NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT
Modern Studies
Democracy in Scotland
and the UK
Advice and Guidance
for Practitioners
[NATIONAL 5]
This advice and guidance has been produced to support the profession with the delivery of
courses which are either new or which have aspects of significant change within the new
national qualifications (NQ) framework.
The advice and guidance provides suggestions on approaches to learning and teaching.
Practitioners are encouraged to draw on the materials for their own part of their continuing
professional development in introducing new national qualifications in ways that match the
needs of learners.
Practitioners should also refer to the course and unit specifications and support notes which
have been issued by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/34714.html
Acknowledgement
The publisher gratefully acknowledges permission to use the following sources: image of
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© Zootalures; Job Centre Plus image © crown copyright; image of fishing boats © Edward
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opportunity.
© Crown copyright 2012. You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in
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Contents
Introduction
6
Dominoes
8
Sample mystery game
14
Skills for learning, life and work
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INTRODUCTION
Exemplar resources in this pack: N5 Modern Studies: democracy In
Scotland and the UK
Content
Political dominoes
Pairs card game
Mystery decision
making activity
Should Scotland
be independent?
Reforming the
House of Lords
Mock elections
4
Resources
PowerPoint
to set the
scene with
information
on the
UK/Scottish
political
systems.
A set of 31
dominoes
Cards are on
PowerPoint
for cutting
up.
KU
Main features
of the
UK/Scottish
political
systems.
Activity is
explained on
pages.
Cards
required are
on pages.
They need to
be cut up.
Variety of
sources –
opinion poll;
newspaper
extract.
Some
websites and
basic
resources to
help the
decision
about reform
of the Lords
Some
websites that
give ideas for
Scottish
Independence
Skills
Emphasis is
on devolved
and reserved
matters
Scottish
independence
Cooperative group
work
Sorting information
Forming hypothesis
Reaching/justifying
conclusion
Making decisions
Report writing
Selectivity in use of
facts
Reform of the
House of
Lords
Making and
justifying decisions
analysis
Campaigning,
voting, party
policies etc
Using a wide variety
of sources of
evidence
DEMOCRACY IN SCOTLAND AND THE UK (NATIONAL 5, MODERN STUDIES)
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Purpose
To aid
understanding
of the
UK/Scottish
political
systems
To aid
understanding
of the
UK/Scottish
political
systems
To aid
understanding
of issues
surrounding
Scottish
independence
Develop the
skill of
selectivity in
the use of
facts
Develop the
skill of
decision
making
Practice in
using a variety
of sources of
INTRODUCTION
mock
election
Rights and
responsibilities
Pressure groups
Trade Unions
Media
Websites that
may be
useful
Pressure
groups/trade
unions/media
case studies
Analysis
Group work
Peer review
Sources of evidence
Case study approach
Research skills
Analysis
Reaching
conclusions based
on evidence
DEMOCRACY IN SCOTLAND AND THE UK (NATIONAL 5, MODERN STUDIES)
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evidence.
Using case
studies
Practice in
research skills
and reaching
and justifying
conclusions
5
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
This advice and guidance contains some ideas that can be used or adapted to
introduce the unit: Democracy in Scotland and the UK at National 5.
This unit differs from the other two units of National 5 Modern Studies in
that it has a mandatory section of content (refer to the relevant SQA
documentation) that all learners should know and understand before moving
on to one of the options. The aim of that section of content is to ensure that
all learners have an understanding of Scotland’s place in the UK and an
overall understanding of both systems – in Scotland and the UK – before they
then study, in more depth, one of the following options: Democracy in
Scotland or Democracy in the United Kingdom.
Through study of the mandatory section, learners can develop a broad
knowledge and understanding of the nature of the democratic political system
in the UK and the main rights and responsibilities of its citizens. This is
further exemplified in the content box; reserved and devolved matters,
overview of main political institutions of the UK, the UK and Scottish
parliaments, the Prime Minister and the First Minister, both UK and Scottish
governments and local councils.
