Scottish Education System

RESEARCH ON THE SCOTTISH EDUCATION SYSTEM
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Research on the Scottish Education System
Different countries have different education systems, which affect national outcomes. According to Hudson et al. (2020), education systems influence the well-being of future society, so it is important to implement high-quality education systems. Scotland's education system differs from the rest of the United Kingdom (UK) countries. Understanding Scotland's education system is relevant because it will provide clarity on the bigger picture concerning student learning. Specifically, it will offer insights into the different aspects that influence teaching and learning in Scotland. To this end, this report explores the structure, curriculum, special education needs provisions, and the current issues within the education system in Scotland. It also compares the Scottish and English education systems.
Country Overview
Scotland is one of the countries that make up the UK. It is located in the northern third of Great Britain Island and occupies an area of about 78,772 kilometres (Undiscovered Scotland, n.d.). Scotland is a democracy with a devolved government. This government is responsible for making decisions about Scottish public issues, including education. The government is led by a first minister, supported by nine cabinet secretaries and eighteen ministers (Scottish Government, n.d.). However, it still operates within the UK constitution under the leadership of the Westminister government.
The history of Scotland can be traced back to the Roman invasion of Britain. It was an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages but later combined with England following the 1603 union of the crown and the 1707 union of parliaments (One World - Nations Online, n.d.).
Scotland is a high-income country with a well-performing economy. Its main sectors are energy, creative industries, oil and gas, financial services, and education (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2021). However, Scotland’s economic success has declined following Brexit. According to the Scottish Government (2022), being part of the UK economic model has hindered Scotland’s economic performance because Brexit left the UK without access to a European single market. Scotland has over 5 million people and continues to experience steady population growth (OECD, 2021). The main ethnic groups are the Scots and the British (One World - Nations Online, n.d.), although it has other ethnic minorities, including the Polish (OECD, 2021).
Structure of the Education System in Scotland
The Scottish education system has two phases: the broad general education and the senior phase (Education Scotland, n.d.). The broad general education phase starts in early learning childcare and ends at the end of the third secondary school year. Children start school at the age of three years in public schools, although private schools take children younger than three years (Scotland, n.d.). Each school year has three terms with breaks in October, at Christmas and Easter, and in mid-February for some schools (Parent Zone Scotland, n.d.). Although the Scottish government is responsible for education issues, its devolved nature has allowed the local authority to set school terms and holiday timetables.
A school week for primary and secondary schools has 25 and 27 hours, respectively, although the hours are reduced for younger children (Parent Zone Scotland, n.d.). Students are in school for 190 days per year. According to the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) (2022), a typical school day starts at 9 am and ends around 4 pm. Each school has a timetable, and a school week runs from Monday to Friday.
Scotland does not have a national school uniform guideline (Shanks, 2022). However, most schools require students to wear some form of uniform. According to Devlin (2021), about 96% of public schools in Scotland require students to be in school uniform. The lack of national guidance around school uniforms creates inequalities in schools. To this end, the Scottish government opened a consultation on school uniform policy in 2022 to help formulate statutory guidance on school uniforms (Scottish Government, 2022).
Scottish Curriculum
Scotland uses a curriculum known as the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). According to Education Scotland (n.d.), the CfE aims to develop and foster four capabilities in learners: confident individuals, successful learners, effective contributors, and responsible citizens.
Content
Under this curriculum, the broad general education covers eight curriculum areas: health and well-being, mathematics, languages, sciences, expressive arts, religious and moral studies, technologies, and social studies. This ensures that students learn numeracy, literacy, and cognitive skills, understand society, and develop skills for learning, work, and life (Education Scotland, n.d.). The senior phase builds on learners' learning experiences at the end of the broad general education. It includes programmes that lead to qualifications. Learners build on their skills for learning, work, and life (Education Scotland, n.d.).
Curriculum Design
Scotland’s curriculum is not only organized in the two phases described above but also in terms of levels (Scotland, n.d.). The first level includes early learning, the starting level, followed by primary and then lower secondary levels. All these levels fall under the broad general education phase. After lower secondary, learners join the upper secondary level, which falls in the senior phase. This is where students obtain qualifications that allow them to pursue higher education. The primary and secondary levels are mandatory, but higher education is not.
Pedagogies
Learning in Scottish schools allows learners to develop and showcase skills and knowledge in different scenarios. According to Education Scotland (n.d.), the content is taught in a way that allows interdisciplinary learning. It involves outdoor learning experiences, the use of technology, and research, especially in the broad general education phase. According to Education Scotland (n.d), teachers use assessments, feedback, and observations to design and facilitate learning. They also collaborate with parents and families to support students learning and academic achievement.
Special Education Need Provisions
Scotland acknowledges the right of all children to obtain support that allows them to reach their full potential in education. The Scottish government introduced the Additional Support for Learning Act in 2009, requiring education authorities to offer additional support to students with special needs due to family circumstances, learning environment, health, or disability (EIS, 2019). This can include students who are being bullied, have a young parent/carer, are refugees/asylum seekers, have a parent in prison, are grieving the death of a loved one, and those with mental, physical, behavioural and health conditions.
Education authorities must provide adequate additional learning support that aligns with the child’s special needs. For instance, schools should provide a learning assistant to help a student with a learning disability, a behavioural support teacher to work with students with behavioural issues, and learning/teaching materials particular to a child's special needs (Scottish Government, 2017). Additional support should be provided for both short and long-term special needs.
While these provisions have increased inclusivity in the Scottish education system, a lack of adequate staff in education hinders the attainment of inclusion (EIS, 2019). The available staff are overwhelmed ...