bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Feature or Footnote? Teachers’ Attitudes Towards the Teaching of the Holocaust in Primary Schools in Scotland
Authors: Cowan Paula , Maitles Henry
Published: April 2022

The question of teaching controversial and difficult issues in primary schools remains itself controversial. This article discusses the area of teaching the Holocaust in primary schools in Scotland by examining its relevance to the primary curriculum and reporting on survey and interview research amongst a sample of primary teachers in Scotland. Based on limited research, this paper suggests that the Holocaust is appropriate for primary pupils, provides insight into the reactions of parents and colleagues and shows that Holocaust history in Scottish primary schools is set firmly within the contexts of Anne Frank and World War Two. We find that there are significant barriers to its teaching, yet these mostly can be successfully overcome.
‘Education for Citizenship’ and the New Moral World of Robert Owen
Authors: McLaren David J
Published: April 2022

This article considers the current resurgence of education for citizenship in a historical context. In particular, it examines the relationship between education and citizenship in the two Owenite communities of New Lanark, Scotland and New Harmony, Indiana. There is an overview of Owen’s world view and the role of education in producing citizens for the new world of Owen’s millenarian vision. The education systems of New Lanark and New Harmony are considered and the article concludes by arguing that, despite the obvious differences between the new moral world of Owenism and the modern understanding of good citizenship, there are many shared issues and contradictions.

This article is a revised version of a paper given at the European Educational Research Association and Scottish Educational Research Association European Conference on Educational Research (ECER 2000) in Edinburgh, September, 2000.
Secondary School Identities and Career Decision Making
Authors: Draper Janet , McMichael Paquita
Published: April 2022

Within this article we shall examine the assumption of the inevitability of applying for promotion. For this purpose we consider those who are interested in applying for promotion beyond Principal Teacher (head of subject department) level. We seek to identify the factors relating to self concept which might distinguish these teachers from those who plan to go no further up the ladder. The findings we report derive from a study of the identities of Scottish secondary school Principal Teachers and Assistant Headteachers, drawing on five elements of identity. While some elements of identity are found to vary with role, this only occurs when career intention is taken into account. A considerable proportion of both groups of staff do intend to seek further promotion, and links are drawn between these intentions and gender, age and length of time in post.
New Teachers’ Perspectives on Continuing Professional Development: Accountability or Professional Growth?
Authors: Purdon Aileen
Published: April 2022

This article explores new teachers’ views on the purpose and benefits of continuing professional development (CPD) and considers the resulting implications for a national framework. It is based on a study carried out during 1999/2000 in which a sample of new teachers were asked about their perceptions of teacher professionalism and their attitudes to CPD. The study was set within the context of the developing role of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC Scotland), although it also has implications for other educational bodies and institutions in Scotland.

While the study provided some interesting insights into the views of this particular group, it also highlighted the fact that the new teachers involved had had few opportunities to engage with debate on professionalism and CPD. The article, therefore, concludes that if the post-McCrone education community is to foster a climate of trust, respect and collegiality that encourages talented new recruits to enter and stay in teaching, then access to, and participation in, professional debate must be seen as fundamental aspects of the professional role.
What Counts as Numeracy
Authors: Maclellan Effie
Published: April 2022

The purpose of the study was to infer the Scottish HMI view of what is meant by Numeracy given the concerns that primary children’s achievements in Numeracy reflect a lack of flexibility in handling number and an overemphasis on procedures at the expense of understanding (HMI, 1997). Three hundred HMI reports on primary schools in Scotland were randomly selected. Content analysis of the sections on Number, Money and Measurement revealed Numeracy to be conceived of as computational proficiency and as understanding of number. Surprisingly, there were significantly more (p<0.05) references to computational proficiency than there were to understanding of number. The results are discussed in terms of what it means to understand number. It is suggested that there needs to be much clearer delineation of what is required and meant by the idea of understanding number.
Communication Policy at the Chalk Face in Scotland and Jamaica: Complexity as a New Paradigm for Understanding Language Policy Interpretation and Implementation
Authors: Cross Beth
Published: April 2022

This article examines teachers classroom interaction with upper primary pupils and the implications for the implementation of stated language policy aims in two contexts where there are tensions between local community languages and the recognised language of the global marketplace, namely Scotland and Jamaica. Following Wertsch and Smolka (1993) the article argues that it is often in very subtle ways that teachers either encourage or restrict the amount of dialogue and exchange there can be in their classroom. Informal exchanges within the classroom can be vital for children to work through their own strategies for navigating their multi-lingual context. The article also illustrates that the metaphor of fractals derived from complexity sciences (Wolfram Research, 2003) can form a more sensitive and appropriate framework for discourse analysis.
The Education of Girls in Malawi: Access and Retention
Authors: Munthali Josephine
Published: April 2022

