The Moray House School of Education
Research - Themes & Projects

Lead researcher

Professor David Raffe, (CES, Education & Society, School of Education) University of Edinburgh

Other researchers

Cathy Howieson, Dr Teresa Tinklin

Keywords

Unified system; post-compulsory education; policy; educational change; schools; colleges

Abstract

The study examined the first three years of implementation of the Higher Still reform in Scotland which brought academic and vocational tracks in post-16 education within a unified system. It built on the insights and conceptual framework of the ESRC-funded Unified Learning Project (ULP: 1996-98), which studied policy development at national level, by following this into the implementation phase.

The project aimed to:
Examine the emerging model of a unified system and how this model is shaped during the implementation process;
Analyse the policy process and consider whether this is distinctive for policies to introduce a unified system;
Examine the role of institutions (schools and colleges) in shaping the reform;
Explore the articulation of the unified system with work-based provision and higher education, and the role of the new Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework;
Compare Scottish developments with those in England.

The research involved: surveys of all secondary schools, colleges and local authorities in Scotland; analyses of official data on school and college provision; case studies of six institutions; and interviews with key informants.

Publications

Raffe, D., Howieson, C. and Tinklin, T. (2007) The impact of a unified curriculum and qualifications system: the Higher Still reform of post-16 education in Scotland. British Educational Research Journal , 33, 4, 479-508.

Howieson, C. and Closs, A. (2006) Finally included? The evolution of curricular access for students with learning difficulties. Scottish Educational Review , 38, 1, 61-72.

Raffe, D., Howieson, C. and Tinklin, T. (2005) The introduction of a unified system of post-compulsory education in Scotland. Scottish Educational Review , 37, 1, 46-57.

Hodgson, A., Howieson, C., Raffe, D., Spours, K. and Tinklin, T. (2004) Post-16 curriculum and qualifications reform in England and Scotland: Lessons from home international comparisons. Journal of Education and Work , 17, 4, 441-465.

Howieson, C., Raffe, D. and Tinklin, T., (2004) The use of new National Qualifications in S3 and S4 in 2002-03. Scottish Educational Review , 36, 2, 177-190.

Raffe, D. (2003) Bringing academic education and vocational training closer together, in Oelkers, J. (ed) Futures of Education II: Essays from an Interdisciplinary Symposium. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

Raffe, D. (2003) Simplicity itself: the creation of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. Journal of Education and Work , 16, 3, 239-257. (Reprinted in Scottish Educational Review .)

Raffe, D., Howieson, C. and Tinklin, T. (2002) The Scottish educational crisis of 2000: an analysis of the policy process of unification. Journal of Educational Policy , 17, 2, 167-185.

Howieson, C., Raffe, D. and Tinklin, T. (2002) Institutional responses to a flexible unified system: the case of Scottish Colleges of Further Education, in Nijhof, W., Heikkinen, A., and Nieuwenhuis, L. (eds) Shaping Flexibility in Vocational Education and Training . Dordrecht: Kluwer.

List of working papers on CES site

Start /end date

2000 - 2004

Funder /amount

ESRC / £237,000
.