About the Book

This detailed, informed and critical account of contemporary education in Scotland examines each of the main sectors in depth: early years, primary, secondary, further and higher education. It scrutinises the historical, cultural, political, and socio-economic dimensions within which schools, colleges and universities operate.
Featuring 67 new authors and updated and expanded throughout, this fifth edition is so substantially updated from the previous edition as to practically constitute a new book. The contributors have drawn on up-to-date research and professional analysis to give fresh insights into recent educational developments in particular during the period from the Independence referendum in 2014, through the complexities of the post-Brexit years. These have been years when education has faced difficult challenges and the writers analyse the many factors affecting teachers' efforts to operate during uncertain times.
This latest edition contains forthright and informed commentary on every aspect of education and is essential reading for anyone concerned to know how education currently 'works' in Scotland.

Table of Contents:
Notes on Contributors Part I: AN OVERVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION IN SCOTLAND 1. Scottish Education 5: its nature, purpose and structureTom Bryce and Walter Humes 2. Educational provision: an overviewIan Smith 3. Scottish primary educationClaire Cassidy 4. Scottish secondary educationTom Bryce and Walter Humes 5. The independent sector John Edward 6. Scottish further education Patrick O’Donnell and Mark Murphy 7. Scottish higher educationWalter Humes 8. Policy and politics in Scottish educationDonald Gillies Part II. THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF SCOTTISH EDUCATION 9. Historical perspectivesRobert Anderson 10. The history of Scottish education since devolution Donald Gillies 11. The distinctiveness of Scottish educationWalter Humes and Tom Bryce 12. Poverty, class and inter-generational disadvantageEdward Sosu 13. Catholic education in ScotlandStephen McKinney 14. ‘Progressive’ schools and home educationAndrew Pyle Part III. GOVERNANCE AND DIRECTION IN SCOTTISH EDUCATION 15. Education and the lawJanys Scott QC 16. Central government and the administration of Scottish educationMorag Redford 17. Local governance in Scottish educationBrian McGinley 18. National and local curriculum supportDerek Brown 19. School inspection and school improvementDouglas Hutchison 20. The parent dimension in educationEileen Prior Part IV. MANAGEMENT, ORGANISATION AND LEARNING IN SCHOOLS 21. Childcare and early educationChristine Stephen 22. Early SchoolingDeirdre Grogan and Joan Martlew 23. Learning in Scottish primary and secondary schoolsTom Bryce 24. Leadership, management and organisation in the primary schoolDeirdre Torrance 25. Discipline, behaviour and ethos in primary schoolsJackie Ravet 26. Transitions from early years to primary and primary to secondary Divya Jindal-Snape 27. Leadership, management and organisation in the secondary schoolDanny Murphy 28. Personal support (Guidance)Claire Wallace 29. Ethos and behaviour in secondary schoolsRaymond Soltysek Part V. CURRICULUM: EARLY YEARS AND PRIMARY 30. Expressive ArtsCharlie Byrne 31. Literacy and EnglishSue Ellis 32. MathematicsSusan McLarty and Ruth Forrester 33. Modern LanguagesHazel Crichton 34. Physical EducationNicola Carse and Mike Jess 35. Religious (and Moral) EducationYonah Matemba 36. ScienceStephen Day and Andrew Killen 37. Social StudiesJuliet Hancock, Lynne Robertson and Anne Robertson 38. TechnologiesSusan McLaren Part VI. CURRICULUM: SECONDARY 39. Art and Design Diarmuid McAuliffe 40. BiologyStephen Day 41. Business EducationJackie White 42. ChemistryMargaret Ritchie 43. Computing ScienceVic Lally and Peter Donaldson 44. Design and TechnologyDavid Morrison-Love 45. Drama Will Barlow 46. English and Literacy Hugh Gallagher and Linda Harris 47. Geography Ashley Fenwick 48. History Joe Smith 49. Home Economics Agnes Macintosh 50. Mathematics Ian Hulse and John Winter 51. Modern Foreign Languages Do Coyle 52. Modern Studies Sarah Proctor 53. Music Alan Hewitt and Andrew Dickie 54. Physical Education and SportShirley Gray and Andrew Horrell 55. PhysicsMorag Findlay 56. Religious and Moral EducationLeonardo Franchi and Leon Robinson 57. Social Sciences John GouldPart VII. CROSS-SECTORAL AND INTER-DISCIPLINARY ISSUES 58. Literacy across learningLinda Harris and Hugh Gallagher 59. Numeracy across learningTom Macintyre 60. Digital education in schoolsJudy Robertson 61. Health and wellbeingJennifer Spratt 62. Citizenship educationAlan Britton 63. Outdoor learningPeter Higgins and Robbie Nicol 64. Children’s rightsJohn I’Anson 65. Learning for sustainabilityPeter Higgins and Beth Christie 66. The Scots language in educationAnne Donovan and Liz Niven 67. Gaelic education Boyd Robertson Part VIII. ASSESSMENT, CERTIFICATION AND ACHIEVEMENTS 68. Assessment in Scottish schoolsTom Bryce 69. The Scottish Qualifications AuthorityTom Bryce and Walter Humes 70. SQA findings on Scottish attainmentsJames Morgan 71. The national improvement framework and the return of national testingChris McIlroy Part IX. FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION 72. Knowledge, skills and pathways in Further EducationGary Husband 73. Teaching and Learning in FE and HEVelda McCune 74. Higher Education in turbulent timesTerry Brotherstone and Murdo Mathison 75. Access, progression and retention in FE and HECristina Iannelli 76. From adult education to lifelong learningJanis Davidson Part X. SCOTTISH SOCIETY: EDUCATION FOR ALL? 77. Inclusion for all? Lisa McAuliffe 78. Additional support needsLio Moscardini 79. Psychological services and their impact Tommy MacKay 80. The ‘People’ People: The many roles and professional relationships of Social WorkersIan Milligan 81. Community Education and Community Learning and DevelopmentDavid Wallace and Annette Coburn 82. Multi-agency workingJoan Forbes 83. Disaffection with schoolingGeorge Head 84. Educating migrant and refugee pupilsDaniela Sime 85. Gender and Scottish educationSheila Riddell and Elizabet Weedon 86. Addressing LGBTI issues in Scotland’s schoolsIan Rivers 87. ‘Race’ equality in Scottish educationRowena Arshad 88. Religious intolerance: sectarianismStephen J. McKinney Part XI. TEACHERS AND TEACHER EDUCATION 89. Scottish teachers: then and nowAileen Kennedy 90. Initial teacher education in ScotlandAnn MacDonald and Ann Rae 91. Teacher professional learningAileen Kennedy and Anna Beck 92. Teacher leadershipMargery McMahon 93. Teachers’ professional organisationsLarry Flanagan 94. The General Teaching Council for Scotland as an independent body – but for how long?Tom Hamilton 95. Researching education in ScotlandLaura Colucci-Gray and Kirsten Darling-McQuistan Part XII. LOOKING FORWARD: THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION IN SCOTLAND 96. Curriculum reform: progress, tensions and possibilitiesMark Priestley 97. A pupil’s experience of Scottish educationJonathan Tevendale 98. An alternative vocational pathway: a model for the futureIain White 99. A journalist’s perspective on the future of Scottish education Henry Hepburn 100. The direction of post-school education in ScotlandJean Barr 101. The future of (Scottish) education: an international perspectiveTrevor Gale and Stephen Parker 102. The funding of Scottish education: recent experiences and future prospectsDavid Bell 103. The future of Scottish educationThe Editors