Governments and aid donor agencies worldwide have acknowledged the importance of female literacy as a prerequisite for development. At the Jomtien Conference (1990) the importance of universal education was delineated in the policy Education for All (EFA). Indeed, EFA is seen as a strategy for introducing children, especially girls, to conventional schooling. Whilst some progress has been made, retention of girls in schools presents a major obstacle to the fulfilment of the EFA vision, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa including Malawi.

External policies such as EFA are questionable in a country such as Malawi, which is one of the poorest countries in the world. Achieving the original Jomtien vision of EFA is a particularly daunting challenge with a poor economic environment, inhibiting cultural influences and a low quality primary education system. This article is based on research, which emerged from a concern about the quality and sustainability of educational programmes for female education in Malawi. It has been apparent that whilst there have been many positive developments in the implementation of EFA policy, there still remain various obstacles to the development and implementation of Education for All (EFA) in the Malawian context attributable to inadequancies and inefficiencies in the primary education system. Furthermore, the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is also affecting progress in the education sector.

The move towards the achievement of EFA policy is therefore, being constrained by a number of factors explored in this article.
Premature Evaluation? Measuring the Impact of New Community Schools
Authors: Allan Julie , Mannion Greg , Duffield Jill
Published: April 2022

This paper considers the development of the New Community Schools (NCS) Initiative in Scotland and reports on attempts to evaluate the early stages of NCS in partnership with one local authority. We then consider the issues and tensions which have arisen for integration managers across Scotland, the individuals charged with operationalising this initiative in most local authorities, and who are under considerable pressure to demonstrate progress against outcome measures within a very short time frame. We argue that, at a local level at least, conventional evaluation frameworks are unlikely to work because they cannot account for the changing patterns of practice, knowledge and relationships required by this radical initiative. We outline the new kinds of thinking required to enable this radical initiative to be evaluated and consider the usefulness of the framework of social capital to evaluate the new networks, norms and knowledge created through NCS.
Reconciling Self-interest and Ethics: The Role of Primary School Pupil Councils
Authors: Deuchar Ross
Published: April 2022

The renewed focus on values in education and the need for the democratization of school systems has been accompanied by a widening of the perception of enterprise in education, with the implication that existing ‘enterprising’ approaches may lend themselves to the expression of citizenship education. But can the possible tensions between these two agendas be reconciled and, if so, how can teachers respond to this in practical terms? This article reports on new research emerging from a small sample of Scottish primary school pupil councils. The way in which teachers and pupils in these schools perceive the aims and purposes of these councils is explored, and the potential for linking aspects of individual enterprise with communitarianism is analysed. The research raises new questions about the potential for apparently opposing educational dichotomies to be harmonised, and a ‘Third Way’ between capital and welfare to be reflected in educational practice.
Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties: A Different Kind of Special Educational Need?
Authors: Macleod Gale , Munn Pamela
Published: April 2022

This paper is written at a time of public and policy concern with the behaviour of pupils in our schools. At this time, despite the dominance of the inclusion agenda, pupils with Social, Emotional or Behavioural difficulties (SEBD), along with pupils with moderate learning difficulties continue to be educated outside the mainstream (Farrell, 2001). This paper is an attempt to understand the differing experiences of pupils with SEBD from those of the majority of other groups of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN). In particular it reflects upon the potential contribution of research to practice in this area. The starting point for this exploration will be a review of the history of research in special education and a consideration of the ways in which SEBD can be seen to differ from other categories of special needs in relation to the kinds of explanations which are considered convincing.
The Use of New National Qualifications in S3 and S4 in 2002–03
Authors: Howieson Cathy , Raffe David , Tinklin Teresa
Published: April 2022

