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This paper aims to examine the case for a focus on place-based drivers of inequalities in educational attainment among secondary school students in Scotland. Using desk-based sources, it provides an account of the post-2015 policy episode around improving educational attainment among children from disadvantaged areas. This started with the Scottish Government claiming that its 'defining mission' was to 'close the gap' but the place-based focus of policy was soon dissipated and the legislation that intended to be the flagship of reform was shelved. The paper shows that international evidence prompts a need for the impact of disadvantage based on place to be factored into approaches to schooling and provides a regretful account of its insecure traction in Scottish policy. It argues that a serious weakness of the case for place in Scotland is the underlying evidence base and concludes by suggesting how existing data sources could be used more effectively and by outlining some alternative policy approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers in many countries complain that their pedagogic work is impeded by unreasonable bureaucratic demands by government agencies. This paper suggests that historical, institutional and cultural perspectives are needed to understand the processes at work. It draws on Weber's classic study of bureaucracy, but also makes reference to claims that traditional bureaucracies have been modified in ways that ameliorate their authoritarian character. The central part of the paper examines the attempts of one country (Scotland) to address complaints about excessive bureaucracy: it is argued that they show a limited understanding of the nature of institutional power. In the discussion that follows, a number of critical interpretations are considered: that bureaucracies are, by their very nature, anti-educational; that they undermine ethical consciousness and cause psychological damage; and that enhanced professionalism can serve as a counterweight to bureaucratic tendencies. The paper ends by suggesting that the powerful pragmatic argument that mass, state-run educational systems cannot function without complex administrative structures, should not be used to disguise the fact that they have unintended consequences, some of which tend to subvert their stated aims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the establishment and operation of a number of new bodies - variously called councils, boards, collaboratives, groups, forums and panels - concerned with the development of Scottish education. What were the intentions behind their creation during the period 2016-20? Do they amount to a significant reshaping of the policy community, making it more open and democratic, and representing a genuine re-distribution of power, or are they more concerned with public presentation and political positioning? The paper is based mainly, but not exclusively, on publicly available minutes and related papers produced by the various bodies. These allow for an analysis of their composition and remits, as well as an examination of the substantive issues they have considered. The discussion also takes account of earlier descriptions of the character of the policy community, as well as hopes that the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 would lead to greater transparency and accountability in political decision-making. It is argued that, while the new bodies provide opportunities for some previously marginalised voices to be heard, they demonstrate the continuing potency of familiar forms of bureaucratic management and professional protectionism. The paper also indicates a number of areas where further research would deepen understanding of the politics of Scottish education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Historically, the school effectiveness and improvement movement has focussed its attention on "within school" factors associated with effectiveness and improvement and on the individual school as the primary unit of analysis for improvement and scrutiny purposes. More recently, research has focussed on school-to-school collaboration and engagement with a broader range of services and providers has highlighted the need for more adaptive and nuanced forms of collaboration and partnership. The purpose of this paper is to explore this complex landscape from the perspective of educational reform of the middle tier in Scotland. Design/methodology/approach: This paper draws on perspectives associated with socio-cultural theory, its application to public service settings and insights gained from research and evaluation outcomes over a five-year period. Findings: This paper focusses on the establishment of Regional Improvement Collaboratives in Scotland; an example of an attempt to generate system-wide change and a shift from the hierarchical cultures characterised by bureaucratic organisations to more egalitarian cultures characterised by mutualistic, laterally networked organisations. It highlights the importance of structure and cultural change, identity and agency, leadership capacity, outward perspectives, primacy of learning and teaching and variations and complexities in creating a more networked and collaborative education system. It offers cautions concerning potential unintended consequences in the quest to develop a "self-improving" or "learning system". Practical implications: This paper highlights the importance of maintaining and building social cohesion between different stakeholders within educational systems in order to support the implementation of educational reform. Originality/value: This is the first documentation and reflective analysis for an ambitious reform agenda for the middle tier in Scotland. Its value lies in the lessons and considerations it offers to other systems embarking on reforms that endeavour to build more cohesive and agile education systems, without opening them up to neo-liberal approaches to education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews and discusses the development of Sustainable Development Education (SDE) policy within the context of the Scottish formal school system. The focus is on the progress, and lack thereof, of implementation of SDE in schools in the light of some of the key curriculum documents and associated political decisions and advisory reports. The period of the review dates from 1993, which saw the publication of a report that was regarded as the seminal document for the development of environmental education in Scotland, to 2007 and the Scottish Executive's proposals