Scottish Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Scottish Education - Essay Example The government was, at least in terms of its rhetoric, attempting to shatter what it regarded as the cozy relationships which had developed within the education community since 1945. As the public sector had expanded, so had the role and influence of professionals within the welfare bureaucracies (Prowle, (2000). Prevailing assumptions about the organization and the management of the schooling system were to be challenged. The Conservative governments promised that local government and educational professionals would no longer be left to determine the management of the schooling system. Central government would take a more direct role in shaping the management of schools at local level than had been the case in the forty years or so following the Education Acts of 1944 (England) and 1945 (Scotland). In both Scotland and England, these Acts had established a national system, locally administered. Responsibility for the administration of the system was devolved to the educational professionals. Within the public sector, the term 'administration' was used, whereas the term 'management' was judged to be more applicable to the private sector. That central government from the late 1970s increasingly referred to the 'management' of the education system rather than to its 'administration' was not just a symbolic change. It signaled a shift in attitude by central government towards the post-war 'partnership' which had existed between central government, local government and the teaching profession. Broadly speaking, the roles adopted by these three partners had been as follows: that central government in consultation with the educational professionals would enact legislation and provide resourcing; local authorities... During the 1980s and 1990s, managing the system of state schooling became an increasingly politicized issue in the United Kingdom (UK). The government was, at least in terms of its rhetoric, attempting to shatter what it regarded as the cozy relationships which had developed within the education community since 1945. As the public sector had expanded, so had the role and influence of professionals within the welfare bureaucracies (Prowle, (2000). Prevailing assumptions about the organization and the management of the schooling system were to be challenged. The Conservative governments promised that local government and educational professionals would no longer be left to determine the management of the schooling system. Central government would take a more direct role in shaping the management of schools at local level than had been the case in the forty years or so following the Education Acts of 1944 (England) and 1945 (Scotland).In both Scotland and England, these Acts had establi shed a national system, locally administered. Responsibility for the administration of the system was devolved to the educational professionals. Within the public sector, the term ‘administration’ was used, whereas the term ‘management’ was judged to be more applicable to the private sector. That central government from the late 1970s increasingly referred to the ‘management’ of the education system rather than to its ‘administration’ was not just a symbolic change. Strain was evident among the partners in England from the mid-1970s onwards.