Educational Institute of Scotland | |
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| Founded | 1847; 178 years ago (1847) |
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| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Location | |
| Members |  58,566 (2024)[1] |
General Secretary | Andrea Bradley |
| Affiliations | STUC,TUC,EI |
| Website | eis.org.uk |
TheEducational Institute of Scotland (EIS) is the oldest teachers'trade union in the world, having been founded in 1847 whendominies became concerned about the effect of changes to the system ofeducation in Scotland on their professional status.[2][3] The EIS is the largest teaching union in Scotland, representing 80% of the country's teachers and lecturers. As of 2022[update] it has 56,342 members.[1]
The magazine of the EIS started in 1876 as a densely typeset, weekly tabloid calledThe Educational News. In 1918, the publication was renamedScottish Educational Journal (SEJ). Like its predecessor, the SEJ started as a weekly tabloid, but by the late 20th century it had become a monthly magazine.[4]
Since being granted aroyal charter byQueen Victoria, it is the only union able to awarddegrees.[5] A recipient of the EIS degree is aFellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland, denoted by thepost-nominalFEIS.
An early example of such a degree (awarded in December 1847) was worded as follows:[6]
The Educational Institute of Scotland
DIPLOMA OF FELLOW.
We, the Committee of Fellows of the Educational Institute of Scotland, appointed by the General Meeting which was held in the High School of Edinburgh on Saturday the 18th September 1847 to grant Diplomas to those Members admitted within the year 1847 who might be desirous of obtaining the Grade of Junior Licentiate, Senior Licentiate or Fellow, having examined the evidence produced by Mr John Gibson Smith, Schoolmaster of Ednam, in attestation of his professional attainments, experience and skill – and having found that his testimonials certify -
1st That he is qualified to teach English, Grammar, Composition, History, Geography, Writing, Arithmetic, Algebra, Natural Science, Agricultural Chemistry, Latin, Greek and French.
2nd That he has taught with acceptance and success during a period of Twenty years all the above named branches -
Do hereby, on the 11th day of December 1847, grant to the said Mr John Gibson Smith this Diploma conferring on him the Grade of Fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland, with all the honours rights and privileges thereto belonging.
(Signed) L. Schmits, George S. Davidson, F.R. Low L.L.D., James Fulton, John White, Alex Reid L.L.D., Walter Nichol L.L.D., Wm. Knox.
The 20 June 1913 issue ofThe Educational News reported that the EIS had elected its first woman president,Elizabeth Fish. The report also reflected on the progress of women teachers in Scotland. "When the Institute was founded in 1847," the report says, "education was looked upon as a man's work." Women teachers were virtually absent in schools before the passage of theEducation Act of 1872, but by the time Fish was named as president, there were six times as many women teachers as men, and women were also represented in the EIS council. The article also touched upon the subject ofpay equity, decrying the "shameful salaries" many women teachers were paid.[7]
In 2011 and again in 2018, threats ofindustrial action by the EIS evoked memories for many of the long-running teacherstrikes of the 1980s.[8][9] During the 1984-86 industrial action almost 15 million pupil days were lost across Scotland.[10] It was a sustained campaign in opposition to theConservative Government. Former trade union leaderLarry Flanagan described it as "the first time that any group of workers, anywhere in the UK, successfully stood firm in defiance of a concerted, ideologically driven attack by the Tory government."[10]
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