for SDE in the light of curriculum reform for schools for the 21st century. The paper employs, loosely, the metaphor of the Sleeping Beauty to tell the story of SDE in Scotland in three parts: the story's three phases of emergence, obscurity and re-emergence might serve as a useful metaphor, here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the introduction of a ‘clinical model’ of teacher education at the University of Glasgow in 2011. The account is set against the backdrop of a review of major contemporary developments in teacher education. The common focus in this work is on such themes as the key function of the practicum, on ‘teaching schools’ and on the roles and responsibilities of the various players in teacher professional learning. The context for reform of teacher education in Scotland is described, showing how the opportunity for a radical intervention arose. The distinctive features of the Glasgow model are set out and a summary of the findings of the internal evaluation carried out at the University is offered. Issues identified include challenges of communication, the nature of professional learning and the cultural embeddedness of existing practices. In the light of this initiative, the paper then reviews insights gained concerning the relationship between policy, practice and research in teacher education, before concluding with comments on the future of research in teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing on the experience of carrying out a literature review commissioned to support the Review of Teacher Education in Scotland, this paper discusses the role of literature reviews within the movement for ‘evidence-based policy’ making. The first part of the paper discusses the purposes of such reviews and some of the misconceptions that may be associated with them. Several critical questions that shape the work of reviewing are identified. By examining the particular case in which the authors were involved, it is demonstrated how the establishment of terms of reference and definitions of scope are critical factors in determining the outcome of such a project. But so too are the relationships established between those undertaking the project and the commissioners of the work. The conclusion is that reviewing literature is much more of a deliberative process than is commonly understood. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ (CfE) guidelines and associated learning experiences and outcomes have been developed following a national debate on the purposes of education in Scotland. The recent development shifts physical education's (PE) role in Scottish education, changing from contributing to the ‘Expressive Arts’ area of the curriculum, to one central to the newly created curriculum area of ‘Health and wellbeing’ in the CfE. This paper provides an analysis of the broader policy context at national and global levels examining the policy developments for PE in Scotland situating them within a globalised discourse emphasising concerns about ill-health and obesity within society. Drawing on the work of Bowe et al., the paper examines the context of production and the context of influence that has contributed to the recent development of ‘Health and wellbeing’ within the CfE. It is argued that the role for PE and the focus on schools promoting daily physical activity within the CfE masks the complexity of addressing the issues of health and well-being. In conclusion it is highlighted that in the interpretation and implementation of policy there will be further issues for PE and as yet unknown consequences for the context of practice and pupils' experiences of PE in Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the report of the Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy (Department of Education, Science & Training (DEST) ) and explores the claims it makes about reading pedagogy and the centrality of particular 'methods' or 'approaches' to teaching backed by 'scientific' evidence. Discourse analysis of the report shows that its logics allow only certain kinds of evidence to count in policy, and that it reduces difficult social and political issues to questions of technique. This allows the report to recommend an approach whereby qualitative insights and practitioners' experience can be bypassed through valorising methods developed and verified by scientific researchers. The report's claims are considered genealogically in the light of historical cases from the early nineteenth century, where educational reformers struggled with the issue of how to educate the children of the poor. In one, the monitorial system promoted by Lancaster in England, there was a focus on reading which made teachers or monitors artefacts of a standardised method. By way of contrast, in Scotland, a classroom approach developed by Stow () made the teacher central to the process, as someone who sensitively interpreted and extended students' experiences with texts. Stow's approach would form the model for the modern classroom in compulsory state schooling, while the monitorial system would eventually be abandoned as ineffective. The historical cases demonstrate the dangers of approaches to policy that fail to account for the complex interplay between teacher, student and text in the reading lesson. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the issue of the sustainability of educational change in the light of findings from research undertaken in tandem with a development project initiated by a Scottish Education Authority, The Highland Council. The paper reviews some of the key themes that have emerged from recent literature on educational change, before drawing on the project data to address two key issues: the factors that have helped to promote and sustain changes within the schools; and the barriers to innovation experienced in these schools. We conclude the article by identifying a range of considerations that should be taken into account by those seeking to innovate and we suggest that, while the Highland model for change has enjoyed a degree of success in inculcating change, more needs to be done to address systemic issues, such as the pervasive influence of a narrow attainment agenda in shaping classroom practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into initial teacher education has come to prominence in recent years, with governments and international organisations advocating reforms in teacher education to serve the needs of a 'knowledge economy'. In this context, educational research plays a central, albeit controversial, role. On the one hand governmental focus on increasing