Educating Scotland’s future together? Inter/professional preparation for schools and children’s services

Abstract

This paper analyses children’s sector policy and the 2011 Teaching Scotland’s Future: Report of a review of teacher education in Scotland report with the aim of distinguishing their coherence and extent of disconnect. Overarching children’s services policies which stress inter/professional collaboration are reviewed and the findings of the report summarised. Modes of knowledge and capitals theory are defined and applied as a conceptual frame to examine the ways in which co-working is constituted in the report, with the conclusion that co-working is conceptualised in a limited way, not connecting with wider policies. Issues in danger of being marginalised are then considered, and a number of suggestions made concerning how to (re)connect policy rhetoric relating to co-work with action to prepare practitioners across the sector with the knowledge and skills needed to work together. The method is document review.