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.     

Impact of legislation on post‐school transition practice for young people with additional support needs in Scotland

A longitudinal study was conducted to understand post‐school transition practice for young people with additional support needs (ASN) before and after the implementation of key legislation, the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, amended in 2009. Primary data were collected from one local authority in Scotland. Twelve professionals involved in post‐school transition planning were interviewed in 2004 and eight in 2010. Minutes of transition meetings from one school for three young people prior to the implementation of the Act and four after the implementation were analysed. Results show some changes since the implementation of the Act.     

Characteristics of support for beginning teachers: evidence from the new Teacher Induction Scheme in Scotland

The Teacher Induction Scheme, introduced in Scotland in August 2002, guarantees beginning teachers a year’s structured support from a more experienced colleague, a reduced timetable and opportunities for professional development. This article places the Scheme in the wider context of recent policy developments in Scotland and reports on research carried out into the early implementation of the Scheme. The personal and professional characteristics sought by the probationers in their supporters and suggested by the supporters themselves are analysed both in terms of the literature on mentoring and of the guidelines accompanying the Scheme. The structures set up in schools to support beginning teachers are also described. The implications of the data are discussed and proposals made for the development of a more extended model of mentoring in Scotland than the one currently in operation.     

Enhanced agency rights for older Scottish children with additional support needs: a philosophical review

ABSTRACT

This paper considers some possible pitfalls in recent legislation in Scotland that has enhanced agency rights for older children with additional support needs (ASN). It does so with particular reference to philosophical literature on children’s rights. Though the UNCRC increasingly animates education law, policy and practice in Scotland and elsewhere, some philosophers, including O’Neill and MacIntyre, have raised pertinent questions about whether or not a rights-based approach is the best way of ensuring that all children receive the care, support and education they need to flourish. Discussion concentrates on four possible objections to the human rights tradition generally and the new legislation concerning the rights of older children with ASN in Scotland specifically. It is concluded that: (1) future policy, practice, law and research on child well-being should prioritise capabilities over rights and; (2) the concept of capability might be a helpful one through which to analyse the extent to which children with ASN in Scotland really do have enhanced agency rights in practice.     

Spaces of contest for religious education reform in comparative perspectives: Scotland and Malawi as cases

Educational reforms, particularly in a contested subject such as Religious Education (RE), have unsettled boundaries principally because actors demand or expect different outcomes of these reforms. In the cases of Scotland and Malawi the present paper examines how different stakeholders have engaged with RE reforms. It thus ascertains whether, if at all, there are major points of difference on salient issues that underscore the micro-politics of RE reform in radically diverse national contexts, one African (Malawi) and other European (Scotland). It concludes that despite the complexity of RE as a school subject and subtle differences in national contexts in which it is debated and constructed, there is greater similarity on issues that underpin the micro-politics of RE reform in transnational contexts.     

Gender and management in further education in Scotland: an agenda for research

Research on gender and education is somewhat limited in Scotland, and research that explores the further education sector from a gender perspective is particularly lacking. This paper argues for such work, and underlines its importance given the prominence of FE in the Scottish policy context as a key contributor to the knowledge economy and lifelong learning agendas of the Scottish parliament. The argument is also made that research on gender—including masculinities—may have particular salience in Scotland because of specific cultural assumptions and practices that inhibit the recognition of women in management. The paper reports on a small pilot study of senior women managers in the further education sector in Scotland, and draws on their experiences to advocate further research that is attentive to the gendered nature of organizations and the interrelationship of masculinities and managerialism.     

Challenges and Opportunities in Religious Education: Re-Considering Practitioners’ Approaches in Scottish Secondary Schools

Abstract

In Scotland, and particularly with regards to non-denominational RE, known as Religious and Moral Education (RME), a current focus of debates is on how and why practitioners are implementing or deviating from legal and curricular expectations. Using the findings of a small-scale qualitative practitioner enquiry centered on one local education authority in Scotland, this article advances recent discussions and engages with comparative international scholarship by identifying the challenges and opportunities in relation to the provision of RME and arguing that practitioners are motivated by the demands of learners and the priorities of school leaders, rather than official expectations.     

