Scotland Does E-Learning - Statistical Data Included

Training & Development, August, 2001 by Samantha Chapnick

Don't forget curriculum

The Scottish school system isn't unlike the North American or other Western European systems from the perspective of not fostering self-directed learning. Traditionally, Scottish children have been expected to do what's assigned and leave it at that. Around the same time it became clear that manufacturing was dying, Scotland's government recognized that its education was outdated. The school system was difficult to change because it was decentralized. General curriculum guidelines were provided to 32 local councils, each of which had discretion to interpret the curriculum as it saw fit. That meant there were large differences in the schools depending on where they were, what the teachers were like, and so on. However, it also meant that the change could be tested locally before the monumental task of changing nationally.

Over the past few years. many new initiatives have been introduced to create self-directed learners. For example, subject matter covering problem solving and critical thinking provides children with the basic building blocks they need to succeed in the knowledge economy. Teachers are encouraged to teach the same subjects in multiple contexts, in and out of the classroom, and to use new teaching methods.

Another example is that at-risk children are being converted into passionate learners by involving them in creating the ir own learning. New Community Schools is a collaboration between Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, Training & Development Corporation, and Lochend Community High School to "create and develop a learning environment--the aim of which is to support mainstream education and lifelong learning through information and communications technologies and advanced instructional strategies to empower teachers and students. Working together, students and teachers discover and develop competence. . .an opportunity to help engage, stimulate, and motivate all students to further develop the confidence and communication skills vital for their future participation in the labor market," as the program description says. The first school was established in Easterhouse, a section of Glasgow where unemployment is three times the national average and poverty is prevalent. In particular, a group of 33 high-risk children (those with low attendance, low self-esteem, occasional conflict with authority, and behavioral difficulties) were identified and invited, via a letter to their parents, to attend a three-week summer school session far more rigorous than what they were used to. Most accepted.

The children, working with the teachers and staff, designed the curriculum, the room (selecting the couches, pillows, and so forth), the food, and the technology options. The results were astonishing. Before the start of the course, their scores on a self-esteem test were almost all below the norm. By the end of the course, only one of the 18 students still scored low; 70 percent maintained perfect attendance. Almost all .of the parents, many of whom had never been in the school, attended the open house to view their children's work at the end of the summer. And where there used to vandalism, not one window has been broken since the program began.