Education and Social Sciences

The education system is one of the elements that is necessary to characterize any country, while in the other side the social sciences, such as education, economy, demography, archeology, law, philosophy, and anthropology have an important role in the development of any society due are subject which are dedicated to the study of activities and behavior of the human being. If we base in the educational system, Scotland has had a long history in its public education, which makes it to be different in comparison with other countries that compound the United Kingdom. But, what did happen in Scotland’s educational history to become it in a distinctive country?

     Scotland has a long tradition in high quality education. In fact, institutions of the country as School of St. Andrews have acquired worldwide prestige. Officially the Scottish education date from Middle Ages, when the Catholic schools started to work in different places of the country, focusing mainly in the grammar.

     Later, the creation of the University of Glasgow, St Andrews and Aberdeen in the 15^th century provided the formation of the older children from noble families. The development in education kept on, and in the 17^th century, the Scottish schools really were distinguished in comparison with others. It included subjects such as Latin, religious instruction and physical education.

     At the present time, the Scottish children go to the school until 14 or 16 years old. In this age they can choose if they want or don’t want to keep on with their formation. One of the main differences between the Scottish education system and the rest of the Great Britain is that the first covers in a several range of subjects, while the second one deepens more in few of them.

     In accordance to the education in all Great Britain, it can divide in four stages, which are related with the student’s age.

     The obligatory education is divided in primary education (between 5 to 12 years old), and secondary education (between 12 to 16 years old). When the students finish the compulsory education, they take an exam called Scottish Certificate of Education Standard Grade.

     There is a limited amount of private schools, but less of 5% of children attend to the Scottish schools, while the public schools are parochial which can be protestant or catholic.

     Children with special conditions such as blindness, deafness, mentally retarded or other disabilities can receive a special attention in the normal schools or they receive it if they attend to specialized schools for this kind of children.

     In other hand, the Scottish economy is relevant for its progress. Since 1987 the economical growth in Scotland has been higher than United Kingdom, thanks to the new job generated by the industries that were created after the oil discovery in the North Sea, and the successful of Scotland in attract high technology industries.

     This country is based on whisky exportations, electronic products, and financial services to countries such as United States, Netherlands, Germany, France, and Spain. Its main companies are Thus, which is dedicated in telecommunications services, and Scottish Water and Abbot Group, which are dedicated in energy and water. No doubt, it is a country with a huge worldwide level. More than 75% of land is intended to the agriculture. Its main cultivation are barley (ingredient used to whisky and beer production), and the wheat, oats and potatoes. Other products are turnip, and fruits (Scotland stand out for its raspberries). Also, livestock production has a big importance. Scotland is the second country in Europe in the production of salmon.

      Within the social sciences also we have the demography. Scotland’s inhabitants descend from several racial groups such as the Picts, Celts, Scandinavians, and the Romans. Scotland is a society as industrial as rural, and its resident are divided themselves as highlanders and lowlanders. There is a marked Scandinavian influence in Orkney Islands and Shetland. Scotland has a population of 5,078,000 inhabitants approximately (2004) and a population density of 64 inhab/km². About two thirds parts of the population live in urban areas.

     The most populated city in Scotland is Glasgow with 578,700 inhabitants (2001). The second place most populated is Edinburgh capital with a population of 449,000 inhabitants (2001).

     The most spoken language in Scotland is English. Also, about 100,000 Scottish speak with a Gaelic style.

    

    In other hand, we have the archeology which is defined as the scientific study of materials remains of past human life and activities. Scotland is considered a remote archeological place due its archeological heritage. One of the most important archeological places is Skara Brae which is considered the Neolithic village more complete and the best preserved in Scotland.  It is located in Skaill Bayof which is considered the bigger island in Orkney.

     In Shetlands we can found other prehistoric settlements, Vikings houses, and old farms of the Middle Ages.

     Without having to go far, to the north of Edinburgh we have the possibility to know Inchcolm Abbey which is considered as the best group of monastic buildings preserved in Scotland.

     Also we have the law. The Scottish laws are based on the Roman law which combines the civil and the Anglo-Saxon law. Its origin was in the Middle Ages. The Scottish law states tree kind of courts which are responsible of the justice: civil, criminal and specialist courts. The maximum scope of the law is the High Court of Justiciary which is located in the Parliament House. The main civil and criminal instance is the sheriff courts. Finally, the Court of the Lord Lyon regulates the army law.

     Other important social science in Scotland is the philosophy. As Voltaire said “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilization”. The Scottish philosophers have a large influence in the European thought in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The 19^th century was a period of time which every aspect of the Humanity life was questioned.

     In this period the Scottish cities were the genius center such as David Hume, Adam Smith, James Black, and James Hutton developed his ideas and incidentally were able to extend the Scottish illustration in 1740 to 1790.

     Due the illustration, the Scottish thinkers developed something that Hume called the science of the mankind, it is the anthropology, which was created by intellectual people as Lord Monboddo, Adam Ferguson, John Millar, Lord Kames, and William Robertson whose tackled the scientific study the behavior of the human being in ancient and primitive cultures, the changes, and how is the human being now at days.

     In short, although the social sciences haven’t made the education its main field of interest, it has realized education studies as a social process and social institution. Its discoveries are useful to teachers in the establishment of programs and practices. It provides important information to the study of the youth problems, population dynamic, and the social stratification of a society. But in the social sciences cannot reach absolute and final conclusions because there are various circumstances which may affect the conclusions. So always there is a margin of error due the versatility of human behavior.

    We can say that the social sciences are defined as a group of academic disciplines which are dedicated to the study the origin and the development of a society, institutions, relationships, and ideas that forms the social life. For this reason, all sciences has to realize an intensive study of every society in the world with the objective of identify the changes and differences of different countries around the world.