National qualifications in Scotland: A lightning rod for public concern about equity during the pandemic

Scotland, traditionally, has high levels of confidence in teachers. Fairness and justice are key concepts in policy and practice in Scottish education. For more than 100 years, the high-stakes assessment system in Scotland, with the Scottish Higher qualification at its heart, has been crucial to that sense of opportunity and justice. However, in 2019–2020, public confidence in high-stakes assessment in Scotland, as in other United Kingdom countries, was dented. In Scotland, the Covid-19 pandemic meant that schools were closed, teachers provided online learning opportunities for pupils working at home and, for the first time in 130 years, it was not possible to run national examinations. To ensure that learners were not further disadvantaged, alternative approaches to gathering evidence for qualifications were instigated. However, these results were challenged as socially unjust and the results that had been nationally moderated were replaced by results based on locally moderated teachers' professional judgement. As Scotland looks to qualifications beyond Covid-19, trust must be re-built. This article reports on a participative research project that sought to understand public perceptions of standards and fairness across a range of key communities following this experience. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data, we analyse factors which affected trust in National Qualifications under the pandemic. The evidence suggests that when considering what matters for qualifications to be trusted, technocratic solutions are likely to be rejected by stakeholders. Understanding and responding to what led to the mistrust of qualifications in Scotland will be crucial to inform its future qualifications system.     

The meaning of curriculum-related examination standards in Scotland and England: a home–international comparison

Abstract

The ways in which examination standards are conceptualised and operationalised differently across nations has not been given sufficient attention. The international literature on standard-setting has been dominated by the psychometrics tradition. Broader conceptualisations of examination standards have been discussed in the literature in England, which has curriculum-related examinations at the end of schooling. There has, however, been little analysis of conceptualisations of examination standards in Scotland. Different education systems and examinations operate in Scotland and England, and the stated value positions and processes relating to examination standards differ markedly. This paper critically examines policy positions on assessment standards in Scotland and England through the lens of recent theories of standard-setting. By analysing public statements on standards, the paper illuminates similarities and differences in conceptual bases and operational approaches, and examines the effects of these on outcomes for candidates. We conclude that both systems are operationalising attainment-referencing, but with different processes in Scotland and England and these practices do not fit within previous examination standards classifications. As such, the paper moves examination standards theory forward by concluding that there is at least one superordinate definitional category that draws upon more than one definitional stance.     

布克法斯特滋补酒

你们国家的青少年在周六晚上会去哪玩？看电影？还是跟朋友下馆子？英国的很多青少年染上了酗酒的坏毛病。在苏格兰,修道士酿造了一种布克法斯特滋补酒,颇受当地青少年的欢迎。由来布克法斯特滋补酒,又称Buckfast,Buckie或Bucky,由英格兰西南部布克法斯特修道院的修道士酿造。     

Editorial

Initial teacher training courses throughout the United Kingdom at present have been or are being changed in various ways which enlarge the role of schools and make new demands on the school teachers who act as mentors to student teachers in the schools. Despite the size of this change, it can be quite difficult to find evidence about its effects. Edwards (1994) suggested that one reason for this lack of evidence is that there has been little government support for obtaining it. As Edwards points out, however, the government in one part of the United Kingdom, namely Scotland, did ensure that evidence about the mentor teacher idea was obtained before there was a decision about applying the scheme across the country. The decision that it should be nationally applied was reported in this journal's ‘Notes and News’ section in Spring 1995, under the heading of ‘Introduction of a mentor scheme in Scotland’. This paper summarises the main outcomes of the pilot study which informed that decision. The paper concentrates on the pilot's second and final year (Cameron‐Jones and O'Hara 1994).     

公投之后，苏格兰以何种形象示人？

扣人心弦的公投让苏格兰成为世界媒体的头条。也让人们把投向大不列颠的目光转向了苏格兰高地,人们开始对苏格兰的人文、历史和风土人情重新解读。风笛、格子裙、威士忌等这些高地特有的标志代言着苏格兰。公投的喧嚣过去后,苏格兰又该如何塑造自己的形象呢？     

苏格兰职前教师教育课程鉴定与评估述评

苏格兰的职前教师教育课程鉴定与评估制度健全、成效显著,是一个成功的范例。其实施机构———普通教学专业委员会是一个具有很强自主性和权威性的专业性组织,在鉴定、评估和促进职前教师教育课程建设方面发挥了关键性的作用;其标准具有较强的发展性和可操作性;实施过程安排细致,重点突出,具有很高的工作效率;职前教师教育课程的鉴定与评估作用突出,效果显著,有效地保证了职前教师教育课程的质量,维护了教学的专业标准、促进了教师教育机构与中小学之间的伙伴关系。     

