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Donald Gray
SCOTTISH EDUCATION MOVING TOWARDS AND EVIDENCE-BASED PROFESSION?
University of Aberdeen
Introduction
Education in Scotland has undergone a number of reforms in the post second world war era, but the past few years have, arguably, witnessed some of the most fundamental and potentially far-reaching reforms and initiatives in the past twenty years, if not the last sixty.
Most, if not all the major developments in Scottish Education in recent times have been covered in the comprehensive Scottish Education, edited by Bryce and Humes, the third and most up-to-date edition of which is scheduled for publication in the second half of 2008. Some of the most recent initiatives, which are to appear in the third edition but have not yet been dealt with in earlier editions, will be touched upon in this article.
Currently all children in Scotland will start full-time primary schooling at the age of five, although some will start as young as four years old depending on their birth date. Following seven years of primary school they will move to a 6year secondary school at the age of twelve. They can leave the school at 16, although most will stay on for a further two years to age 18. There are a number of exams that young people can take in secondary school. The first of these is usually Standard Grade exams, offered in a range of subjects and normally taken in secondary year 4 (S4). Between S4 and S6, young people can take further exams, also in a range of subjects at Intermediate, Higher and Advanced Higher levels, the precise level and topic depending on the capability and interests of
the student. The current exam system is under review with respect to the new Curriculum for Excellence currently in development, which is discussed later.
All state schools in Scotland are fully comprehensive, in other words there is no selection based on merit or other criteria other than by geographic location within a school’s catchment area. Parents can opt to send their children to another school outside their residential catchment area, but places for such placing requests is limited by the capacity of the school to take such pupils. In 2007 there were 2,186 primary schools, 378 secondary schools and 183 special schools in Scotland. Special school are designated for children and young people with special educational needs. In addition to the state schools there are a number of privately run, independent schools in Scotland. The September 2006 census of independent schools indicates that there were 61 primary and 55 secondary schools in the independent sector in Scotland (Sg, 2007).
Historical Context
In order to obtain a clearer picture about current developments in Scottish education it is perhaps advisable to consider the recent historical context. Scotland is part of the United Kingdom which is a union of four constituent countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom was created in 1801 by the merger of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland under the Act of Union. A century earlier, following the Treaty of Union in 1707, Acts of Union passed by both the parliaments in Scotland and England had resulted in the creation of the New Kingdom of Great Britain. However, while there was a merger of parliaments and the creation of a new Kingdom, Scotland still retained a unique identity with its own legislative powers in certain domains. One of these was education.
As a result of a growing nationalist movement there have been two referenda in recent times with respect to the statutory position of Scotland. The Scotland Act of 1978, seeking to establish a Scottish Assembly, was not supported by a general referendum in 1979. However, the more recent referendum in 1997, to establish a Scottish Parliament, was indeed successful and the first Scottish Parliamentary elections to a Scottish Executive (now re-named by the incumbent Scottish Nationalist Party as the Scottish Government) were held in 1999. Scotland now has devolved legislative powers with the United Kingdom Parliament retaining power over certain reserved matters including, for example, defence, UK taxes, social security and international relations.
So Scotland now has increased legislative powers relating to most domestic matters, although Scottish Education has always been a devolved matter to be dealt with by the earlier Scottish Office of the UK government and now within the Scottish Government of the devolved administration.
One of the early Acts passed by the new Scottish Executive was the Standards in Scotland’s Schools Act in 2000 which set out the National Priorities for Education, these being:
“PRIORITY ONE Achievement and Attainment
To raise standards of educational attainment for all in schools, especially in the core skills of literacy and numeracy, and to achieve better levels in national measures of achievement including examination results.
PRIORITY TWO Framework for Learning
To support and develop the skills of teachers, the self-discipline of pupils and to enhance school environments so that they are conducive to teaching and learning.
PRIORITY THREE Inclusion and Equality
To promote equality and help every pupil benefit from education, with particular regard paid to pupils with disabilities and special educational needs, and to Gaelic and other lesser used languages.
