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Careers guidance in Scotland is about to undergo major structural change with the creation of Careers Scotland which will provide a national, all-age careers guidance service. Among its aims, Careers Scotland seeks to establish national quality standards for careers provision. This briefing draws on a recently completed study of the effectiveness of careers services in Scotland to consider some of the issues involved in assessing the quality and effectiveness of careers guidance work. (Author)

Careers guidance is recognized as increasingly important as young people experience longer and more complicated post-school transitions into and through education, training, and the labor market. They may need to change career several times over their lifetime and to undertake continuing education and training. The Careers Service is the main provider of careers guidance to young people. This "Briefing" reports the experiences and views of some of the Careers Service's young clients--4th and 5th year pupils--who were surveyed as part of a wider research project on the Effectiveness of Careers Services.(Author)

Today in Europe, for many students, leaving secondary school does not correspond to the starting point of their working careers. Large proportions of them continue in education, experience a period of unemployment, or attend a training program. Many factors, individual and institutional, can account for differences in students' destinations. This briefing reports the main findings of a study on the effect of individual and school factors on different students' destinations in three countries: the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland. The briefing finds that, among the three countries, different proportions of young people attend various types of schools and enter various post-school destinations, and that without controlling for individual or school factors, the variation across schools in students' destinations tends to be higher in the Netherlands than in Ireland and Scotland. Individual factors are responsible for most of the school variations found in Scotland and both school and individual characteristics contribute to school variations in students' destinations in Ireland. (BT)

The United Kingdom (UK) has four separate education systems, each with different traditions. In Scotland and Wales all state-funded secondary schooling is comprehensive, whereas in Northern Ireland it is selective, and in England there are regional differences in the extent of selection. This briefing considers whether differences among the four education systems are associated with different levels of social inequality in attainment. The briefing focuses on students aged 16 in 1990. It finds that evidence from this research provides support for the comprehensive system. Cites 4 related publications. (Author/BT)

A study analyzed a range of factors associated with male and female low attainment and the subsequent routes of low attainers leaving S4 up to the age of 19, using the Scottish School Leavers Survey data from 1978-96. The most significant trend was the extent to which low attainment declined, although significant differences in terms of gender were also found. In 1978, the extent of low attainment was broadly similar between the sexes, but females improved at a faster rate. Social background and area characteristics were the strongest predictor of low attainment. A large fall was identified in the numbers leaving school and entering directly into employment. A desire among low attainers for employment rather than training prevailed. A small proportion found stable employment; the routes of the majority were characterized by uncertainty with frequent switching between statuses. While more females entered employment, on leaving school they had lower levels of participation in training. Compared to better-qualified S4 leavers, male low attainers were less likely to have been continually employed, complete training, and have a greater instability in routes followed. However, the majority were employed at age 18/19. Just over half of all low attainers gained any form of additional qualifications. Female S4 leavers were likely to gain some form of additional qualification. (Appendixes contain 55 references and data tables.) (YLB)

Based on a secondary analysis of the Scottish School Leavers Surveys from 1978-96, a study focused on low attainment with particular reference to gender. Findings indicated the proportion of low-attainers at ordinary or standard grade had more than halved since the 1970s; it declined more among women than men. Low S4 attainment was associated with social background and neighborhood deprivation. The proportion of low-attaining S4 leavers who entered full-time employment had fallen sharply since the 1970s. By the mid-1990s, the early careers of those who entered employment were characterized by frequent switching between statuses. Only a minority of low-attaining S4 leavers were female, but when trying to find employment, the consequences of low attainment were more severe for young women. Among S4 leavers, low qualifications and unemployment after leaving school were important predictors of unemployment at age 18/19. Training reduced the risk of unemployment for young men; for young women, personal characteristics appeared to be more important. Just over half of young people with low S4 attainment gained further qualifications by age 18/19. Those who continued in full-time education were much more likely to gain further qualifications than those who entered training or employment. (YLB)

Data that were originally gathered during the 1978-1990, 1994, and 1996 Scottish School Leavers Surveys were subjected to a secondary analysis to identify the qualifications, characteristics, and choices of high-attaining female school leavers. The following were among the key findings of the analysis: (1) on average, young women from all social backgrounds had higher attainment than did young men with the same social background; (2) no evidence was found that the gender gap varied between schools; (3) compared with young men, young women had higher average standard grade attainment and were more likely to remain in school after age 16; (4) having friends who took school seriously was related to high attainment, and more young women than young men had peer groups that took school seriously; (5) gender differences in subject choice emerged in S5/S6, after subject choices are no longer restricted; (6) like lower-achieving students, high-attainers showed traditional gender-specific preferences for certain subjects in S5/S6; (7) high-attaining young women were less likely to enter higher education than were higher-attaining young men, although they were equally likely to apply; and (8) the issues involved in redressing gender inequality for young women differ from those for young men. (Contains 18 references.) (MN)