global economic competitiveness frames the discourse of teacher education within agendas of scientific rationality and the search for 'what works' in education; on the other hand, teachers working on the ground are confronted with a plethora of multiple, and sometimes contrasting, interests and needs. Drawing on the experience of an ongoing Scottish Government funded project in initial teacher education in Scotland, this paper examines the tripartite tensions created by differing perspectives and rationales with respect to teacher education: policy, research and practice. Juxtaposed against recent thinking with regard to complexity theories the paper goes on to reflect on what we see as the changing attributes of practice-relevant and ethically grounded research for education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the concept of continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in Scotland in an education system undergoing change. It considers the curricular and political changes which affect the nature of CPD considered appropriate and relevant for teachers. This article reports on one small-scale qualitative study into award-bearing CPD at masters level in a unique scheme known as Chartered Teacher Studies. This is a new, alternative route for Scottish teachers to gain professional recognition and financial reward for continuing to practise, rather than seeking promotion through a management route. This small-scale, preliminary exploration of the views of teachers who have completed the programme to masters level found that teachers perceived that their studies had a positive impact on their learning, increased their understanding, their commitment to linking theory with practice through research and raised their confidence in developing pedagogy. It is recognised that the outcomes cannot be widely generalised, as it considers only one cohort of students in one institution. However, since it is widely recognised that CPD for the teaching profession is an essential facet in improving education practice, the issues explored in this paper may be of interest to an international audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of the subject variously described in Scotland as Religious Education, Religious and Moral Education, and Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies has changed radically over the last four decades. This paper seeks to examine possible reasons for the move to non-confessional, multi-religious and philosophical approaches, both set against the wider social climate and also as evidenced in empirical data. This hypothesis of this paper is that changes within Religious Education (RE) can be understood against the background of societal change, secularisation and the adoption of more democratic educational approaches. The intention of this article is to evidence this claim with reference to key documents in the development of RE, as well as the content of RE curricula. Empirical data also informs this discussion, principally from a questionnaire based pilot study of nine RE departments in a particular local authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The restructuring of teachers' work in Scotland, under the reforms of both the New Right and the New Left, has not exhibited the starkness and radical edge evident in the history of reform in England. This paper argues that the professional context of Scotland's teachers has changed, if perhaps in a Caledonian form, under the action of the same forces that have been altering the educational landscape south of the border and internationally. While comparisons with England tend to place Scotland in a more favourable light in relation to the recasting of the professional context of teachers, there is a danger of overstating the social democratic virtues of policy-making and educational reform under New Labour. Three examples are discussed by way of illustrating the performativity climate within which Scotland's teachers now work: the use of development planning, quality indicators and statistical monitoring; the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000; and the agreement on pay and conditions of employment for teachers following from the McCrone report (McCrone, G. A Teaching Profession for the Twenty First Century (Edinburgh, SEED, 2000)). We conceive the role of the teacher as being essentially malleable: what is expected and desired of teachers is susceptible and sensitive to the historically and politically contingent. The paper argues that the professional context of Scotland's teachers has been restructured by the same reform imperatives manifest internationally across education systems. However, the form and constitution of restructuring in Scotland can only be illuminated in relation to the interaction and compromises of such reform imperatives within the national political climate and policy-making process. The paper concludes that this vernacularization of international trends goes some way towards accounting for a distinctive Caledonian form of 'modernization'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to problematise a highly complex and organisationally charged change programme and its management at a real life higher education institution in Scotland, which has been given a fictitious name. The paper discusses the difficulties of the educational change process in higher education, the complexities surrounding the notions of organisational cultures and communities of practice and issues of power and management including new managerialism. A number of theoretical frameworks are brought to bear during this situational analysis, the most significant being the notion of looking at educational management from a witchcraft, witches and shamans perspective. The paper argues for educational managers to move away from the classic views of change management and the management of change towards the meso level of analysis to manage educational change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global policy discourse promotes teachers as leaders of educational change who should have a voice in policy formation. 