Education

Chapter Summary

Sorted’s Learning chapter paves the way for a new way to learn in Scotland. Making the case for a Curriculum of Wellbeing, where wellbeing is the foundation for all educational success. Where learning means learning to be useful, learning to be part of a society, learning skills, learning who you are, learning about the world in which you live. We must refocus the education system on children and what gives them that learning.

What is Education for?

1) To enable people to;

live a good useful life within society

posses basic life skills to be self sufficient

have the tools to be confident, resilient, valued citizens

posses learning skills for communicating and counting

to understand the world we inhabit

2) Curriculum to deliver this;

National curriculum for all schools.

National Education Council to monitor curriculum, exam and assessment functions Curriculum for Wellbeing

Happy confident learners achieve more

Wellbeing gap rather than attainment gap tackled as a social issue

Continuous seamless curriculum across education sectors.

3). Within Schools

Remove target culture

Primarily formative assessment with summative external assessment only at exit stage to confirm teacher assessments.

Place social workers in schools to tackle social issues

Institutional stages

Birth to 3 years, see care service chapter

Kindergarten 3 to 7 years. Learn through play, creativity and exploration

Primary. 7 to 12 years. Focus on core numeracy and literary skills.

Secondary. 12 to 18 years. Development of all students to their maximum potential. Summative national assessments to confirm projection and formative assessments at exit stage for outside agencies.

Giving Teachers

Greater emphasis on student contact

Less bureaucracy

Less assessments

Less social care role

More teaching and assessment materials

More teachers and assistants

4). Lifelong learning

Invest in people

Colleges

determine with other providers required skills planning and training, particularly retraining for Transition to a green economy.

Universities

More democratic, for public good not business. Academic not commercial focus

3 year Broadly based multidisciplinary ordinary degrees

Honours and masters degrees available

Some Education Related Reports

An Equal Start↗

On early childcare and early learning strategy. What would a world class standard of early years learning and care look like?

Disruptive Technologies↗

On Artificial Intelligence and the need for a retraining strategy to adapt.

Work The Land ↗

Addressing rural depopulation by creating new jobs and re-skilling communities. This paper touches on alternative land uses to boost employment prospects.

Remembering what education is for. A Scottish pupil speaks about learning in a new era.

Read as 17-year-old Ollie explains how his current school experience has been different to his parents. Common Weal has created a fictional character to explain how learning in an independent Scotland shouldn’t be an exam factory where pupils are funnelled into university. Instead it should provide pupils with an opportunity for choice, while putting wellbeing at the forefront. Have a think about how your school experience was different.

https://youtu.be/DKVVijT_Mu4

Ollie's Story

Hi! I’m Ollie, I’m in high school. I love all my classes, but my favourites are biology and PE. I’m on the school hockey team, but I like playing football and badminton too.

My parents didn’t like school very much, and always said exams were so stressful. Well I guess they had to do them back then to go to university and have the chance to get a good job. But things are different now. There are so many career options now that university isn’t essential for a good salary, including lots of new green jobs that I would also consider.

I want to get an apprenticeship when I leave school, but I have my leaving exams to sit first. I like meeting up with my friends to study, because it doesn’t feel like studying at all! We like to help each other out now that we’re not competing for college and university spaces, and exams feel like a better test of our skills than just memorising things. The shift to a wellbeing curriculum means I can prioritise my mental health when I need to, without affecting my school results.

The new curriculum has created a more level playing field, so private schools don’t get any special treatment. My mum and dad said this was different in their day as often private schools had an unfair advantage and private pupils benefited from that advantage.

I could go to college part- time during my apprenticeship if I want to, but I’m not sure yet. There’s no pressure to choose a career right now, and that means I can enjoy my time at school so much more.

Ollie's story may be fictional for now. but a Curriculum for Wellbeing isn't a woolly concept. There’s plenty of evidence that confident, happy learners achieve better academic outcomes. So how can we move closer to this horizon? We have a plan to get Scotland #Sorted. Head to the link to explore more ideas surrounding this.