Difference between Scottish and English education systems

 

Introduction

This literature differentiates between the Scottish and English education systems to explain how they work. Focusing on grammar schools, it analyses the effects of their selective recruitment process of pupils on their performance and compares them to the comprehensive system which the Scottish schools follow. Evidence based upon academic selection on school performance and equity is assessed throughout by referring to the recurring debate about the expansion of grammar schools in England. Further this literature makes recommendations on whether Scotland should introduce grammar schools which were largely abolished earlier (Gorard and Siddiqi, 2018). Towards the end some additional policy measures are suggested.

Difference in schooling patterns?

Scottish Schools:

Ø  The Scottish education system follows their own curriculum for excellence which functions slight differently. Academies can set their own terms and conditions because they don’t follow the National curriculum. Children can choose from a wider range of subjects.

Ø  Curriculum for excellence is divided into two phases, broad general education and senior phase. The examination pattern has N5 exams followed by higher and advanced higher examinations (Education.gov.scot, 2020).  

English Schools:

Ø  The English education system follows the National curriculum. GCSE which is the standard examination pattern lets children to take up ten subjects out of which six are obligatory in grammar schools etc.

Ø  National curriculum divides the education period into four phases.  

What makes grammar schools stand out?

Positive Claims-

·       Grammar schools are referred as high performing schools which educate children of similar ability range which helps them to achieve better potential.

·       According to Andrews, Hutchinson and Johnes (2016) some people believe grammar schools boost social mobility and poor children perform better in selective schools.

Negative Claims-

·       The 11plus promotes social selection.

·       Grammar schools pose negative effects on other type of schools as they take most of the high performing children. This creates a sense of inequality between the children studying in grammar schools and other comprehensive schools. Further grammar schools create a social divide (Gorard and Siddiqi, 2018).

Evidence

School Performance:-

Grammar schools top school league tables. It’s often confused that this high performance should be credited to what happened in school rather than the nature of the pupils selected. To justify it, we need counterfactuals which can prove that these pupils wouldn’t do well if they didn’t attend grammar schools. The value-added model tries to answer the question by looking at the progress made by students while at school. Such studies which compare grammar schools with comprehensive and other types of school suggest that grammar schools have better student outcomes even when prior results are accounted and no such gains exist in comprehensive schooling (Gorard and Siddiqi, 2018). These studies can be outlawed because they use KS1 AND KS2 results as prior attainment, but children move into grammar after KS2. This suggests that the so called ‘Grammar school effect’ doesn’t exist because of the uncertainty and errors involved while calculating school effectiveness (Manning and Pischke, 2006).

Equity:-

·       Claims suggest that grammar schools benefit social mobility and overall benefit poor students. These are countered when we look at the number of children eligible for free school meals to be only 2% in grammar schools as compared to 15% in comprehensive schools. This indicates that the poor children have limited benefits (Gorard, 2016).

 

·       Performance based selection process creates a sense of social inequality and can generate a division amongst children of the same age. It could be so because in English comprehensive schools the children who get admitted are the ones who don’t get admitted into grammar schools. Parents spend a heavily for prep schooling and exert a lot of pressure on children so that they could seek admission into grammar schools (Jerrim and Simmons, 2019). This gives an advantage to the richer people to seek admission into grammar schools over the poor.

Should Scotland introduce grammar schools?

There is little evidence supporting the claim that social mobility is promoted through grammar schools. Further there is considerable evidence for the claim; Academic outcome is boosted by selecting children on ability basis and the concern regarding social selection. Such kinds of segregation is also seen in high performing comprehensive schools.

It is evident that Scotland wouldn’t gain any exceptional benefit by introducing grammar schools. By doing so the children at a very tender age would be exposed to tremendous pressure and their aspirations can be at stake. Comprehensive schooling is good as it promotes healthy competition as it has students having different mental standards. There can be a few additional policy measures and reforms which the Scottish government could adopt.  

Policy Lessons and additional policy measures

Ø  Comprehensive schools in Scotland might lack opportunities for students with high aspirations which are well catered by grammar schools. This could be taken care by providing cost free tutoring facilities to high achievers and introducing optional mock tests to provide extra practice.

Ø  Various evidences suggest that social mobility is best promoted when there is no selection. To boost social mobility further schools which carter to a specific audience should be abolished.

Ø  PISA scores of 2018 show that Scotland lags way behind England in Mathematics and Sciences. It suggests that grammar schools play a significant role as they provide a more competitive environment for students.   

Conclusion

 Little evidence being present for the claims on academic performance and equity suggest that Scotland shall gain no major benefit by the introduction of grammar schools. It should learn from the English case to create more opportunities for high aspiring students just like grammar schools do. Scotland lags in technical subject outcomes, which can be fixed by providing more competitive environments to students.   

 

Reference List

Anon, 2016. Grammar schools and social mobility. New Statesman, 145(5327), p.3.

Education.gov.scot. (2020). Broad general education | Scottish education system | Education Scotland. [online] Available at: https://education.gov.scot/education-scotland/scottish-education-system/broad-general-education/ [Accessed 27 Feb. 2020].

Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N., 2018. Grammar schools in England: a new analysis of social segregation and academic outcomes. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 39(7), pp.909–924.

Gorard, S. 2016. “Challenging Perceptions of a North South Regional Divide in School Performance in England.”  BERA Annual Conference, Leeds, September 2016. 

Jerrim, J. & Sims, S., 2019. Why do so few low‐ and middle‐income children attend a grammar school? New evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study. British Educational Research Journal, 45(3), pp.425–457.

Manning, A. & Pischke, J.-S., 2006. Comprehensive versus Selective Schooling in England in Wales: What Do We Know? IDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc, pp.IDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc, 2006.

Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. (2018). PISA in UK. [online] Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/855985/PISA_2018_England_national_report_accessible.pdf [Accessed 27 Feb. 2020].