'Teaching Scotland's Future', a major teacher education reform in Scotland, feeds off this vision. Taking an Actor-Network Theory inspired Critical Policy Analysis approach, I unpack the participation of human and non-human actors within the National Partnership Group, a network established by the Scottish Government to plan the enactment of the reform. I utilise Callon's four moments of translation and Latour's concept of the token to identify and examine spaces of interest translation. Drawing on interviews with human actors from the network, I discuss the involvement of classroom teachers, and demonstrate the multiple ways that the materiality of the policy process shaped their participation in the network, limiting their ability to inform further development of the policy agenda. I consider the implications of this for education reform and democratic policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the key periods, players and events which have contributed to the shaping of the current landscape of teacher education in Scotland. Starting with the Wheatley Report and the formation of the General Teaching Council (Scotland) in the 1960s through to the most recent Donaldson Review of Teacher Education, we examine ebb and flow amongst GTCS, government, colleges of education and universities. Following its own trajectory, Scottish Education resisted and rejected policies emanating from an ‘English’ ideology, capitalised on respect for and influence of the GTCS, and successfully moved teacher education’s base from autonomous colleges to high-status universities. At the core of teacher education in Scotland is the continuing desire for partnership-working amongst key stakeholders: local and national government, GTCS, schools, teacher education institutions, teaching unions, parents and pupils. A teaching profession of trained graduates, underpinned by university-led subject study, is now moving steadily towards Masters-level professional learning for all. Although having faced some troubled episodes, this period has also been characterised by remarkable stability and consensus and, although still tackling the improvement agenda suggested by the recent Donaldson review, teacher education in Scotland has retained a high degree of public and political trust. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article reports on a study exploring a distributed perspective on school leadership through three head teacher case studies conducted in Scottish primary schools. Drawing from a sequence of in-depth, semi-structured and narrative style interviews conducted with each head teacher, as well as from a semi-structured questionnaire and sociometric analysis conducted with staff, the article analyses the experiences and the perceptions of head teachers. The paper finds that in practice, distributed leadership is more complex and challenging than often represented, challenging five generally held assumptions in the theoretical, policy and practice frames. Implications are drawn for educational leadership at both school and system levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy studies in science education do not have a particularly high profile. For science teachers, policy lurks in the background, somewhat disconnected from their normal classroom practice; for many, it is simply taken-for-granted. This paper analyses policy documents which have emerged from Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) that impact on science education. It does so through the prism of Roberts' (2007) visions and image of science curricula to ask (i) how the stated rationale or vision for the science curriculum is reflected in the published experiences and outcomes (E&Os); (ii) what policy image of science education do these E&Os portray; and (iii) how well do these fit with teachers' current experiences and (evolving?) classroom practices. We argue that there is a disconnection between the stated purposes of Scottish science education and the published E&Os. Pupils' development towards functional scientific literacy cannot be achieved if there is confusion as to the purpose(s) of education in science. Greater clarification as to what the priorities are and should be for Scottish science education is required in order that significant change takes place [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Scottish Parliament has produced significant policy divergence from Westminster, as policy-makers create Scottish solutions to Scottish problems (Adams & Schmuecker, 2006; Greer, 2005; Keating, 2005). In England, the focus has been on physical education (PE) and school sport for educational benefits. This contrasts with Scotland's focus on PE and physical activity to counter health problems. Despite Scottish PE experiencing ‘the biggest boost for a generation’ (Peocock, 2004), a recent Scottish Parliament report (Health & Sport Committee, 2009) described the ‘lamentable failure’ to deliver two-hour quality PE for every school pupil. This paper explains this situation using the multiple streams framework of policy change (Kingdon, 1984, 1995). The fieldwork involved 24 semi-structured interviews with politicians, civil servants and sports officials within the policy process. The findings indicate that a failure of political will and ministerial turnover, combined with an obstructive civil service and a complacent education establishment, has thwarted fundamental change. A disjointed, under-funded and internal sports lobby, and a central government preference for leaving policy implementation to councils with other priorities, has left officials praising the Scottish model's thinking, but bemoaning its lack of delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary–secondary transition can be a period of extreme anxiety for some children, with lowering of self-esteem and confidence. Creative drama has been reported to enhance self-esteem and confidence. This paper explores the possibility of using drama to facilitate successful transition. It focuses on secondary datasets from six primary schools in a local authority in Scotland (357 pupils and 12 teachers) to explore the effectiveness of creative drama. It then reports data collected from four drama professionals to explore whether drama can be effective in facilitating successful transition and the reasons behind that. The data suggest that creative drama can be used effectively in transitions due to its potential to empower pupils, to facilitate an understanding of emotional issues, to provide realistic scenarios with a degree of distance and a safe space to rehearse real life transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a paper which focuses on the success of Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), which is attributed to its character as communications framework. It says that the existing education and training system is the starting point of SCQF which offers a tool for change. It also mentions that SCQF succeeded due to the support of powerful stakeholders such as the higher education (HE) institutions which are powerful in countries like Scotland.

