ABSTRACT
Recognising that each child has different aptitudes and qualities, he argued that all children are entitled to an education that will make them ‘good, wise and happy’. Relevant to our experiences in Scotland, Owen did not simply equate education with schooling. It is also important to emphasise that the sorts of approaches people have presented cannot solve the massive socioeconomic inequalities that exist within Scotland, as they do in many other countries in both the developed and developing worlds. What they do encourage, however, is a way of working that has potential to make some significant differences to the life chances of children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. In the Scottish system, where local authority officials have considerable influence, their support was particularly crucial. Specifically, the task of local authorities is to monitor and challenge schools in relation to the agreed goals of collaborative activities, whilst senior practitioners share responsibility for the overall management of improvement efforts.