Survivors of institutional abuse in long-term child care in Scotland

BackgroundThe Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) commissioned the research project to document the outcomes of institutional abuse in long-term child care in Scotland.ObjectiveTo profile the experiences of survivors abused in long-term child care in Scotland, and to develop a model which linked maltreatment, risk and protective factors, and outcomes.Participants and Setting225 survivors of historical institutional abuse in Scotland, who made witness statements to SCAI.MethodsData were extracted from witness statements using a coding frame developed through a thematic analysis of a subsample of 52 statements.ResultsSurvivors had been in care in predominantly Catholic and non-religious residential institutions in Scotland for an average of 8 years, having entered at an average age of 6.8 years. They had suffered multiple forms of maltreatment. Maltreatment rates were: physical abuse, 95.6%; emotional abuse, 85.3%; sexual abuse, 60.4%; emotional neglect, 51.1%; and physical neglect, 37.3%. Across the lifespan survivors had negative outcomes in psychosocial adjustment (96%), mental health (84%), and physical health (43%). The effect of maltreatment in care on psychosocial problems was mediated by both risk and protective factors; and on mental health was mediated by risk factors, but not protective factors. Maltreatment in care had a direct effect on physical health which was not mediated by risk or protective factors. The effects of the cumulative number of risk factors on adverse mental health and psychosocial outcomes was greater than that of maltreatment, and protective factors had a limited impact on adverse outcomes.ConclusionsEvidence-based child protection policies and practices should be implemented to prevent institutional abuse and treat child abuse survivors in Scotland.     

A Study of the modern Scottish Higher Education Based on the Case of University of St.Andrews

<正>1.Introduction The Scottish higher educational system is one of the oldest in the world,and it is now still changing.The status of higher education now in the Scotland is the product of the generations of the thoughtful reflection,experimentation and evaluation.Therefore,it is not so much different in quality and reputation compared with England,Welsh and Northern Ireland.Scotland’s universities are at the forefront of teaching and research play a     

苏格兰教育督导制度的功效、特点及启示

苏格兰的教育制度与英国其他地区的教育制度既有相同之处,也存在一定差异。文章以2004年公布的苏格兰伦弗鲁郡教育督导报告为背景,就苏格兰教育督导制度的功效、特点及对我国教育督导制度的改革与发展作以简要论述。     

门德尔松第三（苏格兰）交响曲评析

交响曲是门德尔松的主要创作领域。其中《第三苏格兰交响曲》是较为著名的一部,这部作品不仅生动地表现了苏格兰美妙的自然风光,同时也体现了作曲家对生活的深刻感受和积极乐观的人生态度。全曲洋溢着浓厚的浪漫色彩和梦幻般的诗情画意,是一部内容和形式完美统一的“风景交响曲”。     

Selection and Induction of New Staff to Posts in Initial Teacher Training in Scotland

An account is provided of how one teacher training institution in Scotland appoints and inducts lecturing staff. The first part of the account describes institutional policy and is based on an interview with a senior administrator. The second part reflects institutional practice and is based on an interview with a member of staff on a short‐term contract six months after his appointment. While the actual process of selection corresponds with the formal there is a recognised need for development of induction arrangements.     

Perceptions of the educational elite on the purpose of a national framework of continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in Scotland[1]

Scotland, in common with many other countries, has seen a growing focus on teachers' CPD over the past few years, resulting in the development of a national framework. This paper explores the perceptions of key stakeholders as to the fundamental purpose of the national CPD framework, through analysis of interviews with elite figures in Scottish education. The paper works from the premise that while there has been general agreement from stakeholders that the framework is a positive development, there has been no one agreed articulation of its purpose. The paper concludes by raising questions about the lack of clarity amongst key stakeholders as to the fundamental purpose of the CPD framework and the resulting implications in terms of reviewing its success or otherwise. These implications are considered within the context of the power dynamics, both national and international, influencing the development of CPD policy in Scotland.     

‘The more things change…?’: the Thatcher years and educational reform in Scotland

The period of the Thatcher Government continues to have special significance for politics and governance in Scotland. In the 11 years of the Thatcher Government, landmark legislation and reforms affected key areas of the Scottish society and economy. Education featured prominently in the Thatcherite agenda in Scotland. In Scotland, the education system’s association with national identity had particular implications for educational policy making and implementation in Scotland under the Thatcher Government. The distinctiveness of the Scottish education system presented particular problems for a government intent on challenging the social democratic consensus. Opposition to the Thatcher Government, especially its perceived attack on the social democratic underpinnings of the welfare state which included the state schooling system, re‐ignited the home rule campaign in Scotland in the late 1980s. The article examines both key legislation, namely the Education (Scotland) Act 1981, the School Board (Scotland) Act 1988 and the Self‐Governing Schools etc. (Scotland) Act 1989, and also key non‐legislative reforms to curriculum and assessment under the Thatcher Government in the area of public (state) schooling. The article argues that these reforms continue to influence the educational policy debates in Scotland today.