Scottish secondary education was radically extended in size and social reach in the first four decades of the twentieth century, bringing significant new opportunities in secondary schooling to girls, to children of the lower-middle and upper-working classes, and to Catholics. Most of the new secondary schools were based on those parish schools that had in the nineteenth century sent a few boys directly to university, and so this new secondary sector was a modernising of the mythological tradition of the lad o' pairts. The main reason it succeeded was that it sought to extend to new social groups the benefits of the version of liberal education that had come to be regarded as the foundation of professional careers. Thus the reforms also had the effect of transferring to the senior years of the secondary schools the old undergraduate curriculum that had been replaced by more specialist university courses in the late-nineteenth century. The paper offers an evidence-based critique not only of that strand of pessimism which has claimed that Scottish education was stagnant between the wars, but also of George Davie's influential view that the tradition of a broad general education was lost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2004 review of Scotland's school curriculum offers the potential for radical change in the education of young people, placing a greater emphasis than at present on learners and learning. If realised, it presents greater scope for innovative teaching, flexibility in provision, less overcrowding and a potential challenge to the entrenched subject paradigm in secondary education. This paper does not offer a critique of or even a detailed commentary on the Curriculum Review, the principles of which I broadly support. Instead it is concerned with the issue of sustainability. Despite the good intentions inherent in the review, fundamental curriculum change in Scotland may be no more than a chimera, blocked by the structural conservatism of the schooling system. The paper draws together some of the recent theoretical and empirical literature on curriculum change, examining some of the issues that may impact on this latest attempt to reform the curriculum and suggesting a model for change that may facilitate long lasting and deeply rooted change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Teaching Scotland's Future report represented a significant reform program for teacher education resulting in change and innovation in teacher preparation programs and for teachers' career-long professional learning. However, a partnership between teacher education providers and Scottish government supports a funded project on teacher education to provide evidence and data on quality in initial teacher education. The prospect of further change for teacher education is inevitable, as the outcomes of the current reform program are taken forward and teacher education providers address issues of diversity and decolonization in teaching (Arshad, 2018). Teacher Education in Scotland: Context and Circumstances Teacher education in Scotland is university based and delivered by 11 higher education providers. [Extracted from the article]

As part of the current Review of Education Governance in Scotland, the Headteachers' Charter is perceived as a central policy solution. The Charter changes the responsibilities of the headteacher by altering the relationship between headteacher and local authority, and thereby bringing about changes to the governance of education. If these changes are perceived as the solution, what is the perceived policy problem? This article examines policy documents to explore the policy problem using Bacchi's (2012a) 'what's the problem represented to be' (WPR) approach, which uses a framework of six questions to analyse policy texts. The article begins with a brief overview of the policy programme, the 'Empowerment Agenda'. The article discusses Bacchi's WPR analysis framework and then presents the findings, using this framework. The article ends with a discussion of the impact of the reform of educational governance including the Headteachers' Charter on the role of the headteacher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of the background and recent developments leading to the current reshaping of teacher education in Scotland, starting with the developments emanating in the past decade from the McCrone Report and finishing with the recent Donaldson Report, Teaching Scotland's Future. It documents the key features of the report and the impact that this will have on current teacher education provision in Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) is a good example of a new breed of national curriculum; a curricular model that seeks to combine top-down government prescription with bottom-up school-based curriculum development by teaching professionals. However, in developing a renewed view of teachers as agents of change and relaxing curriculum prescription, CfE has attracted criticism for its vagueness in terms of content and for a mix-and-match approach and seemingly atheoretical design. This paper engages in a critique of CfE, and proposes a process by which practitioners may make sense of and enact the new curriculum. Curriculum for Excellence is designed to transform education in Scotland, leading to better outcomes for all children and young people.' (Scottish Government, 2009: 4) 'Innovation after innovation has been introduced into school after school, but the overwhelming number of them disappear without a fingerprint.' (Cuban, 1988: 86) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores how universities can better engage with the animation/VFX industry in Scotland, by examining what skills current industry requires of graduates, and how institutes can better collaborate with working studios. Given the unknown impact that Brexit may have on the animation/VFX sector both nationally and further afield, now more than ever should the education sector re-evaluate how to bridge the gap for graduates moving on from education to being a productive member of the industry. Animation studios were invited to share