This paper describes the use of New National Qualifications (NNQs) in S3 and S4 in 2002–03, using data from a survey of all Scottish secondary schools and case studies of four schools. Most local authority schools, and a half of independent and special schools, had made some use of NNQs in S3 and S4, mainly to replace Standard Grade but in some cases to certificate other subjects such as religious and moral education. The use of NNQs was only weakly associated with school characteristics such as size or average S4 attainment. In a majority of schools no more than one Standard Grade subject in ten had been replaced, but a few mainstream local authority schools, and several independent and special schools, had replaced much more than this. Replacement was most common in home economics, science, mathematics and French, and at Foundation and to a lesser extent General levels. NNQs were not being used to vocationalise the S3 and S4 curriculum. School staff said they used them because they offered provision at a more appropriate level, better progression opportunities and pacing of study, and better content. However some staff expressed concerns about the implications of the mixed economy that appeared to be emerging, and the absence of national or local strategy at the time of the study inhibited progress. Decisions about replacing Standard Grade tended to be taken in a decentralised and ad hoc way. Schools’ future plans were uncertain but there was little evidence of an imminent wholesale migration to NNQs in S3 and S4. We discuss the implications for current policy debates.
A Comparison between Current Initiatives to Promote Science and Technology Education in Sweden and the Aspirations for Scotland
Authors: Dakers John
Published: April 2022

This paper evolves from work carried out during a consultancy for the European Commission. This consultancy involved liaison with the European Commission at regular meetings in Brussels with representatives from the extended European Union comprising 30 Countries (including the new accession countries). These formed a ‘working group’ which was set up to explore examples of initiatives aimed at increasing recruitment into the fields of Mathematics, Science and Technology and to draw up reports based upon the discussions.

As part of the remit a study visit to Sweden was organised to enable evaluation of some of the established and ostensibly, successful initiatives which had been set up to promote greater interest in science and technology.

An analysis of recruitment to the field of Science and Technology education in Europe will be shown to be gaining political impetus. The implications of this for both Sweden and Scotland will be considered. Following a brief overview of the Swedish school system, an examination of the current situation in both countries will be explored. Three Swedish initiatives which closely relate to current aspirations for Science and Technology education in Scotland, will be discussed and analysed.
Inclusive Educational Approaches for Gypsy/Traveller Pupils and Their Families: An ‘Urgent Need for Progress’?
Authors: Padfield Pauline
Published: April 2022

Drawing upon data from an investigation of the enrolment, attendance and attainment of Gypsy/Traveller school-age learners at Scottish local authority schools, the article discusses issues of identity, fear and contradiction that appear to constrain official attempts to include Gypsy/Traveller pupils within state education. The educational aspirations of Gypsy/Traveller families’ continue to be largely overshadowed by their fears, primarily for their children’s safety in some school settings and by the threat that schooling poses for Traveller cultures and ways of life. Despite official attempts, since the mid 1990s, to provide more flexible educational approaches to include Gypsy/Traveller pupils within mainstream schools the research found that they continue to experience disproportionate educational and social exclusion. Frequently, this is through self-exclusion. The article discusses the lessons that can be learnt from this case study, a study which indicates limited policy and professional success.
Developing Skills in E-Learning for Further Education Lecturers
Authors: Cornelius Sarah , Gordon Carole
Published: April 2022

Virtual Learning Environments have been adopted in the majority of Scottish Further Education (FE) colleges, however few staff have experience of them and there is still something of a culture change necessary to integrate e-learning into everyday practice (Dailly, 2003). There is a pressing need for training in e-learning as part of professional development programmes and core lecturer training, particularly as it is recognised that teaching staff need to develop confidence with the technology to use it successfully (Harris, et al., 2004).

In April 2005 over 50 lecturers from Scottish FE colleges took part in e-learning workshops as part of the University of Aberdeen’s Teaching Qualification (Further Education). These workshops delivered course content and provided first hand experience of e-learning tools. This paper presents findings from the evaluation of these workshops. It highlights the need for further training for FE lecturers and makes suggestions for the further development of e-learning skills for staff in FE.
Further Education and the Literacy Debate – A Scottish Perspective
Authors: June Smith
Published: April 2022

The attainment of literacy has been positioned as a key to achieving the Scottish Executive’s social inclusion and widening participation agendas. This paper explores the argument that the social practices discourse around literacy has been written into policy documents but has yet to be drawn upon within practice in the Scottish Further Education context. To achieve this, it will provide a brief overview of Scottish Further Education and the most recent policies which were intended to impact on its literacy provision. It will argue that in both national policy documents and national reports commissioned by the Adult Literacies in Scotland (now Learning Connections) Literacy Team, two discourses of literacy are drawn upon. These are the discourse of ‘deficit’ and the discourse of ‘social practices’. Finally, drawing on data emerging from ‘Literacies for Learning in Further Education’ (www.lancs. ac.uk/lflfe), a phase 3 Teaching Learning Research Project (TLRP), it will argue that since the introduction of a National Literacy Strategy in 2000, the social practices discourse has made little impact on practice within the FE sector.
Partnership in English Initial Teacher Education: Changing Times, Changing Definitions – Evidence from the Teacher Training Agency National Partnership Project
Authors: Furlong John , Campbell Anne , Howson John , Lewis Sarah , McNamara Olwen
Published: April 2022

