School research plan 2023 to 2026

Introduction

The Scottish Government’s Plan for School Research sets out the priorities for research and research activities which will support the Scottish Government to deliver evidence informed policy making in school education. The strategy builds upon the work which took place under the Research Strategy for Scottish Education which was published in April 2017.

The Plan covers the period from summer 2023 to summer 2026, at which point the Plan will be reviewed.

What is the scope of the plan?

By school education, we mean broad general education (P1-S3, excluding pre-school) and the senior phase (S4-S6). The plan, thus, covers just one part of the wider learner journey in Scotland and does not include (though may interlace with) early years, further and higher education, and lifelong learning.

Though the research priorities set out in the plan are likely shared with the wider education research community in Scotland, the plan refers specifically to the research and research activities that will be led by the Scottish Government. Collaboration, however, is a central thread throughout the plan and we will work closely with the wider research community when planning, delivering and disseminating research.

What is the aim of the plan?

The aim of the plan is to support the Scottish Government to deliver evidence informed policy making in school education. Evidence informed policy making is an approach to policy development that aims to ensure that the decisions we make as a government are informed by the best available research evidence. It, thus, necessitates the effective, transparent and accessible communication and appraisal of evidence for policy makers and Scottish Ministers.

The plan has four objectives:

• delivering robust and timely evidence to support the policy making process
• collaboration with key partners
• supporting independent education research
• continuing to improve data access

What is the current policy landscape?

The school education landscape in Scotland has changed considerably in recent years. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic brought about severe disruption to education and we are currently in a period of education recovery. What is more, Scottish education is now undergoing a programme of reform across the education and skills landscape, in particular with our national bodies, along with potential changes in our approach to qualifications and assessment for Senior Phase learners.

COVID-19 pandemic

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon practitioner and pupil wellbeing, pupil attainment and assessment, and the role of digital learning are a few key issues that emerged during the pandemic. It is widely acknowledged that the pandemic was a particularly difficult experience for children and young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. In late 2020, we partnered with Education Scotland to undertake an Equity Audit to deepen our understanding of the impact of the pandemic on children from disadvantaged backgrounds which identified key areas of focus for accelerating recovery.

This included:

• health and wellbeing support
• digital infrastructure and connectivity
• support for parents and families
• teaching provision and the quality of learning
• support for teachers and the wider workforce

Research into these areas, as well as other longer term impacts of the pandemic upon education, is of central importance as Scotland continues to recover from the pandemic.

Education reform

In recent years there have been a number of key policy developments, with Scottish education now undergoing a programme of reform. A number of key education reports have informed this:

• Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future, 2021 (OECD)
• Upper-secondary education student assessment in Scotland (Stobart Report), 2021 (OECD)
• Putting Learners at the Centre: Towards a Future Vision for Scottish Education, 2022 (Professor Muir for the Scottish Government)

Based on the recommendations of these reports, the Scottish Government committed to:

• facilitating a national discussion, alongside Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), on the vision for the future of Scottish education, and appointing an independent facilitator to deliver this work
• consulting with learners, teachers, parents and others on how Scotland’s qualifications and assessment system can best evolve in line with the curriculum and society of today
• establishing a new qualifications and assessment body
• establishing a new national education body responsible for providing support and professional learning to teachers and schools, and provide advice and guidance on curriculum, assessment, learning and teaching
• establishing a new inspection body which is separate from the national education agency
• reviewing post-school education and training

The final report from the National Discussion - All Learners in Scotland Matter - national discussion on education – sets out a vision statement for the future of Scottish Education that all learners in Scotland matter. The vision statement outlines the following:

• the Scottish education system values collaborative partnerships that engage all learners, the people who work within and with the education system, and parents and carers
• all learners are supported in inclusive learning environments which are safe, welcoming, caring, and proactively address any barriers to learning and inequities that exist or arise
• each child and young person in Scotland has high-quality learning experiences which respect their rights and represents the diversity of who they are and the communities they live in
• each child and young person receives great teaching, resources, and support for joyful learning that builds their confidence and equips them to be successful and to contribute in their life, work, and world

The vision is underpinned by a call for action. The key message is “educating our future” which reinstates the need for an education system that will: support the rights of all children and young people; offer quality teaching and learning that suits the different needs of each learner; and help learners their goals and meet the needs of a changing world.

The final report of the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment in Scotland has set out a potential new approach to qualifications and assessment via the introduction of the Scottish Diploma of Achievement (SDA). The proposed approach aims to provide better outcomes for all learners by offering a wider range of ways for learners to demonstrate achievements. It proposes to offer learners a wide and flexible range of opportunities to build knowledge and to develop skills.

In ‘Programmes of Learning’, the Review recommends that learners should continue to study a range of core subjects but a wider range of methods of assessment should be used and the number of examinations reduced, with removal of exams in S4. In ‘Project Learning’, the Review explains that it would give learners the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have developed in ‘real-world’ situations by undertaking a project important to them. The ‘Personal Pathway’ is a reflection on learning, whether that be in school, college or the community. The purpose is to give the opportunity to personalise the Diploma, by selecting experiences that reflect their interests and the contributions they make to society.

The Report of Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape (led by James Withers) was published in 2023. The Review considered skills functions and remits of Scotland's national public bodies, making recommendations for future adaptations to support the National Strategy for Economic Transformation. This included:

• the creation of a new single funding and delivery body, bringing together functions from Skills Development Scotland (SDS), the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and, possibly, the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS)
• ensuring there is a clear remit for the new qualifications body – the successor to the SQA - in overseeing development and accreditation of all publicly funded post-school qualifications
• moving responsibility for national skills planning to the Scottish Government
• reform of SDS to create a new body with a singular focus on careers advice and education

The Scottish Government is currently considering these recommendations as part of its education and skills reform agenda.

The National Improvement Framework

The plan is also informed by the National Improvement Framework (NIF). The NIF sets out the vision and priorities for Scottish education that have been agreed across the system, and the national improvement activity that needs to be undertaken to help deliver those key priorities. Scottish Ministers have a statutory duty, introduced by the Education (Scotland) Act 2016, to review the NIF and publish a National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan on an annual basis.

The vision of the NIF is to develop an education system which delivers both:

• Excellence through raising attainment and improving outcomes: ensuring that every child and young person achieves the highest standards in literacy and numeracy, as well as the values, attitudes, knowledge and skills necessary to shape a sustainable future as successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens, and effective contributors.
• Achieving equity: ensuring every child and young person has the same opportunity to succeed, no matter their background or shared protected characteristics, with a particular focus on closing the poverty related attainment gap.

The key priorities for the 2023 NIF are:

• placing the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education
• improvement in children and young people's health and wellbeing
• closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people
• improvement in skills and sustained, positive school-leaver destinations for all young people
• improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy

There is an ongoing need for research and data to provide a full picture of how Scottish education is performing and to identify the range of factors that contribute to a successful education system.