PRIORITY FOUR Values and Citizenship
To work with parents to teach pupils respect for self and one another and their interdependence with other members of their neighbourhood and society and to teach them the duties and responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society.
PRIORITY FIVE Learning for Life
To equip pupils with the foundation skills, attitudes and expectations necessary to prosper in a changing society and to encourage creativity and ambition.” (SEED, 2002, p1)
The National Priorities provided a framework against which schools were expected to evaluate their provision. However, while the National priorities were treated with importance, there was felt to be a need by policy for further discussion about the views and expectations of education in Scotland. Education has always been considered an important part of Scottish history and culture and, following the publication of the National priorities, one of the early initiatives of the new Scottish Government was to embark on a National Debate on Education. This was launched in March 2002 and lasted for 3 months. The purpose of the National Debate on Education was to develop a policy agenda over the medium term i.e. beyond the next parliamentary term of 2003-
2007.
The course of the National Debate is well described by Munn et al (2004) and involved at least 800 events with 1517 responses from individuals, small groups and organisations with an estimate of at least 20,000 people having participated in one form or another in the debate. To assist with the debate, support packs were produced to aid discussion with 14 open questions for consideration.
The debate in itself did not produce radical agendas for change, there was considerable consensus and reasonable satisfaction with the existing education system in Scotland, although it did raise some important aspects that were used to develop a policy agenda in education for Scotland. As Munn et al state:
"The Executive’s response to the issues raised in the national debate has now been
published (SEED, 2003), which sets out a policy agenda until 2013 under four main headings, Learning and Teaching, Pupils, Parents and the Community, Working Together, and Modern Schools. Scotland now has an agenda for action in schools which goes well beyond the short-termism which has so often been a feature of policy and which has its roots in the views of a diverse range of responses”. (p449)
One of the, perhaps unique, characteristics of the National Debate, other than the attempt to have more transparent public participation in policy processes, was the involvement of a team of university researchers in analysing the data generated from the debate. Munn et al go on to say:
“...researchers were involved at an early stage of the decision to have a national debate and were actively involved in discussions about the relationship between the kinds of questions that were asked and the kinds of analysis that could be provided”. (p.449)
The National Debate, then, provided two things. One was to give general support for much that already existed in Scottish education, but also to provide indications of the ways in which improvements could be made, and one of these areas was in the curriculum. The second element, perhaps less obvious, was to provide an example of the ways in which educational research and policy might work together and, perhaps by implication, establish a precedent for the establishment of more evidence-based approaches to education. If a survey was to be carried out tomorrow, the role and impact of research would be little recognised by those outside education, and probably not given any significance by many within education, but it is clear that there is a general move towards integrating research-based approaches into professional learning
and development and in school improvement initiatives. Some of this will be discussed later.
The sections that follow will provide a brief introduction to some of the most significant developments in Scottish education in recent times and, where appropriate, highlight the role that research has played in those developments.
The McCrone Settlement
Perhaps the most noticeable landmark of recent times was what became known as the McCrone settlement encapsulated in the report “A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century”. In January 2000 the Scottish Parliament established a Committee of Inquiry into teachers’ pay, promotion structures and conditions of service, the aftermath of an intense period of industrial action and discontent by the teaching profession in Scotland. The committee of enquiry was chaired by Professor Gavin McCrone, and the agreement was implemented in August 2001. The McCrone report, heralded a substantial increase in the salaries paid to teachers but with conditions attached to professional development and the introduction of an accreditation system, the Chartered Teacher, to allow progression for teachers hampered by the limited career progression offered within the then existing system. As a result of the McCrone agreement, teachers were also expected to undertake 35 hours of professional development per year and, if teachers elected to do so, and pay for, they could embark on an accredited course leading to the Chartered Teacher status, which also brought with it further increments in the salary scale. The Chartered Teacher programme is delivered by most teacher education institutions in Scotland. More will be said about the Chartered Teacher scheme later.
