Glossary

Searchable glossary containing hundreds of definitions and descriptions of education terms, acronyms and abbreviations used by the LTS online service and in Scottish education.

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Paganism	Paganism describes a group of contemporary religions based on a reverence for nature. Most Pagans share an ecological vision and involvement that comes from the Pagan belief in the organic vitality and spirituality of the natural world. Paganism encompasses a diverse community with some groups concentrating on specific traditions, practices or elements such as ecology, witchcraft,Celtic traditions or certain gods. Wiccans, Druids, Shamans, Sacred Ecologists, Odinists and Heathens all make up parts of the Pagan community.
Paired marking	Children need to be trained to become reflective learners through modelling effective feedback that is both constructive and sensitive. Using success criteria, they identify in pairs positive aspects, then successes and where improvement could take place in a piece of work. If ground rules have been decided as a class, this will avoid over criticism and encourage meaningful dialogue between the children.
Paired reading	Paired reading is a reading activity where a learner and a more skilled reader (pupil or parent) read a text together. They follow an established pattern to allow the learner to take over reading in sections where they feel confident. This technique aims to improve the learner’s reading and comprehension skills.
Pantheism	Pantheist (pan=all; theos=god) is a term for someone who believes that everything is God. Pantheism believes that the universe and nature are divine, meaning that they deserve a religious reverence. Understanding them, appreciating their beauty, and preserving nature, should be the central focus of our lives. People who subscribe to this belief are known as pantheists.
Parental Involvement	The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 recognises the important part parents play in their children’s learning and development. It identifies three key elements where parents can be involved and that schools have a role in promoting and developing: learning at home, home-school partnerships, and/or the new Parent Councils.
Parietal lobe	The specialised region of the brain thought to support speech, touch, sensitivity and perception.
Partnership	Recognises all stakeholders in a pupil’s learning and their contribution to the process. Schools and parents often work in partnership. In some cases, social work and psychological services may also contribute to this partnership to help individual pupils make progress.
PAT (Professional Association of Teachers)	The Professional Association of Teachers is an independent trade union and professional association for teachers, headteachers, lecturers, education support staff , nursery nurses, nannies and other childcarers.
Pathway Assessment	Definition of Pathway Assessment is carried out by a Scottish local authority with a young person who is preparing to cease being looked after. The assessment results in a Pathway Plan.
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)	Personal digital assistant, a digital device which can include the functionality of a computer, a cellphone, a music player and a camera.
Peer assessment	Where pupils or colleagues provide feedback on another’s work. This works best if the criteria have been shared and fully understood; if the teacher has modelled the process; and if quality is monitored as it is undertaken. Peer assessment can provide the bridge between teacher assessment and self-assessment. That is, it can be a stage in the process of helping pupils become confident and skilled in self-assessment, as opposed to relying always on the teacher.
Peer feedback	Pupils or colleagues provide advice on others' work, based on peer assessment, making clear the strengths and an area for improvement. In some schools 'two stars and a wish' has established a culture where everyone expects constructive advice.
Peer observation	Teachers seeking to improve their practice ask a colleague to watch them and make notes on points agreed. This provides a non-threatening opportunity for objective assessment. Points raised in subsequent discussion become ideas for improvement.
Peer pressure	Influence or pressure on a young person by others who are about the same age or in the same class.
Peer teaching	A strategy for checking how well pupils have understood a topic or issue – or, perhaps more significantly, one of ensuring high motivation in undertaking a task or project. For example, in jigsawing, pupils might read materials and research a range of resources, becoming 'experts' on a topic, which they then teach to others.
PEO (Principal Education Officer)	A division within LT Scotland which develops services, projects and research for Scottish education.
Personal learning plan	A means of recording the outcomes of discussions in which learners are involved in identifying strengths, areas for development and targets for improvement.
Personal learning planning	A process in which pupils, teachers and other relevant stakeholders including parents and carers, are involved in discussions about an individual's strengths, areas for development and goals for self-improvement. Personal learning planning is key in addressing individual learning needs, and covers concepts such as self-evaluation, identifying and reflecting on the evidence of learning, planning, goal-setting and monitoring. This process feeds into a range of developmental areas including career and personal development. The discussions between the teacher and the learner can help to define objectives, highlight progress and illustrate the way forward (next steps).