It is important to recognise that this course builds on the knowledge,
understanding and skills learners will have developed within the broad
general education or in their studies to achieve National 4. To ensure
appropriate progression it is important, therefore to look at what option might
have been studied at National 4 and to consider, at National 5 how best to
create opportunities for extra challenge, depth and application.
Practitioners may wish to explore the common content since its aim is to set
the scene for what follows. Included in this advice and guidance are some
ideas that can be used or adapted to introduce the unit. They include some
active and engaging learning and teaching strategies such as political
dominoes, a pairs card game and a political mystery based around Scottish
independence. These are potential approaches upon which practitioners can
reflect in planning for their own contexts. Some can be adapted from games
with which the learners might be familiar such as Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire?, Trivial Pursuit and card games such as Happy Families. The
purposes and principles of Curriculum for Excellence should be e mbedded in
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INTRODUCTION
the learning and teaching of this unit and due consideration should be given
to challenge and enjoyment, breadth, progression, depth, personalisa tion and
choice, coherence and relevance when planning its delivery. This document
also includes the following:
 Some ideas on how to introduce the unit: Democracy in Scotland and the
UK:
 An overview PowerPoint of the UK political system.
 Political dominoes. The purpose of this game is to test knowledge and
understanding of the Scottish/UK political systems.
 Pairs card game focused on reserved and devolved matters (on
PowerPoint for ease of reproduction).
 Sample ‘mystery’ decision making activity about Scottish
independence.
 Skills for learning, life and work - four examples of skill-based activities:




Should Scotland be independent?
Reforming the House of Lords
Mock elections
Rights and responsibilities
 Pressure groups
 Trade unions
 Media
It is important to note that the content explored this unit, as with all aspects
of modern studies, is forever changing and it is imperative that the material is
kept up-to-date. This keeps both the practitioner and the learner refreshed and
enthused about democracy in Scotland and the UK.
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DOMINOES
Dominoes: The political system in the UK, including
Scotland
This game of political dominoes may assist learners when revisiting their
basic knowledge of the political system in the UK and Scotland. Before they
can fully understand how the political system works they need this
background knowledge. This game should also help practitioners assess their
learners’ prior knowledge and understanding.
This game is played like dominoes. There are 31 dominoes – these can be
copied and cut up – a question and an answer on each domino. Practitioners
may wish to alter, add or delete dominoes as they deem appropriate. The
purpose of the game is to match the question with the correct answer by
laying the relevant domino. Practitioners may wish to allow learners to work
in groups. The winner is the first person to lay all their dominoes. A possible
follow-up to this would be to play a ‘Mastermind’ game where learne rs can
be asked questions, scoring a point for each correct answer. They can pass if
they don’t know an answer. This could be carried out with a whole class or in
groups. Learners could be encouraged to make notes on the most important
facts.
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DOMINOES
Name a devolved
power
Scottish Parliament
Name a devolved
power
Queen
Name a devolved
power
Alex Salmond
Name a reserved
power
Education
Name a reserved
power
David Cameron
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DOMINOES
Name a reserved
power
First past the post
Name a reserved
power
129
Name a devolved
power
The Scottish Parliament can
pass laws on these matters.
What is a devolved
power?
Wales
What is a reserved
power?
Prime Minister
Name an area of the UK
that has devolved powers.
Name an area of the UK
that has a devolved
government.
10
32
House of Commons
and House of Lords
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DOMINOES
Name one of the chambers in
the UK parliament.
Scottish National Party
Which parliament
meets in Westminster?
Health
Which parliament
meets in Holyrood?
Farming and
fisheries
Who is head of the
UK government?
Legal and justice
system
The UK is a representative
democracy. What does this
mean?
Scotland
Who is head of state
in the UK?
UK parliament
Name the current
Prime Minister.
Conservatives
Liberal Democrats
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DOMINOES
Name the current First
Minister in Scotland.
