Teacher career reforms in Scotland

Author(s)
Crehan, Lucy
Languages
English
Series
Management of teachers. Country notes
Year
2019
Pages
31
Country
Theme

Online version

About the publication

After reviewing commissioned reports on teacher employment showing that personnel felt demoralized and underpaid, Scotland enacted reforms to its teacher career structure in 2001 and again in 2011. The initial change shortened the scale of the single-salary schedule from nine points to six, introduced salary progression based on appraisal through a chartered teacher programme emphasizing professional development, and established a reformed career ladder that consisted of four levels of posts at primary and secondary schools. Implementation and communication issues, however, caused the promising chartered teacher programme to be discontinued after the 2011 reform. This country note was conducted within the framework of an international research project on teacher careers implemented by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP). Exploring the mixed results of teacher career reforms in Scotland, it provides critical analysis of the positive and negative aspects of each component of the newly established career model. These reforms, in conjunction with a universal pay rise in 2001, have led to high overall levels of motivation and retention for teachers in Scotland.