Data that were originally gathered during the 1978-1990, 1994, and 1996 Scottish School Leavers Surveys were subjected to a secondary analysis to identify the qualifications, characteristics, and choices of high-attaining female school leavers. The analysis revealed that female and male high-attaining school leavers had broadly similar average qualifications, and most of them went on to further full-time study. However, males generally opted for more stereotypically "male" subjects such as engineering, technology, mathematics, and computing, while females generally chose more people-oriented subjects such as education, languages, and biological sciences. Those subject choices had an important impact on male and female school leavers' later attainment and opportunities. Female high-attainers generally outnumbered male high-attainers; however, the gap narrowed in later years of schooling. The study confirmed the relationship between social advantage and high attainment for students of both genders. The fact that girls appeared to take school more seriously than boys did appeared to be the only factor that could explain differences in males' and females' academic attainment. (Twenty-seven tables/figures are included. The bibliography contains 30 references. Appended is a table detailing responses to survey questions about parents' involvement in the secondary education of their high- and low-achieving male and female children.) (MN)

This report describes trends and patterns in school-leaver entry to higher education in Scotland. (School-leaver entrants to higher education are those who leave school and start higher education in the same year, or direct entrants.) The report uses data from the Scottish School Leavers' Survey (SSLS), a biennial sample survey of school leavers conducted in the spring after leaving school from 1978 to 1993. It is the first of a series of five reports based on analyses of the SSLS. The report is set in the context of recent developments in Scottish higher education, notably the rapid expansion of participation. It explores key policy issues, including the aim to widen access for school leavers from less advantaged social backgrounds, the role of sub-degree provision, and the role of secondary grades as preparation for higher education. The report maps school-leaver entry as of 1993, describes recent trends, and models the process of entry in order to understand student-level factors, which influence participation. Two appendices contain definitions and categories and statistical bases. Contains 22 references. (EV)

In Scotland, the Early Intervention Programme (EIP) aims to raise standards of literacy and numeracy in the first 2 years of primary school with an emphasis on overcoming disadvantage and inequality. As part of this initiative, one local authority, Aberdeen City, has introduced Baseline Assessment on entry to primary school with a follow-up assessment at the end of Primary 1 (P1) stage. Analysis of the assessment data at the beginning and end of P1 makes it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the EIP. Levels of attainment of literacy and numeracy varied considerably for these students, but their attainment tended to be lower if they were younger than average, had English as a second language, came from relatively poor families, or lived in areas of multiple deprivation. On entry to P1 there was no evidence of gender differences in attainment of literacy or numeracy, but gender differences emerged during P1. By the end of the first year, girls had made more progress in reading and less progress in mathematics than boys. Inequity in literacy increased during P1, and students from disadvantaged backgrounds made less progress than others. Inequality in numeracy decreased during P1, with some evidence of catching up by students who started with relatively low attainment in mathematics. (SLD)

A study of youth out-migration from the Scottish Borders region was based on the 1989 Scottish Young People's Survey--a survey of students during their final compulsory school year (age 16-17)--plus followup interviews in 1995 with 23-year-olds from the rural Borders region. Among those in school in the Borders at age 16, only around one-third still lived there at age 19. By age 23, few migrants had returned. Structural reasons for migration included limited higher education facilities and few good-paying jobs in the region; migrants left mainly to continue their education or to get better jobs. Stayers tended to be from local families and to feel strong attachments to community. By age 23, migrants had more education than stayers and were better off economically, while stayers were more likely to have experienced unemployment or other job setbacks, to have married and started families, and to live with their parents. Some stayers felt trapped in the local labor market, while some migrants longed to return but were put off by the lack of job prospects. All returnees were from local families. Youth need support and information. The formal school guidance system fails to recognize the dilemmas and tension involved in the migration decision and does not provide the information needed by someone newly independent and in a strange environment. This brief suggests that public policy designed for young people should increase their scope for choice, allowing decisions based on viable alternatives. (SV)