their opinions and thoughts on the current state of the animation/VFX sector in Scotland, and to discuss how industry could make better use of universities. Industry wants to collaborate with education, to inspire and encourage talent development for the animation/VFX sector in Scotland. Both the education and animation/VFX sectors have their own unique methodologies and approaches for working and communicating with one another, which at times can be counterproductive. Education must change its relationship with industry, in favour of a more symbiotic relationship, by inviting industry to play a more active role in course design and structure, as a means for institutes to keep the contents of their courses relevant and be able to respond to the current skills requirement of industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a descriptive analysis of the local impact of a national school/university partnership programme in Scotland. Starting from a high-level report on improving teacher education, a series of recommendations was filtered through various stages and agencies until local providers (local authorities and higher education institutions) were faced with having to decide how best to respond to a large national agenda but in a manner which was appropriate for local circumstances. How one university and its partners engaged with this agenda, while experiencing considerable staff shortages and in the light of ongoing financial constraints, is described and analysed through the lenses of local and national policy. The most significant learning from that engagement is how national priorities shift and are replaced without much sustainability or continuity while the ‘locals’ remain committed to more fundamental and long-term issues of working together to enhance teacher and pupil learning. In the analysis, considerations of professional development through partnerships are also discussed in an international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leadership has been identified in contemporary policy as a critical factor in taking forward school improvement and enhancing outcomes for pupils (Pontz, Nusche and Moorman, 2008) in many educational systems including Scottish education. A second policy driver in Scottish education currently is focused on 'closing the gap' (Scottish Government, 2016) between the attainment of pupils from advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds and this is measured largely in terms of assessment outcomes and post school destinations. However, there is a danger that such drivers become reductive and as a result the focus narrows to attainment statistics, causing social factors which militate against pupil achievement to be overlooked. In a context where school populations are becoming more diverse there is a question then about how headteachers maintain a more critical focus on the attainment and achievement of these diverse groups of learners. This article explores the concept of 'social justice leadership' which has emerged in the literature in recent years to characterise the work of school leaders looking to enhance the learning outcomes for all learners in a school. The article draws from the case studies conducted in Scotland as part of the International School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN) research project on social justice leadership to explore this concept in a Scottish setting. As part of this study a framework was generated to track three levels of educational decision-making was generated encompassing the macro, meso and micro levels. This article uses the ISLDN framework to explore some of the enabling factors for headteachers in their practice as social justice leaders and some of the hindering factors that they grapple with. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current reforms in the Maltese and Scottish educational contexts can only be fully implemented if teachers radically transform the way they teach. Teacher professional learning is an important mechanism that policy-makers, school leaders and administrators have to achieve this. Teacher professional learning is, above all, situated within the specific social workplace environment of teacher practice. Thus, schools need to be recognised as important sites of professional learning for teachers. In Malta and Scotland teachers were asked about their professional learning to identify how the learning environment within individual schools affects professional learning. In both countries, collaboration and school leadership were key components in determining a school’s learning environment. Data analysis led to the production of examples of expansive and restrictive features. Policy-makers, school leaders and administrators can use these features to examine how schools operate in terms of helping or hindering professional learning in the school environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The new ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ in Scotland outlines a policy vision of a more integrated and holistic form of education; a commitment which offers considerable prospects for increased levels of outdoor learning in schools. With reference to Fullan’s theorizing on achieving educational change, this study investigated four main implementation areas, namely: policy aims, partnerships arrangements, and associated professionalism and sustainability issues. Evidence was collected through a series of 16 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders at national, local authority, and school level. Despite increased agreement on aims, it was found that improving the frequency and quality of outdoor learning in schools was adversely influenced by the patchwork nature of partnership support at national and local authority levels. This has curtailed the prioritizing of outdoor learning in schools and of teachers being supported when trying to make use of their increased curriculum decision-making responsibilities. Thus, only limited evidence was found of policy-related innovation and considerable evidence of policy stasis. As such, building national capacity is proving