Everyone's Future: Lessons from fifty years of Scottish comprehensive schooling - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1858566673 ISBN 13: 9781858566672

Publisher: Trentham Books, 2015

Synopsis

It is fifty years since comprehensive education was introduced in Scotland, England and Wales. But while the ideal of comprehensive education has been largely abandoned in England, comprehensive schools are alive and well in Scotland and command public support. This long-term overview of the development of the Scottish system, with contrasting accounts from England, Northern Ireland and Wales, concludes that comprehensive schooling, linked to underlying democratic values of liberty, equality and fraternity, has made a positive difference to the development of contemporary Scotland. Drawing on a wide range of research, documentary and policy evidence, the book provides a critical account of developments in curriculum and governance and the impact of comprehensive schooling on its students’ outcomes, social class and gender inequalities. It exploits a unique series of surveys to give voice to young people and their increasingly positive attitudes to school, especially among the less academic. But the Scottish system’s success is still only partial. Looking forward, the book outlines lessons from the Scottish experience both for Scotland and for other countries considering how best to educate young people of secondary-school age. A valuable resource for students, teachers, academics and policymakers.

About this title

About the Authors

Daniel Murphy has held many different posts in Scottish comprehensive schools, including three headships, since qualifying as a teacher in 1974. He is the author of Dealing with Dilemmas (2013, 2nd edn) and Schooling Scotland (2014).

Linda Croxford joined the Centre for Educational Sociology in 1983 as a researcher on the Scottish School Leavers' Surveys and is still analysing datasets for evidence of inequalities in education and youth transitions.

Cathy Howieson worked as a careers adviser before joining the Centre for Educational Sociology in 1986; since then she has researched widely in the areas of compulsory and post-compulsory education and training and young people’s transitions.

David Raffe was a member of the Centre for Educational Sociology from 1975 and was its director for many years until his death in 2015. He conducted research on numerous aspects of secondary and post-secondary education and training in Scotland and elsewhere.

Tony Gallagher is a Professor of Education and Pro Vice-Chancellor at Queen’s University Belfast.

Edition details

• Publisher: Trentham Books
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1858566673
• ISBN 13: 9781858566672
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 232
• Editor: Murphy Daniel, Croxford Linda, Howieson Cathy, Raffe David