relation to Scottish teacher education policy, and suggesting some ways forward.
First, however, the chapter provides a brief overview of the current policy context,
by way of orientation.
38.2 The Scottish Policy Context
38.2.1 Public Policy Governance in Scotland
Scotland is part of the UK, but has had a devolved Scottish Parliament since 1999,
one of its devolved functions being education (together with health, housing, jus-
tice, rural affairs and transport). While education was formally devolved at this
point, there has traditionally always been separate education legislation for
Scotland. Politically, there is a will to explore yet further separation from the UK as
a whole, and in September 2014 a referendum on Scottish independence was held,
resulting in a narrow majority (55%) against independence. The Referendum
resulted in a process to devolve yet more powers to the Scottish Government, in
particular, fiscal powers. This process is ongoing, although the Scottish
Government already has responsibility for much of the public policy portfolio.
The Scottish Government is elected by a proportional representation system,
rather than a‘first past the post’system, resulting in greater likelihood of a coalition
Government. However, the current Government is a majority one, led by the
Scottish National Party (SNP), a left of centre party with a strong social justice and
anti-austerity ideology. Cairney and McGarvey ( 2013 ) note that the public sector in
Scotland accounts for a much greater proportion of resource than it does elsewhere
in the UK, and talk of the distinctive‘Scottish policy style’which privileges ideas
of social justice and promotes a partnership approach to governance involving
significant dialogue between Ministers, civil servants and relevant stakeholders in
taking forward an outcomes-based approach which requires stakeholders to work
together to address societal challenges. This way of working is very much reflected
in the governance and control of teacher education, with key stakeholders
(government, universities, employers, unions and special interest groups) being
consulted and involved in most major policy developments. This background is
important in seeking to understand the context in which policy studies might be
carried out in Scotland, and what impact such studies might have. A more detailed
exploration of the political and policy context for teacher education can be found in
Hulmes and Kennedy ( 2015 , forthcoming).
38.2.2 Teacher Education Policy in Scotland
In 2010, the Scottish Government commissioned a wholesale review of teacher
education, to be led by recently retired senior chief inspector of Her Majesty’s
570 A. Kennedy