This course builds on Education in Practice in years one to three.

The focus is on teacher professionalism and professionalisation, the evolution of quality frameworks and national approaches to quality in education and the influence of politics and transnational institutions on education policy. Areas of professional learning will be studied in common with students from other sectors or subject backgrounds as appropriate to the shared nature of aspects of the Standard common to all teachers. 

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This course will be assessed through:

The submission of one 2000 word assignment set in relation to selected elements demanded by the Standard for Initial Teacher Education (weighting 33%);

A written examination covering all other aspects of the course (with the exception of the subject specialist areas of study). (Weighting 33%);

A project set in relation to the subject specialist aspect of the course (Weighting 34%).

International students or visiting students will have the option of undertaking a generalised project.

Education in Practice (Secondary) 4 will extend students' professional knowledge and understanding of:

■ questions of quality in compulsory education,

■ key aspects of the institutions and governance arrangements,

■ the nature and demands of professionalism within the Scottish system.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of theory and policy around quality in education and governmental concerns with system performance in a global context.

2. Display an understanding of the key institutions, governance arrangements, the policy system and actors within Scotland's education system, including the GTCS and HMIE.

3. Recognise and begin to reflect on essential aspects of teacher professionalism and continuous professional learning as articulated by Scotland's professional standards.

4. Research, synthesise, present and critically engage with a contemporary issue in education identified within the national context.

5. In preparation for teaching practice, focused on a number of identified levels of the school curriculum, engage with, and display, the necessary knowledge and skills, including ICT, required within their subject domains.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.