This paper draws on findings from a national evaluation of the Teacher Training Agency’s National Partnership Programme (NPP) (2001–2005) to analyse the current practice of partnership in initial teacher education in England. The paper begins by drawing on the MOTE studies (Furlong, et al., 2000) undertaken in the 1990s to describe the practice of partnership during that decade. It goes on to describe the changing policy context of teacher education in England since new Labour came to power in 1997, including the Government’s concern substantially to increase the numbers of new teachers entering the profession; it was this commitment, the authors argue, that was in part behind the development of the NPP which was intended to increase both the quality and capacity of schools to take part in initial teacher education. The authors go on to describe the NPP as it was put into practice in nine Government regions across England and their evaluation of it, which included 127 interviews with a range of stakeholders within each of the government regions. They suggest that, although the programme did probably contribute to increasing the numbers of partnership places in schools during its lifetime, the NPP did not alter the underlying model of partnership; indeed, they suggest that in many cases the practice of partnership in England had changed little since the mid 1990s. However, they conclude that the NPP did have an important impact on provision in that it further undermined the pedagogical and epistemological dimensions of partnership that many teacher educators in the 1990s saw as central to collaborative work between schools and higher education institutions (HEIs). The NPP, they suggest, further encouraged the development of a ‘technical rationalist’ approach to teacher education, an approach that fits well with new Labour’s broader vision for the management of the teaching profession in England.
From Informal Learning to Identity Formation: A Conceptual Journey in Early Teacher Development
Authors: McNally Jim
Published: April 2022

This paper traces the development of an attempt to understand how teachers learn to teach from a vague grounded concept of informal learning through to identity formation. Drawing on ongoing research into beginning teachers in a Scottish context, it is argued that the early experience of teaching is characterised by emotionality and relationality rather than as a more cognitive or competence-related kind of professional learning. The conclusion is that progressive focusing on researching informal learning has been important in leading to a more robust theory of early professional learning in teaching, supported by a wider international literature, as a deeper process of personal change and an emergent self-as-teacher identity.
Continuity or Change? The Initial Impact of the Post-McCrone Agreement
Authors: Draper Janet , Sharp Stephen
Published: April 2022

Changes in teachers’ work, designed to modernise the teaching profession, and derived from the Agreement reached following the ‘McCrone Report, A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century’ in 2000, began to be introduced in Scotland in 2001. The spirit of the original report emphasised change of several types and recommended moves to enhance professional autonomy.

This paper offers an initial analysis of the impact of these changes on teachers’ work, continuing professional development (CPD), careers and autonomy. The findings reported are drawn from 128 teachers in their fifteenth year of teaching, who have taken part since 1988 in a longitudinal study which has explored teachers’ work, careers and development. Data were collected by questionnaire from the full sample and by interview from a sub-set.

The analysis is shaped by Kelly’s GLAD model for reviewing change and concludes that the initial impact of the changes on teachers and their views of the changes are not uniform.
Professional Knowledge Formation in the Australian Educational Market Place: Changing the Perspective
Authors: Groundwater-Smith Susan
Published: April 2022

This article, in its consideration of knowledge formation in the market place, will focus primarily on the notion of the Agora, but will also consider the implications for the marketing of schooling itself. It will explore the field of practice as the site for the development of educational and educative knowledge that is crafted by those who well understand the purpose to which it is to be put. It positions the discussion in the context of current Australian practice, in particular in New South Wales, by attending to two locations where such knowledge has been generated: The Coalition of Knowledge Building Schools and the Priority Action Schools Program. In its conclusion it cautions against the showy market place of ideas where the gaudy and unwanted are the commodities for sale.
A Curriculum for Excellence: A Question of Values
Authors: Gillies Donald
Published: April 2022

A Curriculum for Excellence outlines a curriculum for young people in Scotland from age 3 to 18. In the report, endorsed wholly by Scottish ministers, much is made of the underpinning values of the proposed curriculum. However, the absence of any consultation period has meant that such values and the report itself have not been subject to systematic debate by parliament, public, or the educational community in Scotland. This paper examines the nature of curriculum values, and the specific values outlined in A Curriculum for Excellence. It suggests that the absence of an overarching rationale in the Report has left the stated curriculum values, although worthy, lacking coherence and force. It further questions the concept of ‘national values’, raised by the Report as central to curriculum planning, as having meaning within a multicultural and multiethnic society, and queries the view that such values should be the subject of curricular prescription.
Finally Included? The Evolution of Curricular Access for Students with Learning Difficulties
Authors: Howieson Cathy , Closs Alison
Published: April 2022