Member of Parliament
What is a coalition
government?
Defence and foreign
affairs
Which political party has
the most MSPs in the
Scottish Parliament?
Immigration
Which two political parties make
up the coalition government in the
UK Parliament?
What voting system is
used to vote for MPs?
What does MP stand
for?
What does MSP
stand for?
12
Social security
Constitution
UK Parliament passes
laws on these matters.
Where more than one
political party runs the
country.
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DOMINOES
How many MPs are
there in the UK?
2011
How many MSPs are
there in the Scottish
Parliament?
2010
How many local councils
are there in Scotland?
Member of the Scottish
Parliament
When was the last
UK general election?
The people vote for
the government.
When was the last Scottish
Parliament election?
650
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SAMPLE MYSTERY GAME
‘Mystery’ decision-making game
This is an example of an activity that could be used to help learners develop
both knowledge and understanding and some of the skills that can be
developed in this unit. This activity is commonly known as a ‘Mystery’ and is
about developing thinking skills.
For the purpose of this advice and guidance, the topic of Scottish
independence has been exemplified.
This mystery is based on the issue of whether or not Scotland should become
an independent country. Practitioners may wish to use this as part of an
introduction for National 5 Modern Studies Democracy in Scotland and the
UK.
It could fit into the generic knowledge and understanding section regarding
learners having a broad knowledge and understanding of the democratic
political system in the UK. Practitioners may wish to explore the main
political rights and responsibilities of citizens with learners.
This may also allow learners to develop their skills with regard to making and
justifying a decision, using a range of sources of information.
The ‘mystery’ activity is a powerful learning and teaching strategy that is
designed to encourage learners to deal with ambiguity through addressing an
issue that has no single correct answer. In the process, they practise and
develop crucial skills such as:







sorting information: relevant from irrelevant, fact from fiction
making links between pieces of information
forming hypotheses
explaining
making decisions based on evidence
using a range of sources: written and graphical
writing a short report.
It is fundamental to the ‘mystery’ activity that the inf ormation is presented on
pieces of paper that can be physically moved about. Learners often change
their minds and this will allow them to easily reorganise the information.
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SAMPLE MYSTERY GAME
This activity can also provide an opportunity for practitioners to make
formative and diagnostic assessments of learners’ progress by watching
groups handle the information, listening to the discussions and reading the
final product.
The successful completion of a mystery depends on co -operative group work.
This assists learners in develop talking and listening skills and may also help
them understand how group conflict can be resolved.
Preparation for the activity:
Practitioner’s professional judgement will come into play when deciding the
composition of the groups.
Cut up the statements and put them into envelopes – one per group.
Put the key question on the front of each envelope.
Decide if further support material is required, for example a textbook.
Additional support materials can be used in a number of ways: as the basis of
some other activities to give some knowledge before the mystery starts, as the
basis of a class discussion or for consultation during the mystery.
Instructions
As a practitioner, you will use your own professional skills, teaching style
and knowledge of the learners to prepare them for this activity.
A possible way for this activity to proceed could be:
 Organise the groups.
 Distribute envelopes and any other resources.
 Learners to read the key question on the envelope without opening it. Ask
them to make some predictions about what the answer might be.
 Open the envelopes and spread out the statements so everyone can see
them.
 Ask the learners to read the statements quickly to see if any word/phrase
needs explaining.
 Explain that, as a group, learners are required to come up with an answer
to the key question.
 All of the information needs to be considered, not all information is
relevant. There is not a right or wrong answer. Learners can use their own
background knowledge to put together the best suppor t for their decision.
 Suggest learners should sort the statements.
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15
SAMPLE MYSTERY GAME
 The learners need to keep looking for links between the statements as
some might be able to clarify others.
Debrief
Practitioners may wish to ask for feedback on the key question. Pract itioners
may wish to probe learners in order to find out more and then start to link
with other groups in the class. Practitioners’ observations circulated round
the groups may come in useful here. They may wish to encourage the groups
to probe each other.
