ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to put Scotland on the comparative map of education and training (ET) systems. It discusses the extent to which Scotland has a separate ET system. The task of portraying the differences between Scottish and English ET is made more difficult by two factors. Myths play an important part in many international comparisons of ET, not only those between Scotland and England. The Scottish myth and the Scottish tradition lie at the intersection of educational, political and constitutional debates. Most of Scottish education is within the purview of the Scottish Education Department, a Department of the Scottish Office. College courses for young people are more exclusively 'vocational' than in England, and usually occupationally specific. Systematic evidence on the organization and content of industrial training is harder to come by. The Action Plan was published in January 1983, and implemented from August 1984.
