and multilevel regression modelling, in order to explore the variations between schools in: (a) number of subject choices; and (b) configuration of subject enrolment and to identify factors responsible for these variations. Our findings show that the senior phase curriculum is becoming narrower. There is trend since 2013, the year when new qualifications under CfE were introduced, for fewer subjects to be taken in school year S4 for level 5 National Qualifications. Yet, the size of this reduction has not been uniform, but has varied between schools of different characteristics, between areas with different level of deprivation and between local authorities across Scotland. The findings show that the SES composition of school intake has a strong association with the number and configuration of subject entries. A larger reduction in the number of subject entries for National 5 level qualifications took place in schools in more deprived areas, as well as in schools with a larger number of students from disadvantaged socio‐economic backgrounds, schools where the proportion of pupils with additional learning support needs was higher, and schools with poorer staff–student ratios. We also found that the number of subject entries was smaller in schools where the overall number of subjects offered for National 5 level qualifications was smaller. Furthermore, we found that schools in areas of higher deprivation and schools with larger numbers of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds had smaller proportions of young people enrolled in Sciences and Modern Languages, and a larger proportion of pupils enrolled in Vocational subjects.

Educational outcomes following breech delivery: a record-linkage study of 456947 children.

Obstetric management of term breech infants changed dramatically following the Term Breech Trial which suggested increased serious neonatal morbidity following trial of labour. Short-term morbidity is a poor proxy of long-term neurological sequelae. We determined whether vaginal breech delivery was associated with educational outcomes. We linked three Scotland-wide administrative databases at an individual level: the ScotXed school census; Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) examination results; and Scottish Morbidity Record (SMR02) maternity database. The linkage provided information on singleton children, born at term, attending Scottish schools between 2006 and 2011. Of the 456 947 eligible children, 1574 (0.3%) had vaginal breech deliveries, 12 489 (2.7%) planned caesarean section for breech presentation and 442 090 (96.9%) vaginal cephalic deliveries. The percentage of term breech infants delivered vaginally fell from 23% to 7% among children who started school in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Of children born by vaginal breech delivery, 1.5% had a low 5-min Apgar score (≤3) compared with only 0.4% of those born by either breech caesarean section [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 6.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.44-8.54, p<0.001] or cephalic vaginal delivery (adjusted OR 3.84, 95% CI 2.99-4.93, p<0.001). Children born by vaginal breech delivery had lower examination attainment than those born by either planned caesarean section for breech presentation (adjusted OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.02-1.32, p=0.020) or vaginal cephalic delivery (adjusted OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01-1.28, p=0.029). Vaginal delivery of term breech infants was associated with lower examination attainment, as well as poorer Apgar scores, suggesting that the adverse effects are not just short-term.

Innovation and educational changes: two e-Learning cases in aquaculture

In this paper, we investigate the potential changes that education innovation can bring to education and training in aquaculture. When introducing Information and Communication Technology methods into new educational contexts, situations and/or practices, in the process teacher/practitioners will almost always make use of innovatory technology which in itself can lead to a measure of change within the relevant educational system. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that the use of technology is not an end in itself, its use is only justified as a tool to achieve the educational goals that have been set. It is in this spirit that two case studies are presented from current aquaculture curricula, which make use of innovative teaching methodology in the form of e-Learning: one case study is from the Open University (Universidade Aberta) in Portugal [distance teaching in a Master’s programme (Second Cycle)]; the second is from the NAFC Marine Centre, Scottish Qualifications Authority accredited courses in Scotland, UK. We report the pedagogical models on which these courses were built, the tools required to achieve the intended educational objectives and the teaching and learning resources used. We also report the creative stimulus inherent in the innovation processes that allowed the two teachers/instructors to achieve the same, or better, results than traditional teacher-led classroom methods, by using a technology-enhanced teaching process without the need for face-to-face interaction.

The UKCAT-12 study: educational attainment, aptitude test performance, demographic and socio-economic contextual factors as predictors of first year outcome in a cross-sectional collaborative study of 12 UK medical schools.

BackgroundMost UK medical schools use aptitude tests during student selection, but large-scale studies of predictive validity are rare. This study assesses the United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT), and its four sub-scales, along with measures of educational attainment, individual and contextual socio-economic background factors, as predictors of performance in the first year of medical school training.MethodsA prospective study of 4,811 students in 12 UK medical schools taking the UKCAT from 2006 to 2008 as a part of the medical school application, for whom first year medical school examination results were available in 2008 to 2010.ResultsUKCAT scores and educational attainment measures (General Certificate of Education (GCE): A-levels, and so on; or Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA): Scottish Highers, and so on) were significant predictors of outcome. UKCAT predicted outcome better in female students than male students, and better in mature than non-mature students. Incremental validity of UKCAT taking educational attainment into account was significant, but small. Medical school performance was also affected by sex (male students performing less well), ethnicity (non-White students performing less well), and a contextual measure of secondary schooling, students from secondary schools with greater average attainment at A-level (irrespective of public or private sector) performing less well. Multilevel modeling showed no differences between medical schools in predictive ability of the various measures. UKCAT sub-scales predicted similarly, except that Verbal Reasoning correlated positively with performance on Theory examinations, but negatively with Skills assessments.ConclusionsThis collaborative study in 12 medical schools shows the power of large-scale studies of medical education for answering previously unanswerable but important questions about medical student selection, education and training. UKCAT has predictive validity as a predictor of medical school outcome, particularly in mature applicants to medical school. UKCAT offers small but significant incremental validity which is operationally valuable where medical schools are making selection decisions based on incomplete measures of educational attainment. The study confirms the validity of using all the existing measures of educational attainment in full at the time of selection decision-making. Contextual measures provide little additional predictive value, except that students from high attaining secondary schools perform less well, an effect previously shown for UK universities in general.