The article sets its discussion within the current Scottish context of a drive towards a more equitable society in which previously marginalised individuals and groups should be included. The recent Higher Still (HS) curricular reform is seen as part of this drive. The authors first address the issue of the descriptive ‘labels’ of students. They then turn to the central theme of the article: a critical analysis of how Scottish curricular reforms in the past have failed to offer students with learning difficulties full access to a national curriculum and assessment framework. Although some limited advances were made towards including some students with learning difficulties in other reforms, the authors argue that inclusion in a national curriculum and qualification system for students with very substantial generalised learning difficulties has only been attempted through HS.

The final section of the article outlines how institutions have reacted to the opportunities offered by HS in respect of students with learning difficulties, drawing on the findings of a recent study of the implementation of the new National Qualifications (NQs) system of HS. Staff in schools and colleges were positive about the inclusion of students with learning difficulties in the system. However, the article suggests that it is now time to examine a range of as yet unexplored issues: the impact of Higher Still on the teaching and learning experiences of students with learning difficulties; their progression through and beyond education; and whether the curricular inclusion promoted by HS has influenced other forms of inclusion.
Trends in International Student Mobility: A Study of the Relationship between the UK and China and the Chinese Student Experience in the UK
Authors: Fernandes Jenny
Published: April 2022

This article will examine the current trends within international student mobility, focusing on the UK and China. It will delineate the forecasts for future growth and the development of the international trade in education. The years 2004 and 2005 saw the first decline in the number of Chinese students opting to study in the UK since the launch of the Prime Minister’s Initiative. This is an issue of concern as it contradicts forecast growth rates and has major implications for the financial health of a number of universities in the UK. Through the discussions on the motivations of host and sender countries, the student experience will be considered as a possible reason for the decline in interest from Chinese students. A sample UK University will be a case study to examine the relationship between the student experience, the resultant word of mouth and the effect this may have on recruitment. The aim is to enable greater understanding of the Chinese student experience and the effect it may have on international student recruitment.
The Grading of Placement in Initial Teacher Education in Scotland
Authors: Sharp Stephen
Published: April 2022

Assessment of placement in Initial Teacher Education programmes is arguably more problematic than more traditional academic assessment. Students on placement are faced with different challenges in a way that students writing the same essay are not. Some writers have argued that the grading of placement is impossible. This paper analyses essay-based percentage marks and placement-based A to E grades obtained by students following two ITE programmes. The data show separate dimensions of achievement on placement and in essays. However the data also show that the assessment scale is used very differently for essays and for placement with a much larger percentage of high grades given for the latter. The paper concludes that the grades which have in the past been given for placement are not wholly unreliable or invalid but that placement is sufficiently distinct from academic work to be reported separately, using a scale of distinction – satisfactory – unsatisfactory.
Capacity Building in Educational Research: Sketching an International Picture
Authors: Schuller Tom
Published: April 2022

The paper approaches the analysis of capacity-building from a broad international perspective. Drawing mainly on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data, it looks at overall investment in R&D (which covers development as well as research), including the movement of research capacity across borders; describes some innovations in capacity-building; and concludes by suggesting pathways for building a more accurate picture.
The Sera Lecture 2006 How can Communities Connect? Negotiating Difference in an age of Globalization
Authors: Enslin Penny
Published: April 2022

The theme of connecting communities in education prompts reflection on the very ideas of community and connection. A paradox of globalization is that as different communities have become more connected - globally and within nation states - many assert their specificity more strongly. So tendencies towards universalism are viewed more skeptically. This lecture has two aims. First, it calls for a reconsideration of the meaning of community and our reasons for valuing it. Secondly, it proposes a qualified universalism that recognizes the extent to which communities do indeed connect, with some implications for education.
A History of Core Skills Policy Development in Scotland
Authors: Canning Roy
Published: April 2022

The primary aim of the paper is to critically review the development of policy and practice in the area of Core Skills within both the compulsory and post- compulsory years of education. The research design is based upon an analysis of policy documents, interviews with key informants and the use of secondary data sources. An historical analysis for the period 1979-2006 is also provided of policy development in the field of Core Skills including the demand for generic foundation skills from employers. The main conclusion of the research is that policy-makers in Scotland are currently at a cross-roads with the very notion of generic Core Skills and that this, in turn, could lead to the abandonment of the policy of ‘embedding’ skills within the school and college curriculum.
Higher Education in Transition: Gender and Change in the Sultanate of Oman
Authors: Donn Gari , Issan Salha
Published: April 2022

