Scotland’s education system has been claimed by many to be one of the most successful in the world and its alleged decline in recent decades has generated a great deal of controversy. This book is the first full account of the history of twentieth-century Scottish education, by Lindsay Paterson, a leading specialist in the area.Scottish Education investigates Scotland’s response to the key question faced by all mass systems of education. How can democracy be reconciled with the necessity of selection – both selection of culture in the maintenance of excellence, and selection of people, allocating them to differentiated occupations while also preparing them for life as equal citizens in the common culture of the community? Paterson argues that the Scottish answer to this has been recurrent attempts to give wide access to common types of educational institution, but continuing to define that education in fairly traditional academic terms. This is then also Scotland’s attempt to reconcile the tension between social solidarity and liberal opportunity, between the needs of the individual and the needs of society and its inherited culture. This broad-ranging and stimulating account of a century of Scottish education is organised chronologically into two broad parts: Competition and Opportunity, 1880s–1930s; and Welfare and Individualism, 1940s–1990s. Within these periods are chapters on each of the main sectors of education.Key Features:*Scottish education often claimed to be a world-leader – the facts behind this are explored*Written by one of the most prominent commentators in the area*Topical, in light of on-going controversy surrounding the Scottish Qualifications Authority*Provides background history to the development of Scottish education through the 20th century

In this ambitious book Lindsay Paterson provides an incisive analysis of the key features of Scottish education as the system evolved! The author's historical analysis sheds welcome light on whether claims of the distinctiveness of Scottish education are indeed sustainable. It is refreshing that, wherever possible, Scottish education is set against wider international perspectives rather than being examined solely within the more customary British context. An important contribution to our understanding of a relatively under-researched area, which affected many levels of Scottish society ! This book should be essential reading for all those interested in Scottish education since it explains how the system has arrived at the present stage of its development. This outstanding and meticulously researched book is essentially an overview of the history of 20th century Scottish Education dealing not just with schools but with the entire gamut of post compulsory education ! It is without doubt a major contribution to the history fo Scottish education and essential reading for all who claim an interest in the subject. One can only hope that those who shape education policy in twenty-first-century Scotland pay attention to it. Paterson can certainly be relied upon to produce a lively, concise and scholarly work. -- Professor Robert Anderson, University of Edinburgh In this ambitious book Lindsay Paterson provides an incisive analysis of the key features of Scottish education as the system evolved! The author's historical analysis sheds welcome light on whether claims of the distinctiveness of Scottish education are indeed sustainable. It is refreshing that, wherever possible, Scottish education is set against wider international perspectives rather than being examined solely within the more customary British context. An important contribution to our understanding of a relatively under-researched area, which affected many levels of Scottish society ! This book should be essential reading for all those interested in Scottish education since it explains how the system has arrived at the present stage of its development. This outstanding and meticulously researched book is essentially an overview of the history of 20th century Scottish Education dealing not just with schools but with the entire gamut of post compulsory education ! It is without doubt a major contribution to the history fo Scottish education and essential reading for all who claim an interest in the subject. One can only hope that those who shape education policy in twenty-first-century Scotland pay attention to it. Paterson can certainly be relied upon to produce a lively, concise and scholarly work.

Lindsay Paterson is Emeritus Professor of Education Policy, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh. His main academic interests are in education, civic engagement and political attitudes. He has contributed to many debates in Scotland since the early 1990s on education, on social change, and on politics. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.