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Updated: Friday, May 08, 2009 | Printer Friendly Version | |

EIS SURVEY REVEALS TEACHER CONCERNS OVER ENGAGEMENT ON CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has today (Friday) published a new survey of teachers' views on the implementation of the new Curriculum for Excellence. The EIS survey is the most comprehensive study of teachers' and lecturers' views on the Curriculum for Excellence that has been carried out to date. The overall picture painted by the survey is that teachers and lecturers support the aims of the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), but have reservations about how well local authorities have engaged with them on CfE and concerns about a lack of funding and variable access to Continuing Professional Development to support the implementation process.

Amongst some of the more alarming findings from the survey are that one in ten teachers (11%) do not appear to have been involved in any discussions on the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence. And almost half of all teachers (46%) do not feel suitably comfortable with their familiarisation with key CfE documentation such as Building the Curriculum 3, with the figure in Secondary schools being even higher (58%).

Commenting on the new survey, EIS General Secretary Ronnie Smith said, “This survey of teachers and lecturers marks an important milestone in the development of the Curriculum for Excellence. The EIS, and most teachers and lecturers in education establishments, support the aims of CfE but have a number of concerns about how the process of implementation is progressing. In particular, the survey highlights that the engagement of teachers with CfE is highly variable across the country. While this is improving, there remains a substantial minority of teachers and lecturers who do not feel fully engaged with on CfE. Given the timetable for implementation, this is an issue of real concern and urgency for local authorities and the Scottish Government to address.”

Mr Smith added, “Other concerns in relation to the implementation of CfE also remain – specifically around a lack of time for staff to work on CfE development, variable access to Continuing Professional Development, and a stark lack of funding to support the most ambitious programme of curricular change in a generation. Teachers and lecturers support the aims of the Curriculum for Excellence and want to see it succeed but, unless the issues identified in this survey are addressed, the Scottish Government and local authorities will be running the risk of failing to deliver on the promise of CfE and losing the many benefits it will offer for Scottish education, its pupils and students.”

A copy of the EIS Survey on the Implementation of Curriculum for Excellence is attached for your information. (Click here)