Abstract
Psychology was introduced as a subject in Scottish schools in 1999 and has steadily grown in popularity since then. Records show 426 students took Higher psychology exams in 2000, 1186 in 2001, 1951 in 2002 and 3062 in 2003. To respond to the demand, teachers trained in other disciplines have been recruited to teach psychology. More students will now be entering university first year psychology classes with prior experience of studying psychology. Psychology's popularity at school level raises two key issues for psychology departments in Scottish universities: (1) is there a role to play in addressing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) needs of psychology teachers in school, and (2) how can they best address the diversity of psychology background entry qualifications that first year university students now present? This paper reports on the results of a survey of the CPD needs of teachers of psychology in all 446 secondary schools and 48 Further Education (FE) colleges in Scotland. Possible ways for Higher Education (HE) psychology departments to take cognisance of students' prior learning in psychology are explored.