Education Community Scotland Committee

Winner: 2023 Inspirational Committee Award

For supporting and representing teachers to policymakers, influencing how chemistry is taught in Scotland with notable impact on the curriculum.

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It is only through our collective dedication, and support for each other, that we have been able to achieve this.

The Education Community Scotland Committee are enthusiastic about supporting all levels of chemistry education in Scotland.

The aim of the Education Community Scotland Committee is to cultivate knowledge, understanding, and active involvement in all areas of the chemical sciences relevant to education, teaching, and communication in Scotland.

One of the specific areas within the committee’s responsibility is to advocate for Scottish chemistry educators’ perspectives in parliamentary and government policy discussions. By levering their combined knowledge and connections, the committee gathers insights and opinions from educators actively engaged in the field and conveys them to other organisations, including the Learned Societies' Group on Scottish STEM Education (LSG), in collaboration with RSC staff. This has enabled the committee to make a direct contribution to national policy dialogues.

Their most notable impact has been the discussion of multi-course teaching as a consequence of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. The committee gathered evidence of the high prevalence of multi-course teaching in Scotland through a bespoke survey of Scottish chemistry teachers. The analysis has been cited in education briefings several times, by the LSG, the Scottish Parliament and the 91AV.

The team

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Katy Alder, Teacher of 91AV, James Gillespie’s High School
Gill Berkeley, Freelance education professional
Douglas Buchanan
Shona Donnelly, Teacher of 91AV
Morag Easson, Teacher of 91AV
Amanda Lynas, Teacher of 91AV
Colin McGill, Lecturer in Teacher Education, Edinburgh Napier University
Frank Murray
Fraser Scott, Senior Lecturer, University of Strathclyde
Elizabeth Stevenson, Senior Lecturer, Edinburgh University