Education is crucial for the fast development of the Sultanate of Oman as, having signed, in 2002, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), Oman has become a country committed to interacting in the competitive global economy. To this end, Oman has taken serious steps to develop higher education (HE) to cope with economic and market changes. However, it may be that in the drive towards generating models and practices of economic efficiency, the gender dynamic has been marginalized. In a society where over 51% of the working-aged population is female it is important for policy makers to focus upon the education of females as a key factor in the development of the workforce. Yet institutional development of the higher education sector, may not have taken this fully into account.

This paper examines recent educational developments and delineates strategies adopted to extend higher education, notably in the context of the teacher-training sector. It will be argued that the diversification of this sector has resulted in course provision which is not only more likely to appeal to males but also replicates the provision already offered by the private college and university sector. This presents a predicament for the government as, whilst there is a need to expand provision, in part to meet growing numbers of secondary school graduates, the curricula imported for the new colleges may not address the gender dynamic in both public and private HE. It will conclude by supporting the need for greater gender sensitivity when developing policies for HE in Oman.
As Others see us: A Commentary on the OECD Review of the Quality and Equity of Schooling in Scotland
Authors: Raffe David
Published: April 2022

The OECD’s Review of the Quality and Equity of Schooling in Scotland provides a welcome opportunity to see the familiar in an unfamiliar light. It confirms that Scotland is a well-schooled nation, but it also identifies challenges, particularly with respect to social inequalities in achievement, the academic tradition of secondary education, the organisation of post-compulsory learning and the governance of Scottish education. The review is timely, and current developments (including Curriculum for Excellence, the reunification of education under a single Cabinet Secretary and the concordat with local authorities) provide opportunities to address these challenges. The review is intended to stimulate a debate within Scottish education; this commentary offers a research-based contribution to that debate.
‘If you Happen to be the Right age, have the Right Colour, no Disability ... You’re sorted’: Social Audit and Equality Policies for Staff in Scottish Further Education Colleges.
Authors: Weedon Elisabet , Riddell Sheila , Ahlgren Linda , Litjens Judith
Published: April 2022

This paper focuses on the implications of adopting social audit approaches in order to implement equality policies in Scottish FE colleges, exploring the tension between surface compliance and deep institutional engagement. It provides a brief overview of the Scottish further education context, before turning to a consideration of social audit and equalities within the sector. The data reported comes from a research study funded by the Scottish Further Education Unit which examined college policies and practices in relation to equalities. The study involved analysis of statistical data, a questionnaire survey of all Scottish colleges and in-depth case studies in five colleges. The paper examines the pros and cons of social audit as a means of achieving institutional changes in the field of equality.
Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Responsible Citizens and Effective Contributors to Society: Exploring the Nature of Learning and its Implications in Curriculum for Excellence
Authors: Maclellan Effie , Soden Rebecca
Published: April 2022

This article is a psychologically informed conceptual analysis of what learning means. It argues that practice should draw on descriptions of learning in pedagogical research that have generated improvements similar to those that are being proposed in Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland’s new curriculum for the 21st century. The article characterises learning in terms of four broad aptitudes (knowledge, strategy, metacognition and beliefs) which are fundamentally dependent on the individual learner’s regulation of mental processes. It argues that without examination of how learners construct knowledge bases through thinking and reasoning, and the teachers’ role in facilitating such processes, it is unlikely that the intentions of Curriculum for Excellence can be fully realised.
What Kind of Citizen? What Kind of Democracy? Citizenship Education and the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence
Authors: Biesta Gert
Published: April 2022

The Scottish Curriculum for Excellence lists ‘responsible citizenship’ as one of the four capacities which it envisages that all children and young people should develop. By understanding citizenship as a capacity and by seeing it as a concern that should permeate the whole curriculum, the Scottish approach to education for citizenship is distinctly different from approaches developed in many other countries around the world. This paper provides a critical analysis of key-documents in the development of the Scottish approach over the past decade. It argues that the Scottish approach is characterised by a focus on individuals and their capacities, by a broad conception of the domain of citizenship, and by an emphasis on activity and community. The analysis not only reveals something about the particular choices implied in the Scottish approach but also hints at some of the more problematic sides of education for citizenship in Scotland, most notably the risk that citizenship focuses too much on the social and too little on the political dimensions of what it means to be a citizen in a pluralist democracy.
The Dark Side of Glow: Balancing the Discourse
Authors: Conlon Tom
Published: April 2022

