The founding Principal of The Scots College, the Reverend Arthur Ashworth Aspinall, with early masters of the College.
Our vision for servant-hearted scholarship and research-informed practice
What is eminently noteworthy is the way that, from earliest days, the College had a vision for contributing to the best halls of learning in the land, and for being far more than 'just a school'.
A long story of scholarly ambition
In 1854, John Hunter Baillie, who had come to the colonies for his health, died suddenly. As secretary and later Inspector for the Bank of New South Wales, he had established for himself and his (unfortunately childless) family both general esteem for his ‘eminent abilities’ and commitment to the tenets of the Protestant Reformation, and also a sizeable fortune. After his wife’s death, his Will provided that the proceeds of his all too short career were to go towards professorships in English Language and Literature, and Oriental and Polynesian Languages. When the endowments became available in 1898, The Scots College (founded with just twenty-three boys five years before at the beginning of an Empire-wide depression) and St Andrew’s College at the University of Sydney both applied for consideration as beneficiaries. As history would have it, the Church decided to give the funds to St Andrew's College, as positions in theology (‘Literature’) and biblical (ie. ‘Oriental’) languages.
What, however, would have led The Scots College to apply for funding for two university-level professorships at the very beginning of its life? The answers are complex, and have much to do with the personalities of those involved and the nature of Presbyterian educational philosophy. What is eminently noteworthy is the way that, from earliest days, the College had a vision for contributing to the best halls of learning in the land, for providing its students with the finest models of humane and holistic scholarship, and for being far more than 'just a school'. Through the College's long history, that vision has been kept alive, and today the College is globally renowned for its innovation and leadership in boys' education. Building on that foundation, and taking stock of the significant challenges and opportunities facing boys' schools in the 21st century, the College has moved to place humane scholarship for the common good and research-informed practice in boys' education at the heart of its 'Quest for Excellence'.
In 1854, John Hunter Baillie, who had come to the colonies for his health, died suddenly. As secretary and later Inspector for the Bank of New South Wales, he had established for himself and his (unfortunately childless) family both general esteem for his ‘eminent abilities’ and commitment to the tenets of the Protestant Reformation, and also a sizeable fortune. After his wife’s death, his Will provided that the proceeds of his all too short career were to go towards professorships in English Language and Literature, and Oriental and Polynesian Languages. When the endowments became available in 1898, The Scots College (founded with just twenty-three boys five years before at the beginning of an Empire-wide depression) and St Andrew’s College at the University of Sydney both applied for consideration as beneficiaries. As history would have it, the Church decided to give the funds to St Andrew's College, as positions in theology (‘Literature’) and biblical (ie. ‘Oriental’) languages.
What, however, would have led The Scots College to apply for funding for two university-level professorships at the very beginning of its life? The answers are complex, and have much to do with the personalities of those involved and the nature of Presbyterian educational philosophy. What is eminently noteworthy is the way that, from earliest days, the College had a vision for contributing to the best halls of learning in the land, for providing its students with the finest models of humane and holistic scholarship, and for being far more than 'just a school'. Through the College's long history, that vision has been kept alive, and today the College is globally renowned for its innovation and leadership in boys' education. Building on that foundation, and taking stock of the significant challenges and opportunities facing boys' schools in the 21st century, the College has moved to place humane scholarship for the common good and research-informed practice in boys' education at the heart of its 'Quest for Excellence'.
Purpose
The Scots College Research Centre exists to advance the College’s Brave Hearts Bold Minds educational philosophy by building expert communities of knowledge, practice and formation.
The Scots College Research Centre exists to advance the College’s Brave Hearts Bold Minds educational philosophy by building expert communities of knowledge, practice and formation.
What we do
Initiated in 2012 as one of the first school-based research units, The Scots College Research Office catalyses a range of projects, programs and publications, inspiring ‘higher learning for the common weal’.
We run a range of collaborative research projects with universities, industry partners and other schools in Australia and overseas. In the five core focus areas of our Patribus Initiatives — Character and Care, Experiential Education; Design Thinking and Creativity; Physical, Mental and Spiritual Wholeness; and Entrepreneurship and Social Leadership — we are seeking to build partnerships at depth to reinvent education.
We design and develop a suite of professional learning opportunities for staff across the College, developing not just the technical skills of teaching but the deeper elements of expertise: vocational clarity, philosophical depth and entrepreneurial thinking. We support a number of teachers engaging in research, from a first attempt at action research right through to PhD studies and beyond, as well as custom study and applied learning pathways in leadership and pedagogy.
We bring to Scots and the wider community world-class thinkers for conferences, seminars and lectures, and share our own research in a range of settings in Australia and abroad.
And we run a range of programs to inspire students to aspire to a life of scholarship, learning and mastery, seeking to play their part in serving the common weal.
Initiated in 2012 as one of the first school-based research units, The Scots College Research Office catalyses a range of projects, programs and publications, inspiring ‘higher learning for the common weal’.
We run a range of collaborative research projects with universities, industry partners and other schools in Australia and overseas. In the five core focus areas of our Patribus Initiatives — Character and Care, Experiential Education; Design Thinking and Creativity; Physical, Mental and Spiritual Wholeness; and Entrepreneurship and Social Leadership — we are seeking to build partnerships at depth to reinvent education.
We design and develop a suite of professional learning opportunities for staff across the College, developing not just the technical skills of teaching but the deeper elements of expertise: vocational clarity, philosophical depth and entrepreneurial thinking. We support a number of teachers engaging in research, from a first attempt at action research right through to PhD studies and beyond, as well as custom study and applied learning pathways in leadership and pedagogy.
We bring to Scots and the wider community world-class thinkers for conferences, seminars and lectures, and share our own research in a range of settings in Australia and abroad.
And we run a range of programs to inspire students to aspire to a life of scholarship, learning and mastery, seeking to play their part in serving the common weal.
Objectives
Objective 1: Encourage and coordinate the research-led practice of staff and students in the College, and contribute to staff training.
Objective 1: Encourage and coordinate the research-led practice of staff and students in the College, and contribute to staff training.
- form and encourage research groups within the Faculties
- establish and maintain digital frameworks which support communities of practice, and which can disseminate research activity and findings among staff
- maintain a research and publications register which makes transparent the work happening around the College
- publish an annual Research Report which promotes the College’s activities.
- build on the College’s conference series to encourage students to participate in curiosity-driven learning and research
- establish a cumulative electronic repository including quality literature, digests, data and publications collected for College projects
- engage in conferences, seminars, etc., to assess and connect to leading thinkers in related fields
- design and run benchmarking exercises for assessment of best practice
- implement and assess innovative programs for improvement based on international best practice
- engage in cooperative research with Australian and overseas universities and schools
- capture, produce and disseminate articles and teaching materials based on original and/or synthetic research by the broader College Community, in areas cognate to the College’s mission, and in ways which will build the College’s reputation
- partner with select scholars and institutions to connect the College to the larger information economy
- support graduate and research degree programs sponsored by Australian and overseas universities and other educational bodies and networks
- collate, synthesise and disseminate existing institutional research in effective, organisationally appropriate means.
- act as a portal for new institutional research endeavours which assist in making the College more effective in the pursuit of its mission