Initial Teacher Education
Another post-McCrone initiative was the introduction of the teacher induction scheme in August 2002. All teachers in Scotland are required to undergo an accredited training course at a recognised Teacher Education Institution, of which there are seven in Scotland, all once being teacher training colleges but now all forming Faculties, or Schools of Education within established Universities. The first of these new Faculties was the Faculty of Education of Strathclyde University formed with the merger of the previous Jordanhill College of Education in March 1993, and the most recent being the Faculty, now School, of Education of the University of Aberdeen formed in 2001. New teachers can qualify through two programmes. One is a four year undergraduate degree
normally leading to a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree, a teaching qualification in Primary Education. The second route is for those who have already successfully undertaken a first degree course through a one year Professional Graduate Diploma in Education. This can lead to a teaching qualification in either Primary or Secondary Education, depending on the route chosen. However, fully qualified status as a teacher is not obtained until the new teacher has successfully undergone a probationary period of practice in a school.
The standards and regulations applied to teacher education and professional recognition are regulated by a governing body, the General Teaching Council for Scotland, and every teacher working in a state school in Scotland has to be registered with the GTCS, either a provisional registration as a new teacher, or full registration following successful completion of a period of probation.
Previously beginning teachers had to undertake a two year probationary period and obtain a satisfactory report to become a fully registered teacher in Scotland. The main problem with this was that, very often, beginning teachers could not obtain a full-time post and so their initial experiences were fragmented into periods of supply teaching in a range of schools, substituting for teachers who were absent for some reason. This meant that their experiences were scattered, often shortterm and punctuated with periods out of school. As a result of the McCrone Report every student completing a programme of Initial Teacher Education is guaranteed an induction placement in a Scottish school. While most beginning teachers take advantage of this, not everyone is offered an induction school that suits them, usually because of family and geographical commitments, but most beginning teachers do benefit from this induction year. The guaranteed placement allows them to complete an induction year at a reduced teaching load of 0.7FTE (full time equivalent) with the other 0.3 consisting of professional development and support. At the end of this induction year most beginning teachers will have satisfactorily completed the requirements indicated in the Standard for Full Registration to become fully registered teachers with the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
Other than the new induction scheme for beginning teachers the McCrone report also heralded the introduction of a new career structure which included the implementation of the Chartered Teacher scheme.
Chartered Teacher
The General Teaching Council for Scotland describes the Chartered Teacher Programme as:
“....... the level of accomplishment teachers might seek to
achieve after completing The Standard for Full Registration, and after establishing themselves in the profession.
The Standard for Chartered Teacher was formed as a result of 'A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century', the formal agreement between the Scottish Executive, education authorities and teachers. It forms part of the National Framework for CPD which runs throughout the life span of a teachers' career - from induction through to headship.” (GTCS, 2002)
However, it is emphasised that the level achieved by a teacher to obtain Chartered Teacher status is a “significant enhancement of professional skill and understanding well beyond the SFR” (Standard for Full Registration).
The Standard for Chartered Teacher has four central components: a. professional values and personal commitments; b. professional knowledge and understanding; c. professional and personal attributes; and d. professional action. There is also an assumption that the Chartered Teacher is characterised by four key professional values and personal commitments, these being: a. effectiveness in promoting learning in the classroom; b. critical self-evaluation and development; c. collaboration and influence; and d. educational and social values.
Together “these issue in nine types of professional action which, in their different ways, draw on professional knowledge and understanding of various kinds and a wide range of professional and personal attributes.” (GTCS, 2002, p2). These are illustrated in figure 1.