A taste of practice

In his report on the public inquiry into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, Robert Francis recommended that nursing recruits be assessed for their competence in delivering compassionate care. One university pre-empted this recommendation with a pre-nursing scholarship programme. The University of Stirling’s school of nursing, midwifery and health started a two-year pilot in 2012. Run in partnership with Scottish health boards and education authorities in the Highlands and Western Isles, the project involves nursing work experience for secondary school pupils. The programme is an incentive for future nurses and will help young people develop workplace and nursing skills by studying for the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s skills for work health sector intermediate 2 course. The project aims to: promote nursing as a first-choice career; increase understanding of healthcare careers; enhance pupils’ employability, communication and networking skills; address career needs of pupils in remote and rural areas; and provide pupils with experiences to advance in their UCAS application or when applying for a healthcare position. This first programme started with a residential week in September 2012 when 22 school pupils started at the university. Each pupil was allocated a senior nursing student buddy and an academic mentor to offer support and guidance throughout the programme (see box below). Pupils were also able to use Succeed, the university’s online learning platform, which provides an interactive approach to learning, especially for those living in remote areas of the country. Pupils were positive about the experience. ‘The lecturers gave us lots of information about nursing and made me want to apply for a nursing course even more,’ said one student. Another said: ‘The experience has made me set on nursing as I now understand the work that nursing entails.’ Highland Council school liaison officer Maxine Garson says: ‘The experience will undoubtedly put these young people ahead of their colleagues in terms of a university application and readiness for university life, as well as giving them a good understanding of the course and profession they wish to enter.’ Iain Stewart from the Western Isles Education Development Centre says his students appreciated the opportunity to gain a national qualification while completing their pre-nursing placements. ‘Interestingly, pupils thought the remote learning experience could be replicated in their schools,’ he says NS

Accessible digital assessments for students with disabilities: specification, formats and implementation in schools

PurposeMany learners with disabilities and special educational needs have difficulty reading or accessing traditional paper examinations at school. The most common method of accommodating these candidates, in Scotland, is the use of reader and scribe. This paper aims to define a specification for digital examination papers for candidates with disabilities, identify a suitable electronic format, and report on trials of these digital assessments.Design/methodology/approachThe support needs of candidates with disabilities were investigated through interviews with teaching staff and students, analysis of the type of requests made for accommodations, and the reasons for the requests. Findings from this exercise, together with consideration of the requirements of the examination context, were used to construct a specification for digital examination papers. Pilot trials using digital papers were then undertaken.FindingsAdobe portable document format (PDF) was judged to match the specification most closely. Successful pilot trials in 2005, 2006 and 2007 led to the introduction of digital papers by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in 2008.Research limitations/implicationsThere is some evidence that digital papers provide a more independent and less costly alternative to reader/scribes; this requires further research.Practical implicationsBetween 2008 and 2011, the number of requests for digital papers increased fivefold, indicating that digital question papers in PDF offer a practical and cost effective method of accommodation in examinations.Originality/valueThis research is of interest to examination boards, assessment designers, educators and learners. It demonstrates that candidates with disabilities can successfully access assessments in digital format.

Developing the educational needs of Telehealthcare support staff at SCQF/QCF level 6

Background: The use, monitoring and care of individuals through the use of technology have played a key role in the delivery of health and social care services for decades (Wooton et al. 2006). Contemporary changes in how health and social care is provided in Scotland have focussed on using Telehealthcare as a medium to improve access, efficiency and equity of services across the country for a range of service users and the management of a range of conditions (JIT 2011). The Scottish Government Joint Improvement Team (JIT) and the Scottish Centre for Telehealth (SCT) published an Education and Training Strategy for Telehealthcare in Scotland in March 2010. The Strategy acknowledged that the provision of education and training to support unqualified staff working in telehealthcare service delivery was limited to locally developed, non-accredited training delivered in-house by telehealthcare service providers. It identified that although accredited frameworks do exist in Higher Education at SCQF/QCF 9, 10 and 11, the context, content and academic level was not appropriate for support staff. To meet the education and training needs of unqualified staff working in telehealthcare, the Strategy Action Plan included a workstream to develop a Competency Framework for Telehealthcare Support Staff. A subsequent workstream within the Action Plan focussed on the design and development of an academic award based on the competencies identified within the new Framework. This involved setting up a Qualification Design Team (QDT) made up of telehealthcare and education service providers and specialists. The Qualification Design Team worked with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to design and accredit a Professional Development Award (PDA) in Telehealthcare at SCQF/QCF level 6. This paper outlines the design and development of the Professional Development Award. Project objectives: To design a Professional Development Award in Telehealthcare to meet the educational needs of unqualified support staff working 1. in telehealthcare service delivery. To achieve National accreditation of a Professional Development Award in Telehealthcare at SCQF/QCF level 6. 2. Proposed next stage objectives: To evaluate the telehealthcare support staff experience of undertaking the Professional Development Award. 1. To evaluate the modes of delivery and geographical contexts in which the Professional Development Award is delivered. 2. To describe the impact the educational experience has on the candidates personal and professional development. 3.

