This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scotland's 'core skills' lead the way
28/02/2003
Scotland is one of a small minority of European
countries playing a leading role in the development of core
skills in schools, according to a survey of European
education systems.
The Eurydice Network of educational interests across the
EU carried out the survey of core skills or "key
competencies".
The network holds the view that key competencies help
"constitute the common foundation for all citizens whatever
type of education they may subsequently receive".
Core skills in Scotland, an element of National
Qualifications, are communication, numeracy, IT, problem
solving and working with others.
The survey
Key competencies: a developing concept in general
compulsory education finds that the only EU
countries which include core skills in their school
curriculum are Belgium (the French Community) Portugal and
the United Kingdom (Scotland, England and Wales).
The survey also reports that the same countries (with
the exception of Portugal) are the only ones in the EU to
have developed centrally agreed performance standards to
assess attainment and achievement in this important
area.
Deputy Minister for Education Nicol Stephen said:
"We have always believed the one of the strengths of the
Scottish school curriculum is our emphasis on developing
the core skills that young people can apply across all
areas of their learning.
"This strength was recognised by those who took part in
our National Debate on Education and it is pleasing to see
it recognised as such by the Eurydice Network.
"In our response to the National Debate, we announced we
would review the curriculum but that literacy and numeracy
would be at the heart of any revised curriculum. Core
skills will continue to be a key component of the school
curriculum and our young people will continue to benefit
from this emphasis."
The information network on education in Europe,
Eurydice, is one of several institutional mechanisms
established by the European Commission and member states,
and has been working since 1980 to boost co-operation in
education by improving understanding of systems and
policies.
Since 1995 Eurydice has also been an integral part of
Socrates, the community action programme in education.
The Eurydice Network consists of a European unit based
in Brussels and national units in each of the 30 countries
covered by the Socrates programme, namely the 15 EU and
three EFTA/EEA countries and the 12 EU candidate
countries.
Scotland has its own national unit (England, Wales and N
Ireland are combined into one).
Eurydice offers policy-makers and all those involved in
the provision of education with readily comparable
information and analyses geared to their needs. In order to
meet the varied needs of its users, Eurydice prepares and
publishes the following:
- readily comparable and regularly updated
descriptions on the organisation of education
systems
- comparative studies on specific topics of European
interest
- indicators on the different levels of education,
from pre-primary to higher education
Other recent Eurydice reports, all available to
downloaded from the
Eurydice
website, are:
- Key data on education in Europe 2002, Eurydice and
Eurostat, EUR-OP, 2003.
- Management, monitoring and support staff, European
Glossary of education, Volume 4, Eurydice, 2003.
- The teaching profession in Europe: Supply and
demand, Volume 3, report II, 2002.
- The teaching profession in Europe: Initial training
and transition to working life, Volume 3, report I,
2002.
The recent report on teacher supply and demand concluded
that Scotland was one of only four European countries to
benefit from a relative balance between teacher supply and
demand in general lower secondary education (S1 - S4).