2 September 2024

It has been widely reported that failures in Scottish Education are having a deleterious effect on children and young people in Scotland. One in four Primary school children are not achieving appropriate standards in literacy. One in five are not achieving appropriate standards in mathematics.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has reported on Scottish performance in maths, science and reading for students aged 15 years. Scotland hasn’t excelled. For example, in mathematics attainment fell by some 16 months.

Not only that, the bottom ten per cent are performing much worse than their English peers and the top 10% are not attaining as good results as their English peers. As a result, inequality in Scotland is much more marked  than in England.

It is a complex situation. But I noted that two interesting things have contributed to this. Firstly, the downplaying of knowledge in our schools. It is common sense that unless we know something we will not be able to do something with it. Knowledge is a precursor of skill.

Secondly, the downplaying of examinations. This ties in with a failure to set standards by which pupils can be assessed. The only egalitarian way of assessing students is through national examinations and standardised assessments.

Play which is only really effective with younger children and pupil led learning which is only effective when a student knows enough about the subject have also undermined the benefits of teacher led programmes of work which bring direction, focus and momentum to learning.

When we look around our congregations, we see too clearly how little knowledge there is not only about the Bible but also the history, traditions and ethos of our Kirk. I haven’t seen a curriculum provided by the Kirk since the 1990s and preaching has been dumbed-down to an inordinate degree.

We have long passed the days of the catechism and rote learning but there is a greater need than ever before for a more serious approach to educating our congregations not only through specific  programmes of work but more especially through a serious  preaching of the Word. We are not called to entertain but to draw people closer to God.

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