Patterns of school-to-work transition in Ireland and Scotland in 1979-1991 were compared by using data from the annual Irish and biennial Scottish school leavers surveys. Unemployment among school leavers in both countries increased rapidly over the study period. A comparison of both respondent groups' educational experiences, educational attainment, labor market history, training, and course enrollments established that, although both countries saw an increase in participation in postcompulsory education, participation rates remained higher in Ireland than in Scotland. Throughout the study period, greater proportions of Scottish school leavers departed from the junior level of education. Unemployment rates were higher in Ireland than in Scotland. Individuals who left school at the end of their junior cycle were more likely to be unemployed. In Scotland, approximately half of all junior leavers entered youth training programs or apprenticeships. In Ireland, only a small proportion of junior leavers entered some form of training. The study demonstrated that the Irish response to unemployment of allowing full-time education to expand was not always attractive to poorly qualified young people. On the other hand, the Scottish response of increased provision of training prevented immediate unemployment for poorly qualified young people and provided an alternative to continuing in school. (MN)

Although it is true that education is an investment, there are risks associated with relying too strongly on the metaphor of education as investment. The main problems with the investment metaphor are as follows: (1) it pushes aside the notion of education as a consumption good that people want for its own sake; (2) the human capital approach can cast a shadow over forms of learning unable to prove adequately that they are a profitable investment; and (3) the measures used for input and output in analyses of the relationship between education and economic performance are problematic. Education should be viewed not as an investment in human capital but rather as an investment in social capital. It may be argued that, rather than fostering a system of lifelong learning, the expansion of higher education (especially initial higher education) has merely concentrated resources on the initial phase of education at the expense of later opportunities, which is neither an effective nor a socially equitable way of allocating resources. To get closer to a learning society, the current preoccupation with the supply of education must be replaced with closer attention to the factors influencing the demand for education. (Contains 11 references.) (MN)

A project analyzed the impact of Youth Credits, a new system for funding youth training. The system was introduced as a pilot project by 10 English/Welsh Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). Focus was on early school leavers' participation in training and on their achievement of vocational qualifications. Data were obtained from the Youth Cohort Study (YCS), a nationally representative postal survey of age cohorts in England and Wales. The YCS provided before-after data and control group data. The TEC areas in which Youth Credits were first piloted varied widely. On average, they had higher proportions of nonwhite youth, but were, in other respects, representative of England and Wales. Girls' rates of staying in full-time education rose faster in the pilot areas than elsewhere. Youth Credits had no effect on unemployment rates among those who left education. Youth Credits did not increase the total level of training among 16-year-old school leavers but did increase the proportion of training that was employment based and the proportion that was government supported. Youth Credits appeared to have a redistributive effect. They increased participation in government-supported training among young workers with medium or high attainments on the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), but reduced it among those with no GCSE grades. Government-supported training helped to compensate for inequalities in access to nongovernment training among early school leavers. It was also more likely to lead to vocational qualifications. (YLB)

New Horizons is a course offered by the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Continuing Education that is aimed at first-time returners to education. In the 20 years since New Horizons was developed for women returners to education and/or employment, it has retained its original developmental outcomes but broadened its target group in response to changes in education and society. The program has remained a 1-day-per-week course, with students studying 3 subjects in the day with the same group of 20 students over 2 terms for 1-2 years. Although study skills and literature continue to be New Horizons' mainstay subjects, sociology, public affairs, art appreciation, science, music, and return to work or study have been added to the program. Although the teaching methods used in New Horizons classes have varied according to tutors' preferences/experiences, participation and discussion have always been emphasized. Each year, an optional residential conference/workshop has enabled participants to meet students in other New Horizons classes. Two surveys of former New Horizons students confirmed that New Horizons had restored their confidence and enabled them to make more informed choices for further progression into further/higher education and training, paid or voluntary work, or other equally rewarding, self-fulfilling endeavors. (MN)

The question of what it means to be a man or woman as one moves through life was explored through a series of interviews with 28 grandparents who all lived in eastern Scotland. They ranged in age from 50 to nearly 80 and ranged in background from deprived to wealthy. The interviewees were asked to reflect on the historical changes that had occurred during their lifetimes and on being a man or woman in later life. Most interviewees welcomed the erosion of gender divisions and the loosening of gender stereotypes. Only a few women longed for the days when the private world of the family was more exclusively their responsibility. Although nearly all the women had some paid work experience and mentioned the personal gains from having a paid job, the key sense of worth for many of them still lay in the private world of the home. The men did not generally place as much significance on the home, and they generally received a sense of self-worth through employment that persisted into their retirement years. Many of the people leading the fullest lives were no longer living in marriages. (Contains 17 references.) (MN)

