At National 5 and Higher level history, schools must choose between five Scottish topics, the most popular of which is Migration and Empire: 1830-1930. This course asks students to learn about the groups that came to Scotland in the period - from Ireland, Italy and Lithuania - while also exploring emigration of Scots to Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India.
In January 2025 the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) made an important change to the wording of the exam specification by removing the requirement to study “the contribution of Scots” in these territories, in favour of “the impact” of Scots. This change creates space for schools to study how the arrival of European settlers, including Scots, affected the lives, lands and cultures of the Indigenous peoples they encountered.
When a change like this is made to the school curriculum, there is a need for teachers to upskill. Schools have been teaching a version of Scots emigrant history without Indigenous perspectives for a long time, meaning that exam papers, textbooks and classroom resources reflected this partial picture. Without expert support, teachers may struggle to find appropriate sources, case studies or sensitive classroom activities that reflect current historic scholarship.
Teacher scholarship programme
The METISS programme - Migration and Empire: Teaching the Impact of Scots Settlers - is a year-long CPD initiative funded by the Scottish government and led by the University of Stirling. Bringing together leading academics from around the world, the project focuses on deepening teachers’ understanding of Scottish colonial history by foregrounding its impact on Indigenous peoples in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The project structure has involved extensive evening reading and online seminars, as well as opportunities to refine historical perspectives by asking questions of scholars. This prior engagement - admirably squeezed in after teaching hours and between parents’ evenings and childcare - culminated in a residential weekend, a rare chance for teachers to do “hands on” primary source history work, supported by academics, away from day-to-day teaching.
Fionnuala Glover, a participant teacher, said: “Summarising my experience in just a few sentences feels impossible. I left with a deeper understanding of the role Scots played across the empire and a renewed determination to ensure my delivery is anti-racist wherever possible. I also gained a network of like-minded individuals equally committed to this vital work.”
She added: “Most importantly, the weekend reminded me why I love teaching history - the power of stories to help us better understand our world. It reignited my passion to share this learning with my students because these histories matter, and they have been overlooked for far too long.”
This type of immersive experience is rare for history teachers, who often lack sustained subject-specific training opportunities beyond their initial qualification. The residential model provides an “oasis in the desert” of high-quality history CPD.
In addition to providing important professional development for the teachers, the project will produce 15 “pick-up-and-go” lesson plans that are well-researched, accurate and engaging for students, which also align with the demands of the current SQA examination syllabus.
Kieran German, one of the participant teachers, has created lesson resources that encourage teenagers to question “the impact of Scottish settlers on the agriculture and environment of Australia and the concomitant effect on Aboriginal societies”.
Dr German said: “It is striking that Scots, with their own history of being cleared from their land, were perpetrators in the dislocation and marginalisation of Indigenous peoples in order to import what they felt were superior agricultural practices. In this lesson, students are encouraged to question the colonial idea of terra nullius [that Australian land belonged to no one] to contrast the sustainability of Aboriginal and European agriculture through analysis of primary sources.”
Refocusing Scottish history education
Collaborative work with academic specialists ensures that teaching materials are rigorous and accessible, allowing teachers to confidently deliver complex historical content. Traditional Scottish history education has often centred on Scots as pioneers, traders and builders of empire, with limited attention being paid to the voices of those who were displaced, exploited or marginalised.
A new approach to teaching Scots’ emigration must also position them as participants in a system of conquest, land dispossession and cultural erasure. The SQA has changed the question wording from Scots’ “contribution” to “impact”, but teachers now need support to access the evidence base that exemplifies the history behind this shift in language.
But this project must be understood in its broader context.
Schoolchildren increasingly ask critical questions about colonial history, systemic racism and historical social justice. Teachers who lack expertise in these topics may feel unprepared to engage in these discussions, leading to oversimplified answers or avoidance of the topic altogether. Collaboration with experts, then, ensures that Scottish settler history is taught with accuracy, sensitivity and depth, empowering students to engage critically with a new set of source materials.
Teachers should be more routinely provided with release time and structural support to engage in meaningful enquiry and research. This investment enriches young people’s understanding of the global environment and their own hopes for the future.
Now is the time to support teachers in this vital work - because a carefully considered history education benefits everyone.
Katie Hunter is a history teacher and winner of the 2024 SAMEE Outstanding Contribution to Anti-racist Practice in the Classroom Award. Dr Joe Smith, Dr Fiona Barclay and Irina Nakonechna are academics at the University of Stirling
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