'This is an excellent book. It challenges several preconceptions about education in Scotland and provides an authoritative and interesting account of many aspects of its history. It will be immensely valuable to historians of education and to students within Scotland and beyond.' Pamela Munn, Emeritus Professor of Curriculum Research, University of Edinburgh A comprehensive and authoritative treatment of major themes and periods in the history of Scottish education. The distinctiveness and influence of Scotland's educational institutions have played a significant role in the construction of national identity. This book investigates the origins and evolution of the main institutions of Scottish education, bringing together a range of scholars, each an expert on his or her own period, and with interests including - but also ranging beyond - the history of education. From the medieval period to the modern, this book provides a broad picture of Scottish educational history, while also highlighting the particularities and varieties of the Scottish system through the ages: from monastic to secular; from rural to urban; from Latin to Gaelic; from Reformation to Enlightenment and beyond. This is a hugely important reference work for historians and students of education within and beyond Scotland, and essential background reading for teachers and policy-makers. It is also a significant book for anyone interested in the development of modern Scotland, its culture and institutions. Robert Anderson taught history at the University of Edinburgh from 1969 to 2007. He has written extensively on the history of education in Scotland, Britain and Europe. He is the author of British Universities Past and Present (2006) and Education and the Scottish People 1750-1918 (1995). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Mark Freeman is Senior Lecturer at the UCL Institute of Education, University College London. He has published widely on modern British social, educational and business history, and has also worked at the Universities of Glasgow, York and Hull. He is co-editor of the journal History of Education. Lindsay Paterson is Professor of Educational Policy at the University of Edinburgh. His books include The Autonomy of Modern Scotland (1994), and Scottish Education in the Twentieth Century (2003). He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.