Over the past 30 years, many changes have taken place in education in Scotland. Adult learning has increasingly figured in the broad canvas of education, teachers are increasingly being viewed as mangers of learning resources or facilitators of learning, and the emphasis has shifted from imbibing knowledge through books to active learning and reflection on experience. The notion of the learning society has given succinct expression to many of these changes. A learning society is one in which people are encouraged to engage in knowing themselves, each other, and the world. The notion that learning is somehow integrated with responsible participation in society is an implication of the notion of a leaning society. It may be suggested that learning about identity, difference, and relatedness touches the heart of the most difficult challenge facing human beings: the need to know oneself and one's own culture while also becoming more open and capable of knowing, communicating and collaborating with, and valuing other people from other cultures. Current developments in the relationships between Northern Ireland's Catholic and Protestant communities and between Scotland and England are contemporary examples of attempts to meet or evade that challenge. (Contains 15 references.) (MN)

The aim of this study was to consider the extent to which guidance provision in secondary schools in Scotland met the guidance needs of pupils and their parents. The approach taken was to focus on experiences and perceptions of both consumers and providers of guidance, to relate their views to guidance processes, and to judge the situation in project schools against national and regional policies about guidance. A main finding of the research was the extent to which pupils' opinion and experience of guidance was dependent on the attitude and approach of individual guidance teachers. However, it is strongly suggested that the majority of guidance staff would operate more effectively if the conditions within which they work were further developed. Chapters are: (1) Introduction; (2) The research; (3) Profile of school staff; (4) guidance provision in the Project Schools (1993/94); (5) The guidance needs of pupils and their parents; (6) Guidance in practice: the teacher perspective; (7) Guidance in practice: the pupil perspective; (8) Guidance in practice: the parent perspective; (9) Careers and the World of Work; and (10) Discussion and issues. Appendices are: (1) Pupil Questionnaires and (2) Parent Questionnaires. (JBJ)

In response to the (Scottish) government's decision to publish annual educational examination results, on a school-by-school basis, a three-year development program was established by Grampian Education Authority (Scotland) and the Centre for Educational Sociology (CES) at the University of Edinburgh. In this report, the main findings of the development program with respect to two different types of indicators of school performance are described. The types of indicators include: young people's perceptions of their experiences at school, and the "added value" of schools in terms of their pupils' attainment. Key findings include: (1) the majority of young people who attended Grampian secondary schools found their schooling a worthwhile experience; (2) over three-quarters agreed that "school work was worth doing,""discipline was fair," and "my teachers helped me to do my best"; (3) average attainment in public examinations has risen between 1993 and 1994; (4) although there are large differences between Grampian schools in the average attainment of school leavers, most of the difference between schools are attributable to differences in pupil intakes; and (5) league tables based solely on published examination results, which do no control for pupil intake, give a misleading picture of the relative effectiveness of Grampian schools. Tables showing results of the survey are provided. (EH)

A 3-year study of 12 regional and 3 island authorities in Scotland investigated: (1) the speech and language therapy needs of pupils with special education needs; (2) forms of collaboration among parents and professionals; and (3) the perceived effectiveness of different models of speech and language therapy service delivery. The research results included the following findings: (1) there is a pattern of ever increasing demand for speech and language therapy that continuously outstrips increases in provision; (2) speech and language therapy managers felt that they had lost the power to give priority to children who did not have Records of Needs but who had equally pressing needs for speech and language therapy; (3) speech and language therapy managers felt services to pre-school children were increasingly at risk because of the reallocation of resources to school-aged children; (4) effective provision of speech and language therapy to pupils in mainstream schools has not yet been achieved; (5) provision of speech and language therapy is reported by parents and professionals to be especially poor at the secondary school level; and (6) collaborative practices were found in both mainstream and special educational settings, but particularly in evidence in special educational facilities. (Contains 36 references.) (CR)

