SCOTTISH secondary teachers lack confidence in the delivery of new exams, according to a survey.
A poll of members of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA) showed 40 per cent "lack confidence" in delivery of course materials for the new Higher and three quarters lacking confidence for Advanced Higher.
Some 60 per cent said they lacked confidence in their ability to assess pupils for the new Higher while 85 per cent were concerned over assessment for Advanced Higher.
More than half of teachers were not satisfied with schools quango Education Scotland and 63 per cent said they were dissatisfied with exams body the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
Some 60 per cent were not satisfied with their local council and one third criticised support from their own school.
One SSTA member said: "At no point in the working week do I feel absolutely confident that changes have not been made. I dread glancing at my email during the day to find that some change or other has been made."
Another said: "There is a lack of time to develop new material or, indeed, to get my head around the differences between the old Higher and the new Higher courses.
"Moreover, there is a lack of resources and we are constantly reminded of our budgetary constraints and the need, therefore, to cut down on photocopying and printing."
A third responded: "We are creating these courses based on very vague information from the SQA and no support from anyone else. Work that is supposed to help always comes a year too late and there is no consistency in anything.
"I have been teaching for over 30 years and have never felt so ill prepared and low in confidence in my ability to deliver courses."
Seamus Searson, SSTA general secretary said: “The situation that teachers face in schools in trying to do the best for their young people is extremely worrying.
"Teachers are lacking confidence in a major part of their work and there appears to be a lack of understanding or realisation of those bodies that are there to help deliver the new qualifications.
"Teachers are again trying to make the system work despite the lack of support whilst bureaucracy is continuing to increase. Teachers cannot be expected to continue to work under these conditions."
Earlier this month, academics warned that CfE had lowered attainment and widened social inequality. Dr Jim Scott, from Dundee University, said implementation had been inconsistent across different schools and council areas meaning pupils' attainment "varies significantly" depending on where they live.
Last year, the Royal Society of Edinburgh said the the introduction of Scotland's new school curriculum had been marred by "profound weaknesses" and in December the OECD said CfE was proceeding at "varying speeds" in different areas.
Iain Gray, Scottish Labour's opportunity spokesman, described the figures as an "alarming development".
He said: "For a large majority of teachers to have little or no confidence to assess pupils at Higher level is hugely worrying.
“At Advanced Higher the number of teachers with any confidence to deliver appropriate course material and assess pupils appear to be a small minority. That simply isn’t good enough."
A spokesman for the SQA said: “We are very conscious that teachers continue to need support to implement the National Qualifications.
"That’s why we have worked hard, alongside Education Scotland and in partnership with schools, colleges, local authorities and teaching unions, to offer the support and materials needed to make the qualifications a success."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel