Policy cycles are initiated via a variety of context-bound causal drivers. In situations where systemic reform is desired, agenda-setting is vital to this process. This paper examines 'The National Discussion on Scottish Education', which was a sequence of stakeholder engagements promoted as a listening exercise to enable policy agenda-setting for…

The ways in which examination standards are conceptualised and operationalised differently across nations has not been given sufficient attention. The international literature on standard-setting has been dominated by the psychometrics tradition. Broader conceptualisations of examination standards have been discussed in the literature in England,…

Initial teacher education programmes in universities must meet the needs of varying constituencies. Politicians, school leaders and academics, for example, understandably seek to influence how these programmes should look. Given the importance of well-qualified teachers for the building of effective schools, it is right that a range of…

This study approaches inclusive schools by looking at how conditions for participation are expressed for pupils with additional support needs in education policy documents in Sweden and Scotland. By using five dimensions of the environment--availability, accessibility, affordability, accommodability and acceptability--expressions of conditions for…

This article investigates what the current mission statements of the 20 Scottish universities reveal about their aims and priorities in the challenging environment of higher education. It traces the origins and use of corporate mission statements and their transfer into United Kingdom higher education and then demonstrates how researchers have…

The paper draws on critical discourse analysis to examine and discuss some of the key developments in the governing of education in Scotland since the election of the Scottish National Party (SNP) government in May 2007. It analyses these developments, drawing on a study of key policy texts and suggests that discourse analysis has much to…

In the past 10 years, higher education (HE) systems in many parts of the world have experienced the emergence and development of policies for knowledge transfer (KT). These policies have established KT as the "third stream" of the university's activities after teaching and research and reflect attempts to make universities more…

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 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…

This paper concerns higher and further education institutions' policies as they relate to the interactions of their staff and students with the sex industry. In Scotland and England, consenting adults may legally buy and sell sex and commercial sexual entertainment, such as erotic dance and phone sex, provided that they do not do so in a public…

Scotland's Primary Memorandum of 1965 helped teachers come to terms with student-centered learning and contained advice on most aspects of elementary education. Although resented initially, it eventually produced major changes. A member of the committee of educators that produced the memorandum reflects on its creation. (Author/SV)

Analyzes two important policy papers on "progressive" elementary education--Scotland's Primary Memorandum of 1965 and England's Plowden Report of 1967--in light of previous policy and the state of elementary education in each country. Compares contemporary criticisms and subsequent reevaluations of the documents. Contains 22 references.…

The Scottish 5-14 master educational narrative prescribes a rigid framework for curricular policies and planning. The ideological strands of 5-14 present education as a business, promote the maintenance of a common culture, and attack teacher professionalism. Argues that the program should be seen as a means of control over the practice and…

The UK has the highest rate of cannabis use among young people worldwide. Dr. Alan Leshner, Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse reports, "Every year more than 100,000 people, most of them adolescents, seek treatment for their inability to control their marijuana use." According to the Scottish Drug Misuse Statistics in…

Improving literacy skills is fundamental to providing all children with the best possible opportunities to become successful and self-fulfilled at school, at work, and in the community. Developing the skills of reading and writing helps children to achieve and communicate a greater understanding of the subjects within the school curriculum. The…