The report reviews British Petroleum's "Aiming for College Education" program in Scotland, a 5-year program to raise the aspirations of young people for post-compulsory education and for higher education in particular. The program invites local higher education institutions to consider initiatives in four areas (promotion and marketing, information and guidance, access and outreach, and institutional and curriculum development), with primary involvement of the Universities of Glasgow and Stratchlyde as well as Paisley and Glasgow Colleges. The report is in eight main sections: (1) an introduction; (2) an overview of the structure of higher education in Scotland; (3) the school route to higher education; (4) other routes to higher education; (5) progress within higher education; (6) recent attempts by higher education to recruit new entrants; (7) the place of further education; and (8) a strategy for planning interventions to increase higher education participation, and specific proposals in such areas as curricular integration, special entry schemes, part-time courses, and employer guarantees. Includes 12 references, 7 figures, and a glossary of abbreviations. (DB)

This report on young persons' access to higher education in Scotland attempts to determine whether the incidence of students' transition from S4 to voluntary participation in S5 is influenced by the transitions that occur at the end of S5. The project analyzed data from a 10% sample of the S4 cohort of 1983/84. The central question examined whether an earlier transition to higher education is associated with a higher-than-expected transition from S4 to S5. The study found that, compared to Scotland overall, there was a higher voluntary continuation rate in the Strathclyde region both before and after allowing for the individual characteristics that influenced transition. This effect, however, was apparent only for pupils with five or fewer A-C awards at O-grade in S4. The"Strathclyde effect" in voluntary continuation was reduced but remained substantial after controlling for the higher local unemployment rate and could not be explained by the effectiveness of denominational/non-denominational schools. The research left undecided the question of whether the Strathclyde effect resulted from the fact that post-compulsory courses in Strathclyde are more often terminated after 1 year. The report presents conclusions and outlines the likely consequences of any 2-year post-compulsory course for voluntary participation. (10 references) (JDD)

This report addresses the implications of school course structures for levels of participation in post-compulsory education in Scotland. The report cites a 21.2% level of participation in higher education among the young in Scotland. The paper contends that the structure of the Scottish Highers examination and related examinations (the Ordinary and Standard grades, the National Certificate, and the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies) contributes to Scotland's voluntary participation rates being higher than those of Britain as a whole, principally by reconciling the conflicting demands of access and standards. The report: (1) reviews evidence and arguments concerning voluntary participation and attainment at school, and entry to higher education; (2) analyzes participation in S4 (fourth year, and, for the majority of pupils the final compulsory year), S5, and S6; (3) discusses courses and attainment in S5 and S6 and trends and comparisons in overall attainment; (4) examines destinations after school, mainly applications and entry to higher education, and considers attainment in higher education; (5) attempts to place the functions of the S5 Higher courses in the overall context of post-compulsory participation at the secondary and tertiary levels; and (6) considers what would happen to participation in higher education if the S5 Higher were discontinued, based on empirical research and natural quasi-experiments. (65 references) (JDD)

This report uses newly developed techniques of statistical analysis to assess the separate and joint influences of home, school, and neighborhood in Lothian (Scotland, United Kingdom) and to show that deprivation in each of these areas depresses young people's educational attainment. The results reported here come from the first phase of a two-phase study of the effects of deprivation on young people's lives. Phase 1 examines how far family, school, and neighborhood factors influence young people's transition into the labor market or higher education. The report addresses two related aspects of the problem. First, although it is well known that deprivation is not a single, unidimensional condition, research to date has been unable to assess the relative magnitude of different contributory factors. Using the new statistical technique of multilevel analysis, this report examines the influence of family, school, and neighborhood characteristics on a child's educational attainment. A better understanding of these discrete influences is seen as a means to a more efficient targeting of remedial policies. Second, the report examines how aspects of social change are affecting the nature of disadvantage itself. The paper includes statistical data in 27 charts and 29 tables, 3 appendixes, and a list of 31 references. (AF)

The purpose of this study was to describe the recent extent and distribution of work experience of young people in Scotland, using data from the Scottish Young People's Survey (SYPS). SYPS, based on a 10 percent sample of all schools in Scotland, is conducted biennially in spring by mail and achieves a response rate of around 80 percent. In the 1987 survey, 20 percent of the respondents reported that they had had a work experience placement. Analysis of earlier surveys indicated that this was the highest percentage over the past decade. The range across local education authorities for work experience was from 12 percent to 32 percent. More girls, 22 percent, went on work experience than boys, 18 percent. The 5 Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) pilot projects had 70 percent of their students in work experience placement. The extent of part-time work during the school term was 45 percent, compared to the 20 percent of work experience placement. A greater proportion of girls than boys had a part-time job. It is suggested that the use of students' own part-time jobs could help to achieve work experience for all students. Integrating the part-time work of some pupils into work experience provision would enable schools to concentrate on finding additional placements for the 44 percent of students who have neither part-time jobs in term-time nor go out on work experience. (23 references, 10 tables) (CML)

Conventional approaches to program evaluation have followed the experimental and psychometric traditions dominant in educational research. Their aim (unfulfilled) of achieving fully objective methods had led to studies that are artificial and restricted in scope. Illuminative evaluation is introduced as a total re-appraisal of the rationale and techniques of program evaluation. It follows a contrasting 'anthropological' research paradigm. Illuminative evaluation recognizes that an innovative instructional program cannot be separated from its learning milieu--a network of cultural, social, institutional, and psychological forces. The evaluator concentrates on processes within the classroom rather than on outcomes (goals, objectives) derived from a specification of the instructional system. Data is collected from observation, interview, questionnaires, and documentary information. Illuminative evaluation thus concentrates on the information gathering rather than on the decision making component of evaluation. The paper concludes with a discussion of the problems and potentialities of the new approach: its range of applicability; objectivity; validity; obligations of the research worker; how explorations of the learning milieu can meet the need for theoretical advance; and how the illuminative approach can clarify decision-making. (Author/CP)

This publication presents 14 departmental case studies of the preparation and support provided to part-time teachers in Scottish institutions of higher education. The case studies are grouped in four sections according to the category of part-time staff involved: practicing professionals (professional teaching assistants, lawyers, artists, and other practitioners); part-time tutors and teaching assistants; workplace supervisors; and demonstrators. An introduction to each section identifies the principles and commonalities of the support provisions detailed in the case studies from the following Scottish institutions: University of Strathclyde, the Robert Gordon University, University of Edinburgh, Queen Margaret College, and the University of St. Andrews. Case studies are drawn from the following fields: architecture and building science, law, art, mathematics and statistics, artificial intelligence, economics, government (politics), occupational therapy, health and nursing, pharmacy, biological and medical sciences, applied sciences, and geology. An article, "Departmental Preparation and Support for Part-Time Teachers: Principles of Good Practice" (David Nicol and Fred Forster) follows the case studies. Appendices include a summary of elements of good practice from the case studies; guidelines for postgraduate tutors from the University of Strathclyde, and the Code of Practice on Tutoring and Demonstrating from the University of Edinburgh. (DB)

Collectively, Pakistanis, Indians, and Bangladeshis form the largest ethnic minority group (4,129) in Edinburgh, Scotland (43% according to 1991 Census figures). Current local provision of education for adult members of the three communities was reviewed. Needs and preferences in terms of educational content, approach, and location were identified by consulting with key communities and by representatives of the following: a community-based Engish-as-a-Second-Language program, a racial equality council, an education center serving children, a resource center serving the educational needs of ethnic minority women, and selected women's groups and religious centers. The respondents' views regarding language in which instruction is desired, levels of instruction desired, preferred study instruction times and places, fees, and certification were synthesized into recommendations for further curriculum development. It was recommended that courses/classes on the following topics be developed/offered: mother tongue language classes in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Bengali, and Gujarati; religious/cultural studies, Indian studies, and/or Islamic studies; basic computing; spoken and idiomatic English; and Indian languages for non-Indian people. (Appended are lists of the agencies, community groups/organizations, and individuals consulted.) (MN)

A pilot project evaluated the learning experience of adults taking one of seven creative writing courses in Edinburgh, Scotland (five courses run by Edinburgh University's Centre for Continuing Education and two run by Lothian Region Community Education). Data were obtained from a survey completed by 45 students (of 87 students receiving questionnaires) and from semistructured interviews with 13 of the course participants. Twenty-six students reported having previously attended a creative writing course/workshop. Reasons for deciding to attend a creative writing course varied widely and included the following: learn skills and techniques, develop discipline, general interest, assess one's own writing ability, share work with others, and get encouragement. Seventeen respondents cited venue/time of class as their main reason for attending their particular course, and 20 respondents were simultaneously attending another writing group/workshop. When asked what aspect of the course they found most enjoyable, 23 respondents cited interaction with others, 8 each cited group discussion or feedback from tutor, 5 cited specific class exercises, and 2 cited learning theoretical material. It was recommended that institutions offering creative writing courses/workshops consider more versatile course formats and requirements. (Twenty-three references/suggested readings are listed. The survey questions and responses are included.) (MN)