What's Next for learning and teaching in Scotland's colleges

The ‘What's Next for learning and teaching in Scotland's colleges' report is the outcome of desk research commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council in June 2008. Its provenance is in the Review of Scotland's College (RoSCo) process and, specifically, in the Cabinet's Secretary's response as articulated in ‘Promoting Excellence'.

The key requirement of the work was to provide a broad and comprehensive map of the learning and teaching issues facing colleges and their staff reflecting on trends, research findings, and current and emerging policy demands. The future perspective has been on the short and medium term, on the next period of sector progress.

View What's Next Report (3.55 MB).

The key findings are in relation to:

• learners and the increasing attention being paid to accessing the voice of learners; the needs of specific groups and on the student centred traditions of the sector
• learning and learning relationships and the requirement to strengthen professional learning opportunities to build on a growing appetite for knowledge and understanding of the learning process and in recognition of the significant relationship between the learner and the college
• curriculum for learning and the current opportunity to enhance the contribution of colleges to Scotland's learning system by recognising the increased sophistication of processes of curriculum design, planning and delivery and by responding to emerging demands for essential skills, enterprise, and links to skills utilisation in the workforce.

This report is the first outcome of a process. The next phase of that process is engagement with the sector and its stakeholders. Through that engagement, report findings will be taken further, other perspectives added, actions determined and implemented.

It is intended that engagement process will be a key influence on the strategy and subsequent operations of the planned single sector support agency.

• Ten Principles for Learning and Teaching and the Development of Learning Cultures in Scotland's colleges (75.06 kB)

We intend this report to be the beginning of a conversation about learning and teaching in the sector. All contributions to this conversation will be gratefully received.

Garry Cameron
Tel: 01786 892115
Email Garry Cameron