Glow is a £40m public-private partnership project that aims to connect 800,000 Scottish pupils, parents and teachers, equipping them with online tools and resources for email, electronic conferencing and file sharing, that will support the new Curriculum for Excellence. The discourse that has developed around Glow focuses almost exclusively on the technology’s intended outcomes, all of which are said to be benefits. However, as with all technology, there will also be some unintended outcomes, some of which may be unwelcome. This paper explores what might be termed ‘the dark side of Glow’: the opportunity costs of the project and its risks and threats, including those of project failure, managerialism, inequity, cultural trivialisation and surface change. It is argued that an acknowledgement of the dark side is essential in order that risks and threats can be addressed and mitigated. At present, the lack of balance in the discourse not only reflects badly on the quality of critical thinking in Scottish education but also increases the likelihood of unwelcome outcomes.
Additional support needs and approaches to dispute resolution: the perspectives of Scottish parents
Authors: Weedon Elisabet , Riddell Sheila
Published: April 2022

This paper draws on data from an ESRC funded project (RES-062-23-0803) which explores the use of dispute resolution mechanisms in the field of special educational needs in England and additional support needs in Scotland. Here, we present findings from a survey of Scottish parents’ perspectives on the management of disagreements about additional support needs (ASN) in the wake of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (the ASL Act). One of the aims of the ASL Act was to increase parental rights in relation to the education of children with additional support needs. Amongst other measures, the new legislation puts in place a range of mechanisms, specifically formal mediation, adjudication and the Additional Support Needs Tribunal, to facilitate the resolution of disputes between the parent and the school or local authority. Evidence from the survey suggests that, although a significant minority of parents are highly dissatisfied with local authority provision, only a minority have used the new formal dispute resolution procedures. Parents were generally dissatisfied with negotiation at school level as a way of resolving disputes, but also had reservations about the new ways of resolving disagreements, particularly mediation. The implications of these findings are discussed, including the possibility that, over time, parents may be able to use the dispute resolution procedures to improve provision generally, rather than as a means of maximising their individual share of educational resources.
Re-Visiting the Donaldson Review of Teacher Education: Is Creative Innovation Secured?
Authors: Smith Ian
Published: April 2022

This paper evaluates Teaching Scotland’s Future, the Report of the Donaldson Review of Teacher Education in Scotland, from the perspective of an earlier paper by the author, written in anticipation of the Report’s publication. The current paper concludes there is greater depth and breadth to the Report than previous national reviews, particularly in advocating the principles of collaborative partnership. However, the Report does not yet provide the fullest basis for on-going innovation in Scottish teacher education. Attitudinal and resource issues in achieving collaborative partnership could be addressed more directly. Creative possibilities for innovation in ITE will be narrowed by any prescriptive move to a single model of primary undergraduate provision, with a fuller consideration of research and theoretical perspectives on the nature of ITE and education studies desirable. Not all opportunities are taken to achieve the fullest connection between innovation in ITE and the continuum into CPD. Significant work remains to be done by stakeholders within the governance of Scottish teacher education, if long-term creative innovation is to be secured.
Educating Scotland’s future together? Inter/professional preparation for schools and children’s services
Authors: Forbes Joan , McCartney Elspeth
Published: April 2022

This paper analyses children’s sector policy and the 2011 Teaching Scotland’s Future: Report of a review of teacher education in Scotland report with the aim of distinguishing their coherence and extent of disconnect. Overarching children’s services policies which stress inter/professional collaboration are reviewed and the findings of the report summarised. Modes of knowledge and capitals theory are defined and applied as a conceptual frame to examine the ways in which co-working is constituted in the report, with the conclusion that co-working is conceptualised in a limited way, not connecting with wider policies. Issues in danger of being marginalised are then considered, and a number of suggestions made concerning how to (re)connect policy rhetoric relating to co-work with action to prepare practitioners across the sector with the knowledge and skills needed to work together. The method is document review.
Moral Panic, Miracle Cures and Educational Policy: what can we really learn from international comparison?
Authors: Alexander Robin
Published: April 2022