Practitioners could ask learners to reflect on the way in which they carried
out the activity. For example, what did they physically do with the pieces of
paper and why, how did their ideas change over time, how did the group work
together, etc.
Follow-up
There are many follow-up activities the learners could undertake. This may
be an opportunity for a degree of personalisation and regarding how results
are presented. One possible approach could be to have learners write an
answer to the key question. This could be an opportunity to use a writing
frame to help structure responses. A newspaper article, a vodcast, a podcast, a
poster, a digital presentation, Glow blog or wiki could be possible ways in
which learners could consolidate their learning.
Cards needed for ‘mystery’ activity
The ‘mystery’ decision making question is….
Why can’t Kirsty Smith make up her mind if she wants Scotland to be
independent?
Below are 27 statements practitioners may wish to be copy and cut up (as per
the instructions above).
1
More than half of Scots are opposed to Scotland becoming
independent, according to a new opinion poll.
A total of 53% of those questioned by Progressive Scottish Opinion
were against such a change, while 28% were in favour of it.
23
The SNP has officially launched its campaign for a Yes vote in the
referendum.
2
Scottish Nationalist campaign director Angus Robertson said: ‘The
SNP received an overwhelming mandate from the people of Scotland
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SAMPLE MYSTERY GAME
in May 2011 to hold a referendum in the second half of this
parliament and that is exactly what we will do.’
22
Independence is about Scotland separating from the UK and
becoming an independent state, separate from England, Wales and
Northern Ireland.
3
Supporters of Scottish independence claim that Scotland ’s inability
to fully control its own affairs is bad for Scottish interests.
21
4
Those who oppose Scottish independence and support the
continuation of a form of union believe that being part of the UK is
in the Scottish national interest and argue that there are benefits
enjoyed by Scotland as part of the UK that do not compromise its
distinctive national identity.
The Scottish National Party was formed in 1934. At that time, the
SNP did not support all-out independence for Scotland but rather the
establishment of a devolved Scottish Assembly within the UK, i.e.
what we have today.
20
The SNP won a Parliamentary seat in 1967 when Winnie Ewing was
the surprise winner of the Hamilton by-election.
5
1970s – the Scottish National Party organised a hugely s uccessful
campaign entitled ‘It's Scotland’s oil’, emphasising the way in
which the discovery of oil could benefit Scotland’s economy and its
people.
19
In the October 1974 election, the SNP did well, winning 11 seats
and managing to get over 30% of the total votes cast in Scotland.
6
18
7
17
8
The Labour Party won the 1997 general election and Donald Dewar,
as Secretary of State for Scotland, agreed to the proposals for a
Scottish Parliament. A referendum was held in September of that
year and 74.3% of those who voted approved the devolution plan.
Within the Scottish Parliament, the Union is supported by the
Scottish Labour Party, Scottish Conservative Party and Scottish
Liberal Democrats.
Opposition to Scottish independence is also held by many individual
figures, such as George Galloway, and smaller political parties, such
as the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).
Opponents of independence believe Scotland is economically
stronger as a part of the UK economy and that Scotland is better
able to prosper in a globalised economy with the international
influence and stability derived from being part of the UK.
Some claim that Scotland’s levels of public spending (higher than in
the rest of the UK) would be difficult to sustain after independence
without raising taxes, as North Sea oil revenues will decline in the
longer term.
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SAMPLE MYSTERY GAME
16
Another argument in favour of a continued union is that as part of
the British state, Scotland has more influence on international
affairs as part of NATO and the G8 and as a permanent member of
the UN Security Council.
9
Contemporary popular culture is shared with the rest of the UK,
primarily through the English language.
15
Almost half of the Scottish population have relatives in England,
almost a million Scoto-English live and work in England and
400,000 Anglo-Scots now live in Scotland.
10
Kirsty is 16.
14
Kirsty was born in England but has lived in Scotland for most of her
life.
