Scottish Education: Between the UK and the Nordic

Abstract

The (re)opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 cemented calls for small state self-management, particularly along Nordic lines, both to reflect the desire for independence and belief that small states prosper when aligned with similar jurisdictions. However, whether there is a ‘Nordic education approach’ is questionable. Further, this positioning assumes certain things about Scotland, ‘The Scottish’, and the Scottish education system. Rather than present Scottish education as aligning with Norden, it is better to identify pushes and pulls between northern countries and internal/UK factors. This paper examines educational exigencies: pushes and pulls from the Nordic countries and the UK.