Assessment is for learning: supporting feedback

This paper describes an action research, school situated project conducted with partnership funding from Learning and Teaching Scotland, Scottish Qualifications Authority and Becta, the UK government’s agency for communications technology in education. Based on e-scape (e-solutions for creative assessment in portfolio environments), developed by Goldsmiths, University of London, the Scottish project focussed on integrating innovative methods of capturing evidence of creative performance with providing formative feedback to learners. Classroom trials were conducted with Primary 7 through to Secondary 3 learners (10–15 year olds) in 2 different local education authorities. Learner and teacher thoughts were recorded through blogs, e-forums and interviews; the authored design challenges were shared through the web-based e-scape authoring system and e-folios reviewed by participant teachers and researchers. This paper provides a summary of the reactions and responses from teacher practitioner, learner and researcher perspectives based on their experiences and the results of the classroom trials. It discusses the potential contribution in terms of supporting learning, teaching and assessment within the framework of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (2004) Technologies (2009) learning area. It is hoped that e-scape scotland supports pedagogies which enable the capture of creative thinking in real time for authentic and formative assessment and addresses some of the issues for classroom practice and practitioners.

Class, social deprivation and accounting education in Scottish schools: Implications for the reproduction of the accounting profession and practice

This paper investigates the links between class, deprivation and subject choice in the area of business studies, including Accounting and Economics, in Scottish secondary schools. Given the paucity of prior research, this study is necessarily exploratory but its findings will provide a basis for future research in Scotland and elsewhere. First, the literature on the link between deprivation and education is reviewed. Pierre Bourdieu's conceptualisiation of habitus , field and capital are introduced and provide the theoretical framework for the ensuing discussion. Second, the implications for accounting education at both school and university, and for the accountancy profession are examined. Third, the results of interviews, analysis of statistical data provided by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Qualifications Authority and two questionnaire surveys, one of Heads of Departments of Scottish secondary schools and the other of first year accounting students at Scottish universities, are reported in order to explore whether there are any indications of links between class, deprivation and subject choice in the area of business studies in Scottish schools. Finally, the implications of the research findings are discussed and conclusions offered.

The impact of a unified curriculum and qualifications system: the Higher Still reform of post‐16 education in Scotland

There is a cross‐national trend towards unified curriculum and qualifications frameworks in upper secondary education, but such reforms face epistemological, political and institutional barriers and ‘unification’ remains a contested issue in many countries, including England. This article examines the experience of the Scottish Higher Still reform, one of the most systematic examples of this trend. It presents data from an Economic and Social Research Council‐funded study which included case studies of schools and colleges, surveys of all secondary schools and colleges in Scotland, analyses of Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) data and interviews with key informants. Higher Still's climbing frame model of provision provided better learning opportunities for different types and levels of students, but its impact on attainment and parity of esteem were more limited. The article concludes that institutional barriers formed the biggest obstacles in the implementation phase, reflected in the contrasting ‘institutional logics’ of schools and colleges.

Physical Education in Scottish Schools — A National Case Study

The last comprehensive survey of physical education in secondary schools in Scotland was undertaken in 1989 (Sharp, 1991a, b). Since then, a number of national developments in Scotland focusing on sport and physical education have taken place, viz., development of certificated physical education (Fryer, 1991), establishment of the School Sports Co‐ordinator Programme (Coalter andThorburn, 2003) and the introduction of a National framework for courses and qualifications in Secondary schools (Scottish Qualifications Authority, 2003a). The present study examined the changes that have taken place since 1989 in regard to five key areas — departmental composition, courses in physical education, time allocation, facilities and extra‐curricular provision. The study showed a continuing malelfemale teacher imbalance, especially at promoted level, but a significant increase in the proportion of female teachers. In regard to course provision, the study showed a significant increase in the number of schools offering certificated physical education. It was concluded that the physical education profession has responded positively to the changes bought about by certification and the revised National course framework. In regard to time allocation, an overall increase was noted although there are variations across years. The reduction in core physical education in the first two years of Secondary school is a concern. The study revealed a continuing ‘decline in access to facilities and extra‐curricular provision. In summary, it is recommended that serious concerns such as reduced time for core physical education and access to facilities should be made known to the key agencies in Scotland which can influence provision for physical education in schools. The study recommends further, that in light of the number of ongoing national developments, the time interval before the next nationwide survey should be shorter than that between the 1989 study and the present one.