Pessimism	A belief that things are bad, and more than likely will get worse – the opposite of optimism. A common example used to illustrate optimism is this question: given a glass that has been filled halfway, is it half full or half empty? A pessimist will describe it as half empty.
PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education)	If a person already has a degree, they can do a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course to obtain either the Teaching Qualification (Primary Education) or the Teaching Qualification (Secondary Education). (For entry to the PGCE secondary course, their degree must have sufficient breadth and depth in the subject they wish to teach.)
PGDE (Postgraduate Diploma in Education)	Postgradute Diploma in Education. Most universities have now replaced their PGCE course with this new postgraduate diploma course.
Philosophy	The study of the origin, development, and structure of human societies and the behaviour of individual people and groups in society.
Physical disability	The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 defines a person as disabled who has ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. There is a wide range of physical disabilities among pupils. Some are able to access the full curriculum and learn effectively without additional educational provision. Others may have significant additional support needs, which an inclusive education system seeks to meet.
PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study)	Scotland participates in PIRLS - a five-year cycle of assessments that measures trends in children’s reading literacy achievement at fourth grade and policy and practices related to literacy.
PISA (OECD Programme for International Student Assessment)	A survey carried out every three years, of 15-year-olds in the principal industrialised countries, which assesses how far students near the end of compulsory education have acquired some of the knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in society.
Pixel	A single point of a graphic image.
Planning (for learning)	Planning that takes account of prior learning and current achievement. It may apply at many different levels – individual pupil, class and whole school improvement.
Plenary (questioning) sessions	Time set aside at the end of a lesson for the teacher to discover what pupils have learned and re-emphasise the main points.
Plenary sessions	Time set aside at the end of a lesson for the teacher to discover what pupils have learned and re-emphasise the main points.
Plug-in	A small piece of software that integrates with a larger application. Often you need plug-ins on web browsers to view special content such as animations on the web. Plug-ins are usually free and you can download them from the internet.
Pluralism	Pluralism is the term used for any system - usually political or social - that actively allows for a multiplicity of opinions, views, and perspectives.
PMI	PMI (Plus/Minus/Interesting) is a decision making tool devised by Edward de Bono.
Podcast	An audio file, usually in MP3 format that is available online. The files can be downloaded and listened to at the users convenience. Distributed via rss feeds
Podcasting	Production and distribution of a series of audio or video digital-media files which is distributed over the internet through Web feeds,to portable media players and personal computers.
Point of reference	In working toward improvement, a means by which progress can be measured. Also known Benchmarking.
Polytheism	Polytheism is the belief in and worship of many gods. It contrasts with Monotheism, belief in one god, and Pantheism, identification of God with the universe.
POP Point of presence	Point of presence. This is a connection point to a carrier network, such as the internet.
Portal	A portal is a website that is a major starting site for users. There are general portals and specialised or niche portals. Some major general portals include Yahoo, Netscape and Lycos.
Positive action	The Race Relations Act sets out measures that employers may lawfully take to provide access to facilities to meet special needs in relation to education and training or welfare or to train and encourage people from particular racial group that is under-represented in particular work. The aim of positive action is to ensure that people who may not have fully realised their potential due to past discrimination or disadvantages, can compete on equal terms with other applicants for work in which they have been underrepresented or absent.
Positive discrimination	Treating someone differently to his or her benefit but to the detriment of another. This is illegal in Britain.
Positive duty	The general duty is sometimes described as a positive duty. This does not come from the legislation itself, but from the stated intention of parliament in passing the amendment to the Race Relations Act. The main thrust of the amendment was to turn the law from a reactive into a proactive or positive obligation.
Post-14 RG (Post-14 Reference Group)
Post box	A non-threatening strategy to discover potential areas of misunderstanding, involving the use of a ‘post box’, where pupils can post questions anonymously. A box is set up as the 'post box' into which pupils 'post' questions. The teacher collects the 'post', reads the questions at random and addresses any misunderstandings in session with the whole class.