difficult. It is concluded that further research on how some atypical schools have managed to develop their programmes offers the best prospects for understanding the complexities of achieving greater levels of outdoor learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence typifies many international trends in curricular policy, through its emphasis on generic skills and competencies, its focus on pedagogy and its apparent extension of autonomy to teachers as agents of change. Such curricula pose considerable challenges to school systems, where prevailing practices are often at odds with policy aspirations. This article draws upon empirical research conducted in a Scottish local authority to explore how teachers make sense of the new curriculum. It differentiates between first order engagement - most teachers welcome Curriculum for Excellence in principle - and second order engagement, which relates to the extent to which the new curriculum is congruent with teachers' deeper conceptions about knowledge, learning and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is concerned with assessment issues in Religious and Moral Education (RME) offered in Scottish non-denominational schools. The analysis of the findings in this article is weighed against the framework of the new ‘3–18’ Scottish curriculum called ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ (CfE). CfE was introduced in primary schools in 2009 and a year later in secondary schools as replacement of the much criticised ‘5–14’ Curriculum which had been in use since 1992. It is based on qualitative data collected from schools in five Scottish local authorities between 2009 and 2011 as part of a moderation project. What is being problematised in this article is the revelation from the data about issues that impact adversely on good assessment in RME in five key areas, namely: planning, religious knowledge, progression, self and peer assessment, literacy and values. The implications of these assessment problems for effective teaching and learning in RME are analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of German Romantic and Hegelian philosophy for educational practice is not attended to as much as it deserves to be, both as a matter of historical interest and of current importance. In particular, its role in shaping the thought of John Dewey, whose educational philosophy is of seminal importance for discussions on education for citizenship, is of considerable interest, as recent work by Jim Garrison (2006) and James Good (2006; 2007) has shown. This article focuses on the Hegelian concepts of Bildung and Sittlichkeit in order to consider how they may illuminate the purpose and practice of education for citizenship through a conceptualisation of the relationship of individual to society, and, specifically, through the idea of cultural induction. The discussion takes as its principal reference point the Scottish policy context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor success rate of policy for curriculum change has been widely noted in the educational change literature. Part of the problem lies in the complexity of schools, as policy-makers have proven unable to micro-manage the multifarious range of factors that impact upon the implementation of policy. This article draws upon empirical data from a local authority-led initiative to implement Scotland's new National Curriculum. It offers a set of conceptual tools derived from critical realism (particularly the work of Margaret Archer), which offer significant potential in allowing us to develop greater understanding of the complexities of educational change. Archer's social theory developed as a means of explaining change and continuity in social settings. As schools and other educational institutions are complex social organisations, critical realism offers us methodological tools for tracking the ebbs and flows of change cycles over time, presenting the means for mapping the multifarious networks and assemblages that form their basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework is often claimed to be a success and an example to other countries. However, if other countries wish to learn from this example they should not only study the current framework; they should also examine the sequence of policy reforms, over a quarter of a century, through which it developed. The article traces the history of these reforms and shows how they incrementally created the conditions for a successful comprehensive qualifications framework. It argues that the main drivers for change have been internal to the education system, rather than external economic, social or ideological pressures, and the main barriers have been institutional and political rather than epistemological. There were specific reasons why it took such a long time to develop the Scottish framework, but in any country it takes many years to establish the conditions for a successful comprehensive framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores issues concerning local government reform and the future of education in Scotland. It outlines the nature of the country's local government reform on education and the possible implications of ongoing educational reforms for the new councils. It considers the abolition of the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) and the transfer of education to the London boroughs as a mean of educational disaggregation to fit the administrative boundaries of 25 new councils. It is inferred that local government reform in Scotland will likely lead to a further strengthening of the Scottish Office and a weakening of local authorities.

Jill Duffield, a Research Fellow in the Institute of Education, University of Stirling, reports on a study in a Scottish local authority of four schools focusing upon measures of school effectiveness and socio-economic status (SES). Factors influencing the progress of lower achieving pupils in the early secondary years are also considered, including the pupil support systems in place: learning support, behavioural support and guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]