11
Kirsty wants Scotland to have its own team at the Olympic Games.
13
Kirsty’s family are split on whether independence would be good for
Scotland.
12
Kirsty found out about ‘devo max’ in through the media. Devo max
would give the Scottish Parliament more powers – without
independence.
24
Several other political parties such as the Greens and the Scottish
Socialist Party support independence.
25
There is good support from business leaders and economists for
independence.
26
A number of similarly-sized countries, such as Norway, are
successful as independent countries.
27
Independence is clear and easy-to-understand.
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SKILLS FOR LEARNING, LIFE AND WORK
Skills for learning, life and work
All young people are entitled to opportunities for developing skills for
learning, life and work. These skills should be developed across all
curriculum areas, in interdisciplinary studies and in all the contexts and
settings where young people are learning.
What do we mean by ‘skills for learning, life and work’?
The skills include literacy, numeracy and associated thinking skills; skills for
health and wellbeing, including personal learning planning, working with
others, leadership and skills for enterprise and employability.
Thinking skills in Modern Studies
Thinking allows learners to explore critically text and information of all
kinds and to use them in a purposeful manner .
The range of thinking skills includes the following (based on Bloom’s
Taxonomy):
 Remembering involves such activities as recall, recognition or locating
information.
 Understanding might involve activities such as describing, explaining and
summarising.
 Applying requires the learner to use or apply their knowledge and
understanding in different contexts.
 Analysing requires learners to break down information into component
parts and search for relationships.
 Evaluating involves making an informed judgement a bout something such
as comparing, appraising, prioritising, rating or selecting.
 Creating happens when learners are required to generate new ideas and
products through activities such as designing, creative writing, planning,
reconstructing, inventing, formulating, producing and composing.
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SKILLS FOR LEARNING, LIFE AND WORK
Practitioners may wish to consider the following questions in regard to
thinking skills when planning their learning and teaching for Democracy in
Scotland and the United Kingdom:
What approaches to learning and teaching could you adopt to help to develop
learners’ higher-order thinking skills more effectively?
What kinds of questioning might help to develop thinking skills?
To live in a modern democracy, an effective programme of education for
citizenship must help learners to become critical and independent thinkers.
This involves challenging young people to think about issues that are relevant
to them and so developing their skills for learning, life and work by providing
experiences in which they can:
 gather and evaluate evidence from a range of sources of information
 draw conclusions based on that evidence
 be able and prepared to communicate and justify their views and
standpoints.
Below are four examples of skills-based activities that could be used to help
develop the above skills and introduce the generic content section of N5
Modern Studies: Democracy in Scotland and the UK.
Example one: Developing the skills: Should Scotland be independent?
Source 1
An ICM poll held in January 2012 (http://www.icmresearch.com/wpcontent/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/01/2012-jan-st-scotland-indepence.pdf had the
following results:
Q1. Would you approve or disapprove of Scotland becoming an independent
country?
Overall result:
Yes – 40%
No – 43%
Don’t know (DK) – 17%
Result per age group:
18 -24: yes-36%, no-28%, DK-36%
25-34: yes- 36%, no-28%, DK-36%
35-44: yes-41%, no-41%, DK-18%
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SKILLS FOR LEARNING, LIFE AND WORK
45-54: yes-45%, no-37%, DK-15%
55-64: yes-55%, no-37%, DK-8%
65+: yes-29%, no-66%, DK-4%
Result per selected regions:
Central: yes-34%, no-52%, DK-12%
Glasgow: yes-45%, no-34%, DK-22%
Highlands & Islands: yes-44%, no-37%, DK-22%
South of Scotland: yes-31%, no-50%, DK-19%
Lothian: yes-35%, no-52%, DK-13%
Q2. Generally speaking, do you think that Scotland would be better off or
worse off if Scotland was independent?
Overall result:
Better off -38%
Worse off -41%
DK – 20%
Source 2: Salmond v Cameron (adapted from Herald Sun Newspaper,
Australia
Mr Salmond, Scottish First Minister, insists that independence would bring
greater prosperity. ‘We have 25% of Europe's tidal power potential, 25% of
its offshore wind potential and 10% of its wave power potential - not bad for
a nation with less than 1% of Europe's population.’
Mr Cameron, the UK Prime Minister, insisted Scotland would be safer and
richer if it remained a part of the UK, along with England, Wales and
Northern Ireland. Both Wales and Northern Ireland also have devolved
administrations with limited powers. ‘We're stronger, because together we
count for more in the world, with a permanent seat on the United Nations
Security Council, real clout in NATO and Europe and unique influence with
allies all over the world.’ Mr Cameron insists Scotland's five million people
would be more prosperous as part of ‘the seventh-richest economy on the
planet and one of the world's biggest trading powers ’.
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SKILLS FOR LEARNING, LIFE AND WORK
Source 3: comparison of opinion polls over the last 6 years
Basic question (varies slightly across opinion polls): Would you support or
oppose Scotland becoming an independent country?
Newspaper
Mail on Sunday
The Sun
Channel 4
Sunday Telegraph
Date
January 2012
April 2008
August 2007
Nov 2006
Support
%
26
34
40
52
Oppose%
Don’t know%
46
51
44
35
27
15
16
13
View of David Wilson
People in Scotland definitely support Scottish independence. They always
have done. Mr. Salmond and Mr. Cameron are in agreement that Scotland
would be better off as an independent country.
Using the information in the sources, is David Wilson correct in his what he
says about Scottish independence? Give at least 3 full reasons to support
your answer.
Example two: Developing the skills: Second chamber: role of the House
of Lords in the political system and reasons for calls for reform of the
second chamber.
The following scenario illustrates how some relevant skills could be
developed.
You are an adviser to the UK Government. You have been asked to
recommend whether or not to reform the second chamber (House of Lords ) in
the UK parliament.
Option 1: Continue with the House of Lords as it is just now.
Option 2: Reform the House of Lords.
Learners can research one (or both) sides of the argument, either individually
or in groups. They can present their findings to th e class in a way that allows
them some choice. The activity can be followed up by asking the learners to
write a report stating which option they would choose and why they chose
this option.
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SKILLS FOR LEARNING, LIFE AND WORK
Here is some information that either practitioner s (or learners) could adapt to
further develop arguments for or against reforming the House of Lords.
What is the House of Lords?
It is the upper house, or second chamber, of the UK Parliament. Its role is to
scrutinise and revise laws passed by MPs in the House of Co mmons. It does
not have the power to stop laws but it can delay them and effectively force
the government to alter, or drop, its plans.
Who sits in the House of Lords now?
The number of peers who sit in the House of Lords fluctuates. For the most
up to date figures, practitioners may wish to refer to:
http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/lords-by-type-andparty/
(The figures on the page above are updated on a monthly basis.)
What are the reform plans?
A draft bill was published on 17 May 2011. It set out proposals for a House
of Lords of 300 members: 80% of the members would be elected and 20%
appointed. A maximum of 12 Church of England bish ops would be ex-officio
members of the House of Lords. Members would serve a single term of 15
years. Elections would be held for a third of the House at a time under the
single transferable vote system. In addition, the Prime Minister would be able
to appoint a limited number of people who would be members of the House of
Lords for the duration of their appointment.
What the 2010 General Election manifestos said
The Conservative Party manifesto pledged to support a ‘mainly’ elected
second chamber.
The Liberal Democrat manifesto stated that they would ‘replace the House of
Lords with a fully-elected second chamber with considerably fewer members
than the current House.’
The Labour Party pledged to hold a referendum on House of Lords reform.
They favoured a fully elected second chamber.
Summarising the debate
Here are some of the headings that could be used to summarise the
considerations regarding reform of the House of Lords:
 Legitimacy
 Representativeness
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
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Avoiding single-party majorities
Independence
Expertise
Distinctive composition
Accountability
Integrity
Cost
Further details about these can be found in this Political Studies Associat ion
briefing paper:
http://www.psa.ac.uk/PSAPubs/HLReformBriefingPaper.pdf
Websites practitioners (and learners) may find useful:
http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_details.php?topicID=36
idebate – website of the international debate education association – a
reasonable place to start.
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/parliament/house-of-lords
The website of UCL’s Constitution Unit (School of Public Policy).
http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/lords-library-notes/
Website of the House of Lords library - reports on many aspects of the House
of Lords are contained within.
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm80/8077/8077.pdf
The Government’s proposals regarding reform of the House of Lords, May
2011.
http://www.parliament.uk/
Website of the UK Parliament.
http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/7940-the-arguments-for-lords-reformare-overwhelming
The Journal – covers news and current affairs (this is a link to an article
regarding arguments around reform of the House of Lords ).
http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/house-of-lords-reform
The link above is to an article with the background, controversies, statistics
and quotes regarding reform of the House of Lords. This website has up to
the minute UK politics news, features, view and analysis, plus guides,
briefings and debate.
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http://www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/blog/entry/lords -reform-lets-get-downto-business
This website focuses on democracy, rights and freedoms.
Example three: developing the skills: Mock elections
Within National 5 Democracy in Scotland and the United Kingdom , there is a
place for practical activities relating to, for example, elections. Carrying out
mock elections may assist learners to develop many of the skill s of learning,
life and work. Here are some examples of mock elections.




Mock Scottish Parliament election – using the additional member system.
Mock UK Parliament election – using first past the post.
Mock local council election – using single transferable vote.
A referendum on, for example, Scottish independence or the alternative
vote.
There are several websites that have relevant information to help practitioners
organise the above. Many modern studies departments run such elections so it
may be appropriate for practitioners to work collaboratively with colleagues
both within and across departments.
http://mockelections.co.uk/teachers
http://mockelections.co.uk/run-a-campaign
http://mockelections.co.uk/teachers/additional -resources/
http://www.dopolitics.org.uk/
Democracy in Action is an hour-long film made for BBC Two’s Learning
Zone:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/guides/newsid_8233000/8233383.stm
This is a resource which practitioners may wish to consider when illustrating
the democratic process to learners. The film covers four themes: UK politics,
the media, international politics and the European Union.
The mock elections could be organised in such a way that the learners are
gaining knowledge and understanding of the content of the National 5
Democracy in Scotland and the United Kingdom and the specif ic modern
studies skills and the skills of learning, life and work. Practitioners may wish
to explore relating a mock election to real political parties, along with real
policies and issues. In doing so, learners will benefit in many ways.
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Example four: developing the skills: rights and responsibilities
Pressure groups
Learners could be encouraged to select which pressure group to study.
Practitioners and learners may wish to explore a Scottish pressure group.
Practitioners may wish to consider local issues and/or issues which have been
exposed to media attention.
Some Scottish-based pressure groups include:
http://banthebomb.org/ne/
Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
http://www.scsh.co.uk/
The Scottish Council for Single Homeless
There are several local groups that have been set up around the issue of wind
turbines:
http://www.cawt.co.uk/index.php
Concern about wind turbines.
http://www.wind-watch.org/
Wind watch is a new group set up in 2011.
http://www.daviotwindfarm.com/
A local group opposed to the construction of a wind farm on the outskirts of
Inverness.
BBC Learning Zone has a number of clips that support this section on
pressure groups.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/pressure -groups/5620.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/insider -pressure-groups/4048.html
Practitioners may also wish to explore - http://www.camcorderguerillas.net/ a Glasgow community-based, voluntary collective who work together to make
and showcase documentaries for those concerned with human rights, welfare
and social justice initiatives.
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What learning and teaching might take place?
Practitioners may wish to explore with learners a case study approach. It is
documented that learners can learn more effectively when actively involved
in the learning process. The case study approach is one way in which such
active learning strategies can be implemented. There are a number of
definitions for the term case study, for example Fry et al. (Fry H, Ketteridge
S and Marshall S (1999) A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher
Education, Kogan Page, Glasgow, page 408) describe case studies as complex
examples that give an insight into the context of a problem as well as
illustrating the main point. This tends to be the definition we would use in
modern studies, where practical, real-life examples can be used to
contextualise more theoretical concepts. The case-based approach can be a
useful method to develop transferable skills such as group work, research
skills, analysis, presentation skills and other modern studies enquiry skills
such as detecting exaggeration and bias. Researching case studies can also
help the learner develop the skill of reaching conclusions based on evidence.
Practitioners may wish to present their learners with a structure they could
use to contextualise the main ideas within the pressure group case study. For
example, learners could consider these possible themes for a named Scottish
or UK pressure group:
 What are the rights and responsibilities of participants in the pressure
group?
 What are the rights and responsibilities of the pressure gr oup as they
engage in various activities?
 What opportunities exist for participation in the pressure group?
 What impact/influence/effect does this pressure group have on
governments (at all levels)?
 How effective is that impact?
The learners could research their pressure group using the above questions to
steer them and report to the other members of the class. There are many
opportunities for breadth, challenge, personalisation and choice in such an
approach. The learners could work collaboratively in groups and they could
research different pressure groups.
An active approach to a case study could be to have learners role -play the
part of the people involved in it. This not only actively engages learners but
also forces them to understand fully the r ights, responsibilities and
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opportunities that pressure groups have, as well as their impact on
democracy.
Practitioners may wish to explore guiding learners to set up a mock pressure
group based around an issue pertinent to the centre or wider communi ty.
Similar strategies could be used if you decide to use the media or trade
unions to exemplify this section, rather than pressure groups.
Trade unions
If a learner wishes to study trade unions and their impact on democ racy, these
websites may be of use:
http://www.stuc.org.uk/
The STUC co-ordinates trade unions in Scotland. They have a pack that is
downloadable from their website for schools ( http://www.stuc.org.uk/unionsinto-school). A Better Way to Work in Scotland comes in four units which
provide an introduction to basic rights at work, a more detailed exploration of
rights and responsibilities in the workplace, an explanation of the role of
trades unions and encouragement for learners to consider the future world of
work. The resource is supported by a website
(http://www.stuc.org.uk/unionswork) where practitioners can access
additional materials, support and information on how to request a trade union
school visit.
http://www.tuc.org.uk/
The TUC site gives a list of all the trades unions in the UK.
http://www.ebctuc.co.uk/
This is the TUC’s ‘Union into schools’ website – practitioners may wish to
explore the resources.
http://www.ebctuc.co.uk/library
The library of this site has some great links – including links to video clips.
http://www.unison.org.uk/
The website of Unison.
http://www.unitetheunion.org/
The website of Unite.
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The impact of the media on democracy in Scotland/UK
Learners may choose to study the impact of the media on democracy instead
of pressure groups or trade unions. There are many ways to tackle at this
section of the unit content. For example, what will be the impact of social
media on democracy? Democracy is driven by people and now most of these
people use social media. How this will impact the democratic system?
One of the most powerful effects the media has in any society is its ability to
bring about change, on both social and governmental levels.
There are many areas that could be studied, with some examples being:
 The importance (and impact) of social media on political campaigns.
 The impact of the print media on election campaigns and results .
 The power of e-petitions to affect change.
Cognisance should be taken of active learning and teaching as the media is an
area that has great potential to be interesting and exciting. Many learners
engage with social media so it may be appropriate to build on their
knowledge of blogging and social media platforms. Social media is a
powerful teaching and learning tool and is one which practitioners may w ish
to explore. Some examples of modern studies Twitter accounts include:
www.twitter.com/stjohnsmodstuds
www.twitter.com/modstudies
www.twitter.com/KGSModStudies
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