 |
| (British Life and Culture, 2010) |
Today the developed country I'll be talking about (I guess writing is a better term) is Scotland. I've always wanted to go to Scotland and actually did a pretty large presentation on it last year. However last years project focused more on the culture and tourism aspects, so it will be interesting to learn more about the political side of things. Scotland is part of the United Kingdom which is made up of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The map here shows where Scotland is located in the UK. I got a bit confused when I was researching Scotland's government, but I think I've got it all figured out now. It seems that the UK is under a constitutional monarchy (read my past posts if you need to know what that is, or follow this link), but Scotland was devolved in 1999, which means that the UK transferred some power to the Scottish government so that the Scottish government could deal with everyday issues. It is my understanding that the Scottish government is democratic, as on the governments website it says, "The Scottish Government was known as the Scottish Executive when it was established in 1999 following the first elections to the Scottish Parliament" (The Scottish Government, Feb 24, 2011). What I found really interesting was that Scotland just had an election, as we here in Canada did (I hope their election was more successful than ours) and that the new government has intentions to bring a referendum to the table (BBC, May 9, 2011). I actually had no idea that Scotland wanted independence, which just shows how wrapped up we our in the goings on in our own country. Clearly this can be related to Quebec's wish to separate from Canada (another issue for another day), although it would seem that people in Scotland are more keen to separate, as the newly elected Scottish National Party was elected with a majority vote (International Business Times, May 9, 2011). The three other parties, which are the Conservatives, Labours, and Lib Dem's are all opposed to independence (BBC, May 9, 2011). There are many questions that are being raised concerning Scotland's wish to separate, such as, "Who would defend Mr Salmond's new nation?" and, "Would Scotland also keep the pound or join the euro?" (International Business Times, May 9, 2011). Personally I don't know enough about this issue to give a true opinion, but as someone who doesn't think that Quebec should separate from Canada I have a feeling I would be leaning towards Scotland not separating. Now that I know about this though I'll make sure to keep reading about it in the future. If Scotland does become independent it will be interesting to see if this will act as motivation for Quebec. For those of you who are interested to find out more about Scotland's possible split I would watch this video it's pretty informative.
Now I'll move on to the education system like I usually do, I hope this same routine isn't getting too boring! I might switch it up a little bit in my next post, or maybe I'll do a post on the recent Canadian election. I have lots to say about that, let me tell you. I better not get started on that though or you'll be reading this all day! Okay, now to get back on track. Over 90% of students in the UK are attending publicly funded school, and about 830,000 children in Scotland go to 5,000 schools. These include pre schools and special education schools. Scotland has its own curriculum that is separate from the rest of the UK, but children in Scotland must attend seven years of primary school and four years of secondary school. That's pretty similar to Canada's school system, although Scotland obviously has different curriculum and examinations. In the UK one third of students go on to higher education and 50 percent of these students are from Scotland! Go Scotland! (British Council, 2011). However, while Scotland does have a pretty good education system, they are having some trouble going beyond the UK's average. They are lagging behind in most subjects except in Science, where they are above average. I think this is an easy issue to rectify though, and when you compare it to the education situation in places such as Niger there really isn't much of a worry (BBC, Dec 7, 2010).
I was really impressed by what I found about gender equality on the Scottish Government's website. They seem very committed to creating a safe and equal environment for both men and women. I really like the fact that they don't only stress the fact that women need equal rights, they stress that women and men should just be equal. As they put it, "...There are areas where men also experience disadvantage, for example - by workplace cultures that do not recognise or support their family or childcare responsibilities and so deny them the opportunity to take advantage of flexible working arrangements" (The Scottish Government, 2010). I actually really like that they stress the fact that men sometimes face problems in the workplace, just like women do. It really makes the government seem less biased and committed to the people in Scotland. The government also realizes of course that women face discrimination as well, and are working hard to fix that. I really suggest that you take a look at the website link above, it gives a great explanation on what the government is trying to do.
I have to say that I'm really impressed by Scotland, of course that could be because my last post was on Niger. But in all honesty I think Scotland sounds like a wonderful country. It is difficult to say for sure because my research is limited, this is only one blog post, and I've never been to Scotland, but from what I have read it seems like a lovely place. As I said before it will be really interesting to see if Scotland does separate from the UK, and if so how it will affect both countries. If they do end up separating it could give us in Canada an idea of what it may be like to have Quebec separate.
 |
| A Scottish Government Building (The Scottish Government, mitrefinch, 2011) |
Now I'll move on to the education system like I usually do, I hope this same routine isn't getting too boring! I might switch it up a little bit in my next post, or maybe I'll do a post on the recent Canadian election. I have lots to say about that, let me tell you. I better not get started on that though or you'll be reading this all day! Okay, now to get back on track. Over 90% of students in the UK are attending publicly funded school, and about 830,000 children in Scotland go to 5,000 schools. These include pre schools and special education schools. Scotland has its own curriculum that is separate from the rest of the UK, but children in Scotland must attend seven years of primary school and four years of secondary school. That's pretty similar to Canada's school system, although Scotland obviously has different curriculum and examinations. In the UK one third of students go on to higher education and 50 percent of these students are from Scotland! Go Scotland! (British Council, 2011). However, while Scotland does have a pretty good education system, they are having some trouble going beyond the UK's average. They are lagging behind in most subjects except in Science, where they are above average. I think this is an easy issue to rectify though, and when you compare it to the education situation in places such as Niger there really isn't much of a worry (BBC, Dec 7, 2010).
I was really impressed by what I found about gender equality on the Scottish Government's website. They seem very committed to creating a safe and equal environment for both men and women. I really like the fact that they don't only stress the fact that women need equal rights, they stress that women and men should just be equal. As they put it, "...There are areas where men also experience disadvantage, for example - by workplace cultures that do not recognise or support their family or childcare responsibilities and so deny them the opportunity to take advantage of flexible working arrangements" (The Scottish Government, 2010). I actually really like that they stress the fact that men sometimes face problems in the workplace, just like women do. It really makes the government seem less biased and committed to the people in Scotland. The government also realizes of course that women face discrimination as well, and are working hard to fix that. I really suggest that you take a look at the website link above, it gives a great explanation on what the government is trying to do.
I have to say that I'm really impressed by Scotland, of course that could be because my last post was on Niger. But in all honesty I think Scotland sounds like a wonderful country. It is difficult to say for sure because my research is limited, this is only one blog post, and I've never been to Scotland, but from what I have read it seems like a lovely place. As I said before it will be really interesting to see if Scotland does separate from the UK, and if so how it will affect both countries. If they do end up separating it could give us in Canada an idea of what it may be like to have Quebec separate.
 |
| Scotland's Landscape (Travel Globe Pictures, April 28, 2011) |
Well, I do hope you found this post interesting, I'll be back soon with some information on Myanmar. Oh, and I know I didn't talk about Scotland's landscape and castles, but I wanted to leave you with some beautiful pictures showing them. It's just astoundingly beautiful there, I really hope to visit some day.
 |
| I feel like Scotland deserves a whole other post just focusing on it's castles. They are just fascinating. ( Flickr, Aug 11, 2006) |