Figure 1: Diagram of the Professional Action Characteristics of the Chartered Teacher. (From the Standard for Chartered Teacher, GTCS, 2002)
The acknowledgement of the importance of research in education is also found in the Standard for Chartered Teacher in the following statement:
“(b) in every sphere of his or her work the Chartered Teacher will be reviewing practice, searching for improvements, turning to reading and research for fresh insights, and relating these to the classroom
and the school. He or she will bring to his or her work more sophisticated forms of critical scrutiny, demonstrate a heightened capacity for self-evaluation, and a marked disposition to be innovative and to improvise;
(c) the Chartered Teacher should regularly and systematically demonstrate and evaluate his or her effectiveness as a teacher;” (GTCS, 2002, p4)
Scottish Qualification for Headship
The Scottish Qualification for Headship (SQH) Programme was established as a qualification in 1998 and is currently designed to enable candidates to develop the competences they need in order to meet the Standard for Headship in Scotland. (SEED, 2002).
Just as there are standards for Initial Teacher Education, Standards for Full Registration and Standards for Chartered Teacher, there are also Standards that have to be met to achieve the Scottish Qualification for Headship.
There are two routes to the Scottish Qualification for Headship: the Standard Route normally takes two to three years. However, there is also an Accelerated Route for candidates who already have significant management experience, which can be completed in between eight and 11 months. There are four units in the programme. The first two units, The Standard for Headship and Managing Core Operations are taught units, while units 3 and 4 Managing School Improvement and Managing
Resources and Finance are work-based. Candidates on the Accelerated Route take Units 1 and 4 but submit a portfolio of evidence for Units 2 and 3.
The Standard for Headship consists of three key areas:
1. Professional Values
2. Management Functions
- Managing Learning and Teaching
- Managing People
- Managing Policy and Planning
- Managing Resources and Finance
3. Professional Abilities
Each of these key areas is further elaborated with a number of clearly defined and described characteristics, attributes and skills that a head-teacher should be able to demonstrate. Together all of these elements constitute the standard for headship in Scotland and cover a range of areas that the headteacher of a Scottish school is likely to encounter in their job.
A Curriculum for Excellence
Probably one of the most radical changes to Scottish Education in modern times is the development of the new Curriculum for Excellence. This has been the first attempt at developing a coherent and progressive curriculum from the age of three to eighteen. It was initiated in 2004 with the setting up of a Curriculum Review Group, largely as a result of the discussion that arose during the National Debate on Education. As the introduction to the Curriculum for Excellence document states:
“The task of the Review Group was to identify the purposes of education 3 to 18 and principles for the design of the curriculum. The Group was asked to take account of the views expressed during the National Debate, current research and international comparisons. As well as educational factors, the Group considered global factors which would have strong influences on the aims and purposes of education over the coming decades, including changing patterns of work, increased knowledge of how children learn and the potential of new technologies to enrich learning. In addition the Group was asked to take a broad view of children’s development, within the wider framework of Integrated Children’s Services, bearing in mind the wide range of adults directly involved in the education of children and young people, in early years centres, schools, colleges and out of school learning. The result of this work is A Curriculum for Excellence.’’ (p7)
Referring to the National Debate the document points out the views expressed and the points of reference for the Review Group:
“Features of our present curriculum that people valued included:
• the flexibility which already exists in the Scottish system - no one argued for a more prescriptive national system
• the combination of breadth and depth offered by the curriculum
• the quality of teaching
• the quality of supporting material that helps teachers to deliver much of the current curriculum
• the comprehensive principle
People argued for changes which would:
• reduce over-crowding in the curriculum and make learning more enjoyable
• better connect the various stages of the curriculum from 3 to 18
• achieve a better balance between ‘academic’ and ‘vocational’ subjects and include
• a wider range of experiences
• equip young people with the skills they will need in tomorrow’s workforce
• make sure that assessment and certification support learning
• allow more choice to meet the needs of individual young people”
(p6)
Thus, in principle there was support for flexibility, breadth and balance and the comprehensive principle, aspects which were features of the then existing system, but there was a desire to address overcrowding in the curriculum. In addition there was seen to be a need to develop more coherent progression from the early, pre-school years at three years old right through to the upper school years at eighteen. It was also recognised that school had to address the needs of young people and provide both a vocational and an academic orientation, which was better in preparing young people for lifelong learning and employment.
The Curriculum for Excellence is seen as the biggest education reform for a generation and aspires to provide more freedom for teachers and greater opportunity and choice for young people. The Curriculum for Excellence, at the time of writing, is still under development with a view to full implementation at the start of the school year in August 2009.
The first phase of the programme was carried out between April 2005 and May 2006 and consisted of an initial review of the then current guidance on all areas of the curriculum. This was carried out by small
groups of teaching practitioners using evaluative questions and the results of research to explore the implications of simplifying and prioritising the existing curriculum. One of the interesting features of the Curriculum Review process, which reflected the earlier involvement in the National Debate, was the engagement of researchers from Higher Education institutions. The Scottish Executive held a number of meetings with educational researchers and made clear that they were keen that the developments should be underpinned by the involvement and support of research and should be built on what was then currently reflected in educational research literature. It is debateable the extent to which this has actually been undertaken in practice, although there were instances where this was clearly visible. One such instance was the commissioning of literature reviews covering key curricular areas. These reviews were to be used by the subject review panels involved in the curriculum review and development process. The reviews are available on-line at:
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/publications and cover the areas of: Expressive Arts, Health and Well-being, Language and Literacy, Mathematics, Science Education, Social Studies -Modern Studies and Political Literacy and Design and Technology Education.
The current phase of work in implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence is mapping out the overall architecture of the curriculum and involves continuing engagement with schools and other establishments in development and trialling of materials and methods.
One thing that can be said about the Curriculum for Excellence is that the intention is that it goes beyond the simple provision of guidance on curriculum content. The aim is to influence pedagogy and practice and to initiate radical changes in the ways in which teachers work and collaborate and the ways in which schools organise themselves. If the new Curriculum is implemented in ways keeping with the original ideals, it will have implications for the teaching profession and other staff, the organisation of the curriculum in schools and centres, the qualifications system, the recognition of wider achievement and the improvement framework.
Key Features
So what are the key features of the Curriculum for Excellence to date? The Curriculum for Excellence aims to focus classroom practice upon the child and around four capacities of education
The four capacities are: Successful learners; Confident individuals; Responsible citizens and Effective contributors. (See Figure 2)
Figure 2: The Four Capacities of the Curriculum for Excellence
successful learners confident individuals
with with
•enthusiasm and motivation for learning •self respect
•determination to reach high standards of achieve- •a sense of physical, mental and emotional wellbe-
ment ing
•openness to new thinking and ideas •secure values and beliefs
and able to •ambition and able to
•use literacy, communication and numeracy skills •relate to others and manage themselves
•use technology for learning •pursue a healthy and active lifestyle
•think creatively and independently •be self aware •develop and communicate their own beliefs
To
enable all young
responsible citizens
with
•respect for others
•commitment to participate responsibly in political, economic, social and cultural life and able to
•develop knowledge and understanding of the world and Scotland's place in it
•understand different beliefs and cultures
•make informed choices and decisions
•evaluate environmental, scientific
effective contributors
with
•an enterprising attitude
•resilience
•self-reliance and able to
•communicate in different ways and in different settings
•work in partnership and in teams
•take the initiative and lead
Other key aims of the Curriculum for Excellence are to simplify and prioritise the current curriculum; encourage more learning through experiences and to create a single framework for the curriculum and assessment 3-18.
Schools of Ambition
Following on from the initiation of a Curriculum for Excellence, and currently running in parallel with the developments, is the Schools of Ambition initiative. The Schools of Ambition initiative is an initiative that was first launched by the Scottish Government in 2005, the aim of which is to support school transformation. It is currently targeted principally at secondary schools in Scotland and is intended to produce schools that will stand out in their locality and nationally, as innovators and leaders. Schools could apply to be Schools of Ambition but had to demonstrate
their commitment to making fast-track improvements by producing a transformational plan that set out their unique journey to transformation.
In order to work towards achieving the aims of their transformational plans, Schools of Ambition are supported with additional government funding of up to £100,000 per year over three years. There are currently fifty-two schools which have been allocated funding as part of the Schools of Ambition programme. There are currently 378 secondary schools (and 2168 primary schools) in Scotland (SEED, 2007). Schools were selected as Schools of Ambition on the basis of their transformational plan and the impact they envisaged making on their local community.
