| Modern UK Politics and A Curriculum for Excellence | | Print | |
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A Curriculum for Excellence (ACfE) is the Scottish Government's key initiative to improve education in Scotland. It seeks to improve not just attainment in National Qualifications, but wider skills and capacities in young people for participation in a global society. These are;
Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education (HMIe) has published an important document on what ACfE means for Modern Studies. Likewise, Learning Teaching Scotland (LTS) has a website dedicated to good practice in developing A Curriculum for Excellence.
It has been written to prepare students for the Higher Modern Studies exam and contains activities within the book to reinforce learning of the key issues in UK Politics. But, Modern Studies is for life, not just a one off exam. Modern UK Politics Section One Devolved Decision Making in Scotland
Committees Activity The Scottish Parliament has powerful committees which scrutinise the work of the Scottish Government. The committees can also propose legislation. Split your class into five groups. Each group should take on the role of the Education, Lifelong learning and Culture Committee. Within your group you should also take on the role of a specific politician who is on the committee. The chair of your group will take on the role of Convenor of the Education, Lifelong learning and Culture committee. It's also a good idea to elect a Depute Convenor too to help with jobs. You are to decide whether or not you should abolish the Graduate Endowment (sometimes referred to as " tuition fees by the back door"). Read the different points of view on the issue. From the position of your chosen politician, decide whether or not you will support or abolition of the Graduate Endowment. You may find the following articles of help Your Convenor should present your decision with arguments for and against to the class. The presentation should explain
Former Labour leader John Smith described devolution as "the settled will of the Scottish people". But, is it? The 2007 Scottish elections saw Scotland's constitutional arrangements with the rest of the UK very much up for debate. First Minister Alex Salmond has launched a "national conversation" on Scotland's future. Scotland's major political parties each have their unique views on Scotland's future. Should the Scottish Parliament's powers stay as they are? Should they be extended? If so, which powers should the Scottish Parliament have and will these improve the lives of Scots? Should the Scotland become part of a federal UK, like states are in the USA? Or, should Scotland become fully independent of the UK? You decide! Read the viewpoints of each of the political parties. Note their key arguments in your workbook. Post your views on the National Conversation. Resources The Herald guide to party policies 2007 Party election videos: Scottish Conservatives Two Flags Scottish Labour Building Scotland Scottish National Party Its time
Local government in Scotland is in the process of rapid change. The introduction of the Single Transferable Voting system (STV) has transormed the political make up of all of Scotland's 32 local authorities. The financing of Scotland's local authorities is likely to change too. Abolition of the Council Tax is a priority for the SNP led Scottish Government. In November 2007, Scotland's Finance Minister, John Swinney, froze Council tax increases for the next three years. He has also given Scotland's local authorities much more power over how money is spent on local services by ending the "ring fencing" of many national initiatives. Each local authority is now much freer to decide for itself how it will spend its budget, without having funds kept by the Scottish Government for its priorities. Make a power point presentation on how your local authority spends its budget. Find you local authority's website on http://www.cosla.gov.uk/ Where does most of its money go to? Where are the areas you feel your local authority could spend its money more effectively?
Section Two Decision Making in Central Government Chapter 4 Governing the UK pages 40-54 In many ways, Tony Blair was a remarkable and successful Prime Minister. But, he has been widely criticised for his so-called "sofa" style of government. By contrast, Gordon Brown has promised "a new politics". Balloon debate (with thanks to LTS/ESU website) The following websites and articles should be of interest Blair doesn't recognise sofa government Conservative Party "democracy taskforce" Three pupils in the class should impersonate respectively Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg . Ask the three pupils to imagine that they are together in a hot air balloon that is rapidly falling. One person must be thrown overboard in order to save the others, but who will it be? Each participant must make a speech saying why, as the best Prime Minister for the country, they should be allowed to stay in the balloon. The rest of the class votes, and the loser is disqualified from the rest of the debate. This continues, until only one pupil is left in the balloon. The other pupils will need to listen carefully to the arguments so that they can vote on who gets thrown out of the balloon! Ask the class why they made the decision they came to. A discussion can take place about whether they voted someone off because of the arguments the speaker made or because of preconceived ideas.
It is important to evaluate the differences between insider and outsider pressure groups. Write a report in which you assess the differences in methods and success an insider and an outsider pressure group has on government. Insider Confederation of British Industry CBI British Medical Association BMA Outsider
Chapter 6 Party Ideologies pages 62 - 74 Go to BBC 2005 Election page Make a power point of the key policy differences between the major political parties. The Scottish dimension is important too. Make sure that you include Scottish differences. And, don't forget the SNP! Chapter 7 Internal Affairs pages 74-83 Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats elected new leaders in 2007. Nick Clegg recently narrowly won the leadership of the Liberal Democrats. In Scotland, Wendy Alexander is no more. At Westminster, Gordon Brown, well... Read this article, then do your own newspaper front page explaining how and why Nick Clegg won the leadership of the Liberal Democrats. Use this template to make sure you do a good job. Chapter 8 Policies and Electoral Success pages 83 - 94 Political parties exist to win elections. Divide the class into three groups. One should be Conservative, one Labour, one Liberal Democrat. You should produce a poster which explains your unique appeal to voters and also outlines your target seats.
Chapter 9 The Electoral Systems Debate pages 94-106 There is no perfect electoral system. The FPTP, the AMS and the STV all have their good and bad points. Alley Debate (with thanks to LTS/ESU website) Alley Debates are a fun and quick way to introduce debating to a class. They emphasise quick thinking and rebuttal skills. Divide the class into two groups and form two lines a few yards apart facing each other. Set a motion for the Alley Debate – such as "the AMS is fairer than FPTP". Assign one side of the topic to one line and the other side of the topic to the other line. The teacher then stands halfway between the two lines. They should turn to the first speaker who is in favour of the motion and ask for a reason why the the AMS is fairer than FPTP. If the point is convincing, the teacher should take a step towards that side. If the teacher is not convinced, stay in the middle. Then ask the first speaker in the other line why the AMS is not fairer than the FPTP, then repeat the process. The teacher should work their way down the lines until they reach the final speaker.
There is no one single factor which explains why an individual votes the way he/she does. There are a number of competing, sometimes complementary influences. Read pages 106 - 113 in Modern UK Politics. Make a power point presentation which explains "Why explaining voting behaviour is complex". Check best practices in making and presenting power points.
Do a survey of teachers in your school and how they vote. Make sure their replies can be anonymous! E.g. ask your teacher to put questionnaires in teachers' pigeonholes. Is there is a relationship between the newspapers they read/tv programmes they watch/websites they read and the political party they vote for?
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 September 2008 ) |
Our new textbook Modern UK Politics was published in December 2007.
Chapter 1 The Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government pages 4-15
Chapter 2 Devolution: The Settled Will of the Scottish people? pages 16-27
Chapter 3 Local Government in the Devolution era pages 27-40
Check 
Oh, and a wee bit of 
Chapter 5 Power and Influence on Government p 54 - 62
Section Three Political Parties and their Policies
Section Four Electoral Systems, Voting and Political Attitudes
Chapter 10 Voting Behaviour pages 106 - 113
Chapter 11 The Shaping of Political Attitudes pages 113 - 119| < Prev |
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