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"Curriculum change Scotland Case studies."
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Reinventing the Curriculum
Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence offers an example of a different approach to national curriculum development. It combines what are claimed to be the best features of top-down and bottom-up approaches to curriculum development, and provides an indication of the broad qualities that school education should promote rather than a detailed description of curriculum content. Advocates of the approach argue that it provides central guidance for schools and maintains national standards whilst at the same time allowing schools and teachers the flexibility to take account of local needs when designing programmes of education. Reinventing the Curriculum uses Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence as a rich case study, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of this approach to curriculum design and development, and exploring the implications for curriculum planning and development around the world.
eBook
From Isolation to Inclusion: Advancing Rural Educational Equity in Scotland
This paper investigates how Scottish rural schools engage with their broader educational landscape, particularly through collaborative practices and capacity-building efforts. It examines how these schools cultivate a culture of partnership, both among institutions and within their communities, to strengthen leadership and enhance teaching and learning. Guided by Place-Based Education (PBE) as its conceptual framework, the study emphasises equity challenges rooted in local contexts and situates rural education within Scotland’s historical, societal, and policy landscape. Drawing on qualitative case studies of five schools, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with principals and supported by documentary evidence and student attainment data from national assessments. The findings showcase school leaders’ efforts to enhance social and educational outcomes and build sustainable, equity-driven systems. The paper concludes with implications for policy and practice, addressing equitable access, workforce recruitment and retention, and the potential for schools to collaborate with local and regional stakeholders to strengthen rural education.
Journal Article
Schools, teachers, and curriculum change: A balancing act?
Educational change is a fact of life for teachers across the world, as schools are subjected to constant and ubiquitous pressures to innovate. And, yet, many school practices remain remarkably persistent in the face of such innovation. This paradox of innovation without change is perplexing for policymakers and practitioners alike. This paper investigates the gap between policy and practice, between innovation and the changes in social practices that occur in response to such innovation. It draws upon empirical data from two case studies in Scotland—schools responding to new curriculum policy—exploring contrasting approaches to the management of innovation. One is a laissez faire approach, and the other a more directive managerial strategy. Through an analytical separation of culture, structure, and agency, derived from the social theory of Margaret Archer, the paper sheds light on the social processes that accompanied innovation in these two settings demonstrating how teacher culture and differing management styles impact upon externally initiated policy.
Journal Article
Teacher learning communities and educational change in Scotland: The Highland experience
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.
Journal Article
The impact of a unified curriculum and qualifications system: the Higher Still reform of post-16 education in Scotland
There is a cross-national trend towards unified curriculum and qualifications frameworks in upper secondary education, but such reforms face epistemological, political and institutional barriers and 'unification' remains a contested issue in many countries, including England. This article examines the experience of the Scottish Higher Still reform, one of the most systematic examples of this trend. It presents data from an Economic and Social Research Council-funded study which included case studies of schools and colleges, surveys of all secondary schools and colleges in Scotland, analyses of Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) data and interviews with key informants. Higher Still's climbing frame model of provision provided better learning opportunities for different types and levels of students, but its impact on attainment and parity of esteem were more limited. The article concludes that institutional barriers formed the biggest obstacles in the implementation phase, reflected in the contrasting 'institutional logics' of schools and colleges.
Journal Article
Innovation and educational changes: two e-Learning cases in aquaculture
In this paper, we investigate the potential changes that education innovation can bring to education and training in aquaculture. When introducing Information and Communication Technology methods into new educational contexts, situations and/or practices, in the process teacher/practitioners will almost always make use of innovatory technology which in itself can lead to a measure of change within the relevant educational system. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that the use of technology is not an end in itself, its use is only justified as a tool to achieve the educational goals that have been set. It is in this spirit that two case studies are presented from current aquaculture curricula, which make use of innovative teaching methodology in the form of e-Learning: one case study is from the Open University (Universidade Aberta) in Portugal [distance teaching in a Master’s programme (Second Cycle)]; the second is from the NAFC Marine Centre, Scottish Qualifications Authority accredited courses in Scotland, UK. We report the pedagogical models on which these courses were built, the tools required to achieve the intended educational objectives and the teaching and learning resources used. We also report the creative stimulus inherent in the innovation processes that allowed the two teachers/instructors to achieve the same, or better, results than traditional teacher-led classroom methods, by using a technology-enhanced teaching process without the need for face-to-face interaction.
Journal Article
Curriculum change: an exploration of its impact upon school music in Scotland between 1978 and 2000
The article explores curriculum change in Scottish schools between 1978 and 2000 and its impact on learning and teaching. This period produced far reaching alterations to music curriculum thinking and practice. However, there is presently only limited reference within music education literature to strategies that either support or enhance our understanding of the change process. An attempt is made to address some of these omissions, to identify the conditions that most effectively foster and manage change and so establish a clearer basis for future studies. The wider implications of music curriculum change for classroom practitioners are considered, together with conclusions and implications concerning future curriculum policy in this area.
Journal Article
Thistles and Thistledown: Art and Design Education in Scotland
Discusses art and design education in Scotland in which art appreciation is seen as the antidote to the limited focus on child-centered creativity. Offers three case studies that illustrate the integrative nature of the curriculum in Scottish schools and the diversity of approaches possible even within a national examination-led system. (CMK)
Journal Article