School of Education celebrates 20th anniversary

Published: 29 April 2019

Staff and students, past and present, hear how the School has gone from strength to strength

The School of Education celebrated its 20th anniversary last week, marking the merger of the St Andrew's College and the University of Glasgow’s then Department of Education in 1999.School of Education celebrates 20th anniversary

The Principal, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, told staff and students, past and present, on Friday: “There was then a real sense that behind the merger was a drive to deliver not just teacher training, vital though this was, but to do so in an environment that was research active, that opened up access to wider pedagogical considerations on the nature of education and all that it might mean – yes for the classroom, but far beyond, for our cultures and societies, our communities and countries, our knowledge and our faiths.”

He added: “It was based around the creative and constructive tension which combined a vocational role – equipping the teachers of tomorrow – with a purely academic role, with both feeding into and informing the other. In a sense it was clearly driven by a desire to elevate Education to the position it deserved – a core human activity on which our future depends and so one which should command the intellects of the best, with outputs and impacts, as we would say today that really would make a difference to our understanding of, and the ways we deliver and receive, Education in a changing world. And importantly, it was as I said a moment ago, about placing all of this activity, in a University setting, encouraging the discipline to resist a niche or silo mentality but to envisage and pursue its connections with other disciplines, across the humanities, social and life sciences.”

Professor Anne Anderson, Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Social Sciences, said: "The School has grown as a result of its success and now consists of over 100 academics over 40 professional services colleagues and well over 100 tutors not to mention visiting fellows and associates of the School. The student population now stands at around 1000 undergraduates, 1500 postgraduate masters students and over 300 postgraduate research students.”

The School was deeply committed to its place in Glasgow and its mission to educate talented young, and not so young people, for service as teachers – both in its unique mission to Catholic Teacher Education and to Scottish Education more broadly, she said.

“The School is equally focussed on its role in addressing global challenges both in terms of its research and its contribution to capacity building through its international partnerships and education of international and UK students. This year for example 25% of the PGT students and over 50% of the PGR students are from overseas,” said Professor Anderson.

“The School of Education rightly prides itself on the quality of the student experience it offers. This is reflected in its outstanding National Students Survey results – the outcome of many years of fussed effort as I am very well aware but the results – 93% of students very satisfied overall and 87% of students very satisfied with the assessment and feedback they receive are wonderful and a real testament to colleagues dedication to their students,” she added.

These outcomes have contributed to the success the School has achieved in recent years in national and international league tables:

  • 1st in the UK in the Times Good University Guide
  • 1st in the UK in the Complete University Guide
  • 1st in the UK in the National Student Survey
  • Top 50 in the world in the QS World Rankings
  • Top 10 in UK for Education in QS World Rankings

 


First published: 29 April 2019