One of the key elements of the transformational plan is the idea of evidence-informed practice. Here again we see a collaborative link between a Government policy agenda and the educational research community in Higher Education establishments. There are two related strands to the research dimension of the Schools of Ambition. One aspect is that university-based researchers are working with teachers in each School of Ambition to design evaluation strategies to assess the effectiveness of interventions contained in each school’s transformational plan. The onus is very much on the teachers and the schools to take forward an action research approach to monitoring and evaluation of their practice and the impact of the transformational plan on the key areas identified. In addition, the university-based research teams provide formative feedback to the schools and the wider community on the process, progress and impact of initiatives undertaken through the Schools of Ambition programme. Each school devised its own transformational plan in-line with the identified needs and priorities of the school within their local community. Thus there is no one agenda or plan that covers all fifty-two schools that have been successful in obtaining funding but some examples of areas identified in schools’ transformational plans are: Leadership development; Enhancing the curriculum; Developing pupils' confidence and involvement and Strengthening community engagement.
These, then, are some of the more significant developments that have taken place in Scottish Education in recent years, but they are by no means the only. Some might say that there have been too many initiatives and teachers and schools have been burdened with too many possibilities to be able to implement them all effectively. Different schools have embraced initiatives such as the Ecoschools project and Health promoting Schools to varying degrees, however, the elements of Scottish education described in the preceding pages are probably
amongst the most significant in recent times, and the Curriculum for Excellence is the one which has preoccupied all schools, and all those involved in education in Scotland, in recent years and will continue to do so for many years to come. Great promise is being embedded in the Curriculum for Excellence and everyone in Scottish Education is hoping that it will provide the basis for significant changes, and long term stability.
Discussion
Over the past ten years Scottish Education has been undergoing one of its most radical periods of change and innovation in the post-second world war period, if not in its history. This article has been an attempt to touch upon some of the key aspects of this changing landscape in Scottish Education. Deeper probing of the initiatives and policy decisions can provide much material for critique and much more in-depth discussion, but that is not my intention here, and has been started by other authors (e.g. Connelly & McMahon, 2007; Menter et al, 2004; Men-ter et al, 2005).
There are two key strands that I feel are illustrated with reference to the initiatives that are covered in this article. However, first I would say that these are not the only initiatives that have occurred in Scottish Education over the past ten years, but they are, arguably, amongst the most significant. The first of the strands concerns the issue of standards as exemplified by the plethora of standards documents that have been produced as a result of changed approaches to teacher education, professional development and career progression. The standards are intended to provide a framework against which teachers and those concerned with teacher education and professional development can refer to in the continuum from initial teacher education through to headship. While the use of standards can very often be seen as a positive thing, with an attempt to bring clarity and rigour to the profession of teaching, it can also be critiqued, as it is done by Judyth Sachs (2003). In her articles she first of all looks at the claims for the benefits of standards which should:
"........improve the performance of teachers; the introduction of
standards will improve the standing of teachers; and standards contribute to the on-going professional learning of teachers.”(p175)
However, Sachs suggests that:
"........we need to look critically at the issue of professional stan-
dards for teachers and the claims that are made by their advocates. In particular, we need to ask whose interests are served by these standards and what are the effects of the imposition of these standards on teachers individually and collectively. Finally, we need to ask whether the standards judged as appropriate for today’s teaching conditions and teachers
will be equally appropriate in the future. Standards cannot and should not be frozen in time; they must be flexible to the changing conditions of teaching and learning as they occur inside and outside of schools. (p175).
However, as I said, it is not my intention to provide an in-depth analysis and critique of standards for the teaching profession in this article, merely to provide some background to the development of these standards, but also to flag up some of the concerns that there might be with these.
