A History of Core Skills Policy Development in Scotland

Citation

Canning R (2007) A History of Core Skills Policy Development in Scotland. Scottish Educational Review, 39 (2), pp. 138-147. http://www.scotedreview.org.uk/view_issue.php?id=39[2]

Abstract
The primary aim of the paper is to critically review the development of policyand practice in the area of Core Skills within both the compulsory and postcompulsoryyears of education. The research design is based upon an analysis ofpolicy documents, interviews with key informants and the use of secondary datasources. An historical analysis for the period 1979-2006 is also provided of policydevelopment in the field of Core Skills including the demand for generic foundationskills from employers. The main conclusion of the research is that policy-makers inScotland are currently at a cross-roads with the very notion of generic Core Skillsand that this, in turn, could lead to the abandonment of the policy of 'embedding'skills within the school and college curriculum.

Keywords
analysis; COLLEGE; core skills; data; DEMAND; Design; Development; Education; FIELD; FOUNDATION; HISTORY; Interview; Interviews; PERIOD; policies; Policy; Practice; primary; Research; review; school; Scotland; Skills

Journal
Scottish Educational Review: Volume 39, Issue 2