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The year 2015 was the 50th anniversary of the introduction of comprehensive schooling in Scotland. This article outlines the two models of comprehensive schooling pursued over this period: the first which aimed to promote a universal, common system, and the second, from around 2000, which has prioritised diversity and choice. Equality (in its various forms) is one of the underpinning principles of comprehensive schooling, and the article considers the impact of comprehensive reform on inequalities, in particular, in respect of social class. It concludes that Scotland has been largely successful in achieving equality of opportunity, has made some progress towards equality of value but equality of outcome has proved elusive. The article highlights the continuing impact of the wider social determinants of inequality and of the selective function of education. It raises concerns that recent reforms, in particular, the Senior Phase of Curriculum for Excellence, may be exacerbating social inequalities in outcomes.

This paper considers the role of independent research in helping an education and training system "know itself", illustrating this through the experience of the Centre for Educational Sociology (CES) of which David Raffe was a member and director. It highlights the tensions in the research-policy relationship arising from the different "normative worlds" of researchers and policy makers, and their priorities at each stage of the policy cycle. It shows how such tensions have been evident in the research-policy relationship in Scotland pre- and post-devolution and points out the importance of the plural provision of research support and funding. The paper argues the need for system-wide, longitudinal data to enable a country to "know" its education and training system and analyse the impact of government policies and wider societal change. It points out that Scotland no longer collects such data and so cannot interrogate and understand its education and training system. The failure of policy makers to learn from the experience of their own country's past is noted; the paper concludes by reaffirming the need for research to challenge policy and policy-makers, especially in a system such as Scotland with a tendency to complacency.

It is just over 50 years since the government circulars in Scotland, England, and Wales which signalled an intention to abolish selection and reform secondary schooling along comprehensive lines. Each country's policy trajectories since then have been quite different. In this article the authors reflect on more than 50 years of comprehensive education in Scotland and assess its achievements and challenges.

This paper maps the main dimensions of differentiation among institutions and "faculties" (subject areas within institutions) of higher education in the United Kingdom. It does so through a principal components analysis based on the characteristics of applicants and entrants. A single status dimension accounts for a quarter of the variation, and is associated with the social class, educational background, age (under 21) and non-local origin of students. This dimension is very stable over time and across England, Wales and Scotland. It is robust in the face of alternative specifications. The paper argues that this institutional hierarchy is deeply embedded in wider social structures and reflects the social reproduction role of higher education. Other, somewhat less stable dimensions, are associated with students' ethnic background and domicile.

This paper asks whether the institutional hierarchies defined by "golden triangle", other Russell Group, other pre-1992 and post-1992 universities in England, and by ancient, old and new universities in Scotland, have become weaker since the 1990s. Using indicators constructed from Universities and Colleges Admissions Service data for 1996-2010, the article finds a stable hierarchical relationship among the sectors within each country, with some indicators showing a slight widening of status differences between sectors towards the end of the period. The main exception was a slight "upgrading" of new (post-1992) universities in Scotland early in the period. There was little change in the association of institutional sector with social class, but in England the association with private secondary schools became slightly stronger and the association with ethnicity weakened.

This paper compares access to full-time undergraduate higher education (HE) by members of less advantaged social classes and ethnic minorities across the four "home countries" of the UK. It uses data on applicants to HE in selected years from 1996 to 2010. In all home countries students from intermediate and working-class backgrounds retained a broadly level share of a rising total participation in HE, while ethnic minorities increased their share. Intermediate-and working-class students were more likely to study within their own home country, as were ethnic-minority students in England, but minority students from Northern Ireland and Scotland were much more likely than white students to study elsewhere (usually England). Some aspects of the admissions process appear to have been "unfair" to lower class applicants; this was the same across the UK although the relative success of applications from colleges and independent schools, which might accentuate or mitigate inequalities, varied across the home countries. In England and Wales, ethnic-minority applicants were less likely to be offered a place but they compensated (only partially in the case of older universities) by gaining entry through clearing; in Scotland they were as likely to be offered a place but less likely to enter HE. The paper discusses the potential of such comparisons for benchmarking and for policy learning. It concludes that the similarities between the home countries are more substantial than their differences, and that administrative and political devolution in the 1990s has had little impact on inequalities in HE. There is no evidence of a significant impact of the divergence between market policies in England and the more social-democratic policies of the devolved administrations.

This paper uses Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) data on applications and entries to full-time undergraduate courses to examine the changing flows of students across the boundaries of the four countries of the United Kingdom (UK), over a period (1996-2010) that embraces parliamentary devolution. It asks whether the emergence of more distinct administrative systems of higher education, following devolution, is reflected in more distinct social systems as reflected in reduced cross-border flows of students. It reveals a declining tendency for UK applicants to apply to, and enter, higher education in another UK country. This trend is partly attributable to devolution and to consequent changes such as differential fees. However the detailed patterns vary widely across the countries of the UK, across categories of student and across types of institution and programme. (Contains 7 tables.)

Equity and efficiency are the twin goals of European education policymakers, but there are tensions between these goals. This article illustrates these tensions within the school system of Scotland, drawing on two recent research projects: 'Fabricating Quality in European Education' (FABQ) and the Applied Educational Research Scheme (AERS) study entitled 'How do schools in Scotland measure their own performance?' It outlines the Quality Assurance and Evaluation (QAE) system developed in Scotland since the 1980s in line with neo-liberal policy approaches and describes the problems of inequity identified by a review of Scottish education by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Case studies of schools illustrate how pressures for continuous improvement in attainment lead to practices that exacerbate inequalities. Ability grouping within schools can have similar consequences to those of 'racked' school systems in Europe that increase inequalities. The article emphasises that the tensions between equity and efficiency need to be acknowledged at national and European levels, and directly addressed as a policy problem.

This article looks at policy for quality assurance and evaluation in Scotland, its history and more recent developments, and in particular, at the emphasis on school self-evaluation. It examines the history of the concept, its constituent elements and the role of the Inspectorate in establishing it. Further, the article discusses the Scottish self-evaluation model as a means of promoting the country's distinctive identity in education within a European frame. It discusses the role of the Standing International Conference of Inspectorates as a major forum for the transmission of ideas about self-evaluation that illuminates the role of networks in promoting Europeanisation. (Contains 3 notes.)

The article describes trends in social class segregation between British secondary schools from 1984 to 1999, and includes "home international" comparisons of trends in England, Wales and Scotland. The analysis is based on comparable youth cohort datasets: the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study and the Scottish School Leavers' Survey. The measures of social class are derived from parents' occupational status and education, and thus provide different dimensions of segregation from those used in some earlier studies which focused on average free school meal entitlement. Segregation indices derived using standard methods include a measure of (un)evenness (S) and a measure of isolation (I). In addition, the variance ratio is derived using a multilevel statistical model, with the advantage that confidence intervals can be estimated. Differences in segregation between the three countries are small, but the indices provide evidence that segregation is consistently lower in Scotland than in England, and this is compatible with the view that the more comprehensive system in Scotland is associated with lower segregation. However, the picture for Wales is rather varied, and hampered by small sample size and changing sampling methods. In the 1990s, the trajectory of segregation in Scotland was different from that in England or Wales: it may have fallen slightly in Scotland but risen elsewhere. But gaps in the available data prevent us being sure about that. The segregation indices do not reveal clear upward or downward trends in the period since parental choice legislation was introduced. The following are appended: (1) Sample sizes per school; and (2) Multilevel model for variance ratio.(Contains 14 figures and 4 notes.)

The last century, in particular the latter half, saw radical shifts in the roles and expectations of women in society. This article investigates the views of 14- to 16-year-olds in the year 2000 on work and family roles, exploring both their general views on gender roles and their own personal aspirations for the future. In general the young people believed that it was equally important for males and females to get good qualifications at school, to have worthwhile careers and that childcare should be a joint responsibility. They also believed that males and females could do any job they wanted to these days. Their views were tempered, however, by the inequalities that they saw around them in the workplace and in their own families. While young people's attitudes may have changed, they are still choosing fairly gender-typical subjects at school and aspiring to different types of occupation. The article concludes that while great strides have been made in changing attitudes towards gender equality, there is still a long way to go before equal opportunities are really achieved.

Examines reading-attainment data from 2,583 children around 5 years old in their first year of school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Finds best predictor of attainment at the end of the year is attainment at the beginning of the year. Other variables such as free school meals and special needs had significant explanatory power. (Contains 16 references.) (Authors/PKP)

Examined the association between free meal entitlement (FME) and the socioeconomic characteristics of schools in Scotland using a national survey of school leavers (n=8,545). Results suggest that FME is an inconsistent measure of poverty and only a partial proxy for socioeconomic circumstances. (SLD)

The Scottish Young People's Survey revealed spectacular increases since 1984 in S5 (the fifth year, noncompulsary) student enrollment in National Certificate modules. The modules' role in S5, however, remains modest--providing breadth and balance in curriculum modes and learning styles. Their juxtaposition with academic courses reinforces student opinions of their second-class status. (SV)