Perhaps what is also of interest is the second strand that appears to run through many of these developments. I would categorise these as a move towards an evidence-based profession, both through the involvement of researchers in the policy development phase of new initiatives and also through incorporation of research-based approaches to teaching and learning.
While research is not routinely used in school-based education, there is a growing interest and adoption of research in a variety of spheres of policy and practice. As described by Munn et al (2004), the involvement of University based academic researchers in the formulation and analysis of the evidence collected during the National Debate on Education was a significant development, which perhaps heralded some policy developments to come later. For example, researchers were closely involved in discussions in the early stages of the Curriculum for Excellence developments. These discussions focussed on the aspirations of policy to more closely involve academic researchers in the development process and how this might be effectively undertaken. It is debateable the extent to which such ideals actually transpired, however, the Scottish Executive did commission researchers to undertake reviews of relevant literature in different disciplinary areas. These reviews were to be used by development teams in informing decisions about the content and structure of the different components of the Curriculum for Excellence.
With the Schools of Ambition initiative, one of the central characteristics of the school transformation is the use of an evidence-based approach, thus action research is a fundamental aspect of the school transformation. Schools are able to share their action research with others through a closed dedicated website hosted by the University of Strathclyde. In addition, a consortium of three Universities, Strathclyde, Aberdeen and Glasgow, are involved in providing research support for the Schools of Ambition, with researchers from each of these Universities supporting and providing advice to schools in their areas. Thus we see
research, or evidence-based practice beginning to be embedded in many aspects of educational life.
While the idea of evidence-based practice and a research based profession are not uncontested, there is wide acceptance of these ideas, particularly when used in the form of action research approaches to classroom practice and as a means of empowering teachers in their role (e.g. Kincheloe, 2003). While there is some way to go in recognising and using research as part of the routine of educational policy and practice, some of the initiatives mentioned above do indicate a trend in that direction. Most, if not all, teacher education courses leading to a Masters or equivalent, such as the Chartered Teacher, require the teacher to engage with research, and to conduct small scale research studies in their classrooms. Similarly, most initial teacher education courses will have some element of critical, research-based, reflective enquiry.
In summary, there have been significant developments in Scottish Education in the past ten years, much of these reforms coincident with the establishment of a new system of devolved government in Scotland, although not necessarily as a consequence of this, education having been a consistently devolved matter. However, the scale and extent of the developments are potentially the most far-reaching in Scottish Education in the post-war era. These developments are still unfolding and it is only the years to come that we will begin to realise the true impact of these reforms on learning and teaching in Scottish schools.
References
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Munn, Pamela, Stead, Joan, McLeod, Gale, Brown, Jane, Cowie, Meg, McCluskey, Gillean, Pirrie, Anne and Scott, Judith (2004) 'Schools for the 21st century: the national debate on education in Scotland', Research Papers in Education, 19:4, 433 - 452
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Abstract for "Scottish Education: Towards an Evidence Based Profession.”
Government and Education in Scotland have been undergoing radical changes in the past ten years. In parallel with the establishment of a devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999, and the first term of office for the new Scottish Executive, there came a close scrutiny of Scottish Education and a series of initiatives designed to enhance and develop Scottish Education. This article examines some of the key developments to have taken place since the establishment of the new Scottish Parliament. Some new approaches to educational policy and practice are examined with a particular focus on the engagement with research, the development of a new curriculum from 3-18 and the introduction of a standards based professional development agenda and career structure.
Ключевые слова: образование, ключевые направления, учебная программа, профессиональные ценности.
РЕЗЮМЕ
На протяжении последних десяти лет в Шотландии в сфере государственного правления и образования происходят радикальные изменения. С момента введения в 1999 году автономного парламентского правления и в первый же срок работы нового Правительства в поле пристального внимания попало образование в Шотландии, и были предприняты инициативные меры, направленные на его совершенствование и дальнейшее развитие. Данная работа освещает отдельные ключевые моменты в развитии образования в Шотландии, особенное внимание автор уделил вопросам, связанным с изменениями в системе образования после введения в стране автономии.
