The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework: what's academic practice got to do with it?

National Qualifications Frameworks (NQF) are a globally established and expanding phenomenon. They are increasingly merging and being mapped onto meta-qualifications frameworks. One key NQF in both these roles is the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). Much research categorises the different types of NQF, details their success and failure, and there is a steadily expanding body of critical research into NQF. Despite this, little research has focused on how NQF are used in day to day academic practice in the very institutions whose qualifications they frame. This article begins to redress this by focusing on the SCQF as an exemplar. It presents a synthesis between contemporary literature, a documentary analysis of SCQF literature and the data from interviews with 15 stakeholders in different educational roles. The findings show that, despite the claims of the SCQF literature and contemporary literature regarding the success of the SCQF, its diffusion and the extent of its use amongst these stakeholders are limited. Instead, it is used more as a symbolic tick box exercise and largely ignored. We discuss the implications of this and posit questions that challenge the focus of existing research into NQF and argue for a shift in the criteria by which they are judged from educational to market based ones.     

Is It DAP? American Preschool Teachers’ Views on the Developmental Appropriateness of a Preschool Math Lesson from China

Planned instruction is an important teaching form in early childhood mathematics education, but some educators are concerned about its developmental appropriateness. The present study was undertaken to address this issue. One hundred and seven American preschool teachers participated in the study: They watched a video-taped math lesson that was conducted in a 4-year-olds’ classroom in China and answered video-cued questions in a questionnaire. A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods was used in analyzing the data. Research Findings: Results show that on average, participants rated the quality and developmental appropriateness of the lesson as high. They acknowledged children’s active learning, teacher’s careful preparation, and use of different learning methods. But, they also identified inadequate elements such as lack of peer interactions and lesson differentiation. Practice or Policy: A relief of American preschool teachers’ current beliefs regarding the developmental appropriateness of math lessons provides critical reference for professional preparation/development programs. American preschool teachers’ high value of children’s active learning in a planned math lesson and their appreciation of teacher’s skillful guidance imply an imperative need to promote American preschool teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and skills in teaching mathematics to young children.