PowerPoint	PowerPoint is a presentation program developed by Microsoft for its Microsoft Office system.
Practicability	The extent to which a strategy or task is manageable or can be carried out, within a range of constraints – for example, time, cost, staffing.
PRD	Professional review and development; the process by which teachers review their knowledge and skills and, in discussion, agree a plan of CPD activities to address their needs and share their strengths.
Predictive validity (of assessment)	The extent to which the results of one assessment accurately predict performance in a future assessment. For example, are 5-14 levels reported at P7 good predictors of performance at Standard Grade? The assessments made at different points in time need not measure exactly the same things. The important thing here is the correlation between the two results.
Prejudice	Literally means to ' pre-judge '. That is to form an opinion before knowing the facts of a situation. Ignorance is a factor in causing prejudice. Prejudice, like the word 'bias' can be either negative or positive. It is possible to be prejudiced in favour of someone or prejudiced against someone. Religious prejudice under Scottish Law is defined by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 section 74. Under that Act, the term is defined as 'malice and ill-will based on the victim's membership (or presumed membership of a religious group, or of a social or cultural group with a perceived religious affiliation)'.
Principles	Definition of the principles of Curriculum for Excellence. There are seven princples which support curriculum design and apply at all stages of learning with different emphases at different stages.
Problem solving	The thought processes involved in solving a problem. Critical and creative thinking are closely related to problem solving, which can be described as applied thinking. Problems such as organising the various tasks we have to do each day or weighing up different viewpoints on a moral issue, all require a mixture of critical and creative thinking.
Procedural memory	Procedural memory is our memory of how to do things, for example, playing an instrument, kicking a ball, reading or solving problems. Such memories are formed through the repeated practice of actions or skills and are the most durable of our memories.
Productive climate	The social atmosphere in a school, determined by the management team and the staff, that encourages goal orientation, personal development and self-enhancement of all members of the school community.
professional communities	Groups of like-minded people who form a community for discussion and sharing of interesting practice. Many, like Heads Together, only exist online, or are enhanced by online tools. See Glowgroups.
professional recognition	Recognition by the General Teaching Council for Scotland GTCS for work completed by individual teachers.
Profile/profiling	Compiled by the teacher, it consists of a continuing record of a pupils' progress. This is more effective as narrative rather than in the form of ticked boxes, and usually indicates goals for improvement.
Progression	An explanation of progression in Curriculum for Excellence - increasing the breadth and the depth of learning at each level as well as more challenges for pupils as they move to the next levels.
project leader	The person who leads the project and has responsibility for meeting goals set.
Promoting race equality	This is now viewed as short hand for eliminating racial discrimination, promoting equal opportunities and good race relations.
Protocol	A set of rules which determine how computers are able to communicate with each other.
PSD (Personal and Social Development)	One of the 5–14 curriculum areas. Personal and social development is a fundamental aspect of the education of the whole child. It is essentially concerned with the development of life skills. All aspects of a child's experience at home, in school and outwith school contribute to personal and social development.
PSE (Personal and Social Education)	An acronym for personal and social education. It refers to both the curriculum and lessons in this area and covers all the learning experiences and opportunities in class and in other school contexts, which promote the personal and social development of pupils.
Psychology	The shared beliefs and practices of the school or educational establishment.
PTA (Parent-Teacher Association)	Many schools have PTAs as well as, or instead of, school boards. They exist to work on behalf of or in support of the school.
Public authorities	Bodies named, defined or described in Schedule 1A to the Race Relations Act, generally those organisations which carry out work or services that affect the public. For example health boards, local authorities, educational bodies and institutions, police, libraries, museums, regulatory bodies.
Pupil-speak	Language that is accessible to pupils, in relation to their age, stage and culture. Communication specialists emphasise the importance of effective communication. Adapting the language and style of communication so that it is appropriate to the purpose and context is a key skill.
Pupil-teacher meetings	Discussions that take place between a teacher and a pupil. Also sometimes referred to as pupil–teacher conferences or interviews.