‘Simplicity Itself’: The Creation of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework

Abstract

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) aims to become the ‘national language’ which will describe all qualifications in Scotland in terms of levels and credit points. It is the latest in a series of measures to ‘unify’ the Scottish education system. The paper describes key features of the SCQF, outlines the key stages in its development and discusses some of the issues raised in its current implementation phase. These include problems of fitting qualifications into the Framework, issues of compatibility with UK and international frameworks, and the tension between alternative views of what constitutes full implementation of the Framework. The creation of the Framework has been incremental, voluntaristic, partnership-based and pragmatic, but these features of the process will be under strain as implementation proceeds. The paper concludes by discussing the likely impact of the SCQF on Scottish education. “Describing the past is complex; describing the future is simplicity itself. The credit point will be exactly the same whether someone is at the early stages of school, in a further education college, in a professional statutory body or learning anywhere in Scotland. A common unit of currency will run through absolutely everything. One of our important goals is to try to bring about that simplicity.” Norman Sharp, QAA Scotland (Scottish Parliament 2002b, pp.22-23)