In many countries, including the UK, the potential of international student achievement surveys such as TIMSS and PISA is being subverted by political and media fixation on the resulting league tables. These prompt not just well-founded efforts to learn from others’ success but also ill-founded assertions about educational cause and effect, inappropriate transplanting of the policies to which success is attributed, and even the reconfiguring of entire national curricula to respond less to national culture, values and needs than to the dubious claims of ‘international benchmarking’ and ‘world class’ educational standards – the latter equated with test scores in a limited spectrum of human learning. Informing such responses are the attractively simple nostrums of high profile and highly selective literature reviews that massage policymakers’ urge for the quick fix by playing down the complex interplay of culture and schooling and ignoring the kinds of evidence that can provide a truer and more nuanced picture of education systems in action. Using a typology developed by the US National Research Council, the paper critiques three recent and influential examples of this paradigm before illustrating an alternative approach. This draws on the author’s comparative studies of culture and pedagogy to show how explicating the principles that underpin observed classroom practice, rather than copying national policies, can lead to genuine transformation of the quality and outcomes of student learning. The paper ends by contending that PISA panic and the supremacist mindset it feeds have dangerously distorted the debate about what a ‘world class’ education should entail. With PISA 2012 now in progress, policymakers are urged to redress the balance.
Why the journey to mathematical excellence may be long in Scotland’s primary schools
Authors: Henderson Sheila
Published: April 2022

In the past 30 years mathematics curriculum reform in many countries has attempted to replace procedural approaches to learning the subject with inquiry based learning that hopes to develop mathematical thinking. Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence can be seen as part of this trend. The success of such moves is highly dependent on the learning experiences devised by teachers which in turn are informed by their own conceptual understanding of the content and processes of the subject. As mathematics curriculum reform has shifted from “an emphasis on knowing things to being able to do things” (Yates & Collins 2010: 89) subject content detail has tended to be removed from curriculum documentation to be replaced by more global outcomes when it is the very detail teachers may need to prompt and augment their own subject knowledge.

This study analysed data from national and international surveys of achievement to gauge how well prepared Scottish children are in mathematics. It also examined subject content and advised pedagogies in previous and current mathematics curriculum documents to ascertain how these have changed over time. On this basis, recommendations are made relating to national qualifications, initial teacher education and continuing professional development. The hope is that these can begin to inform future policy development on how best to prepare teachers to deliver mathematics within Curriculum for Excellence in such a way that will meet the high aspirations Scotland has for its young people.
The Role, Responsibilities and Remuneration of Graduate Teaching Assistants in Scotland
Authors: Dickie Valerie , Dunker Kai , Saxena Vibhor
Published: April 2022

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are students who assist in the delivery of higher education programmes. Surprisingly, such employment is not recorded by HESA. In the absence of national data, this paper reports the findings from a survey of postgraduate students studying in Scotland.

The analysis of the data provides evidence to suggest that GTAs perform an assortment of academic duties and receive a wide range of hourly rates of pay. Training provision varies and is often generic. Feedback and support mechanisms are evident but not universally provided. Increased attention is likely to focus on the GTA labour market as the quality and value for money debate gathers pace and becomes a priority for new high fee paying students that opt to study in Scotland. This paper exposes some interesting characteristics of this opaque and imperfect market.
The Scottish Council for Research in Education 1928-2003: a Short History
Authors: Powell John L
Published: April 2022

This article provides a short and accessible account of the whole life-span of The Scottish Council for Research in Education (SRCE), an institution that played a key role in developing educational research in Scotland and setting standards for it. It began through the efforts of many voluntary workers and developed into an organisation operated by professional researchers but governed by a Council representing all aspects of education in the country. Accounts are given of its growth and development, of the policies of each of its six successive directors, of some of its more notable projects, and of some of the factors that contributed to its final decline. The article has drawn on not only published matter but the first-hand knowledge of two “insiders”, J G (Ian) Morris at the Scottish Education Department (SED)’s Research and Intelligence Unit and the present writer at SCRE.
Political Control of Educational Research
Authors: Humes Walter
Published: April 2022

This paper examines the tensions that sometimes arise between educational researchers and policy makers. The recent history of the relationship is described and it is suggested that part of the reason for current disenchantment (on both sides) is that the two groups approach research with different expectations and priorities. Two particular examples, one from the 1970s and one from 2011, are considered in some detail, to illustrate how issues of power and control can lead to the adoption of ‘political’ stances that lose sight of the potential value of research. It is suggested that while issues of funding are important, researchers need to be self-critical about the quality of their research output and to identify potential growth areas for future activity. At the same time, policy makers should be less concerned about the short-term ‘public relations’ aspects of research and more willing to think of the longer-term benefits of good research evidence, even if it sometimes causes political sensitivities.