By Dr Michael Gregson
SO, the opposition parties got together, and the motion denouncing the SQA and Education Scotland was passed at Holyrood. Willie Rennie lambasted those monoliths for their pandemic inadequacies, citing the 75,000 pupils whose results were downgraded because the algorithm said so. He then urged the Scottish Government to publish the OECD Report on the flagship Curriculum for Excellence, alleging it was delaying bad news until after May’s elections. Other MSPs agreed. Iain Gray pointed to the diminished curriculum; failures in pupil support; and widespread multi-level teaching.
But the purpose and culture of Scottish education need to be addressed. Asking for the OECD report to be published is fine; but it’s not as if the lessons of the last one have been taken on board. That 2015 OECD report set out major areas of weakness across the Scottish system. And the 2019 PISA testing of 15-year-olds worldwide saw Scotland emerge as “average”. The Scottish Government doesn’t lack challenges.
But tackling these with the existing structure is tilting at windmills. Learner engagement is the Grail, and successful models exist, where research evidence and innovative practice flourish symbiotically. Across Europe, curricula and pedagogy evolve continuously in schools, networks and communities. Frank Lennon praises Norwegian partnerships and peer-learning networks. Olli-Pekka Heinonen speaks of the Finnish model of autonomy and equity.
The Curriculum for Excellence was, above all, supposed to be about nurturing the Four Capacities, creating learning contexts in which young people could develop skills and competences for life. Winds of change seemed set to free us from the tyranny of the high-stakes assessment – which dictate learning and teaching. A new world beckoned, one of “autonomous teachers who have access to good evidence, good continuing professional development and the tools that they need to support them”, as Danielle Mason put it.
But reducing central guidance, and fostering autonomy, hardly come naturally to a Scottish Government, which perennially seeks to exert control. Are we likely to see the "Families of Schools" template rolled out, with accountability and inspection devolved? Will we take on board the lessons in collaboration of The Greater Manchester Challenge?
The SQA and Education Scotland are the ancien régime. Well-staffed with sharp and wise heads in their midst, they produce gorgeous, gilded things: elaborate infographics, flow charts and 20,000-page tomes to illustrate, not quite the number of angels on a pinhead, but certainly nothing of any use. Their work is essentially mediaeval in character, aspiring to be "useless but beautiful". Admittedly they are influential: regional improvement collaboratives, flush from all those secondments, are now vomiting forth their own Infographics and management-speak circumlocution.
And we need more for our children and young people. If there is one lesson to draw from the pandemic, it is to pay much, much more attention to health and well-being. If we were ever serious about creating successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors, then we must place children and young people front and centre of education. Not seconded careerists.
Dr Michael Gregson teaches at Inverness Royal Academy
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