Scottish education reform must be driven by those who work in schools if it is to succeed, according to the “radical vision” set out in a new University of Glasgow paper.
History is littered with examples of why “top-down” change does not work, warn co-authors Professor Chris Chapman and Professor Graham Donaldson.
In Where Next for Scottish Schools: Leading from the Classroom, they find that “the jury is still out” on the ongoing reform of Scottish education.
“The history of educational innovation and change cautions against top-down, delivery-orientated models of change,” states the paper, which notes the “somewhat disappointing impact of reform in Scotland over the last 20 years”.
Professors Chapman and Donaldson underline that ”the more that those directly involved in schools can take key decisions about what and how our young people learn, the greater the likelihood that those decisions will meet specific needs and varying backgrounds more effectively”.
Locally decided learning and teaching
They add: “Ownership of learning and teaching by those directly involved in the process rather than delivery of remote, externally determined requirements tends to reap greater rewards.
“The challenge is to balance that ownership against the risks of undue variation and the need to ensure that what is taught and learned is of high quality, meets individual needs and reflects the cultures, goals, and values of the nation.”
The authors recall that their previous March 2023 paper, Where Next for Scottish Education: Learning is Scotland’s Future, warned against continuing “on the same path, cherry-picking seemingly attractive elements from the plethora of reviews, reports and commentaries” devoted to reform, rather than more “long-term thinking”.
A year later, they find that “the jury is still out” on whether Scotland is moving away from piecemeal education reform.
“Financial pressures have become even more apparent, complicating the possibilities of achieving ambitious reform,” the paper states.
It also notes “a series of further developments and reviews” in the past year, such as the proposed Centre for Teaching Excellence, announced in October 2023, which “suggests a stronger policy focus on developing professional practice”, as well as the latest results report from the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which “highlights the need for significant improvement in its measures of language, mathematics and science”.
While advocating for schools to have autonomy, the paper warns against picking sides in “a false dichotomy of central direction or total freedom”, instead backing “an appropriate balance between those two positions”.
High-quality teachers are essential
Professors Chapman and Donaldson also advise that a high-quality teaching workforce, above all else, is essential in an education system - and that this depends on access to meaningful professional learning.
“Put simply, an education system cannot outperform the quality of its teachers,” they state, adding that teachers “matter more than schools, local authorities and central government in terms of ensuring that children progress well in their learning and in reducing variations within the system”.
In short, they write: “The decisions and practices of teachers and other practitioners are the key determinants of the quality of a young person’s educational experience.”
Insulating professional learning from cuts
They see budget cuts and difficult financial situations as no excuse to sideline teachers’ professional learning.
The paper states: “To get to the top of their game and to stay there, teachers require to work in collaborative and supportive contexts, to have access to and engagement with relevant research and professional learning and to engage positively in self-evaluation.
“These conditions should be seen as an obligation not an opportunity and should be protected, particularly when resources are scarce.”
Other key points in the paper include:
- Some 20 years on from the origins of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) - and despite “continuing strong support” for CfE from teachers - “questions must be asked about how far its current shape is still relevant and working in practice”.
- “We need to understand why there appears to be an incongruence between CfE outcomes and performance in Pisa.”
- There must be “an honest conversation about what counts as success” through, for example, scrutiny of whether “current measures of ‘positive destinations’ serve children well and create a widespread culture of high expectations and aspirations”.
- There should be “much better evidence about what is happening in Scottish schools than has been available for at least the last decade”, which will require “investment in high-quality independent research” and “the reinstatement of a strengthened inspectorate”, while ”sample national surveys of performance should also be reintroduced”.
- “Digital technologies create possibilities for more personalised learning but should not replace the vital interpersonal role of a teacher”.
- The proposal of “local learning hubs” to act “as a broker and a facilitator of local collaboration and as a conduit for introducing fresh thinking”.
- At a national level, there should be “a focal point for curating and disseminating professional advice and support” - but this should not lead to “a new top-down culture that could stifle local ownership and creativity”.
Professor Chapman said that he and Professor Donaldson are “convinced that there is an urgent need for radical thinking about how best to support all of Scotland’s young people to learn and flourish in an increasingly challenging environment”.
Professor Donaldson is a former Scottish senior chief inspector and was previously behind the seminal 2011 report Teaching Scotland’s Future. He has also been playing a leading role in the reform of Welsh education.
Today, he said: “Decisions about how children learn are best made where that learning takes place. Putting professionals at the heart of decision making will therefore better meet the needs of children and young people from all backgrounds.”
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