This article looks at policy for quality assurance and evaluation in Scotland, its history and more recent developments, and in particular, at the emphasis on school self-evaluation. It examines the history of the concept, its constituent elements and the role of the Inspectorate in establishing it. Further, the article discusses the Scottish self-evaluation model as a means of promoting the country's distinctive identity in education within a European frame. It discusses the role of the Standing International Conference of Inspectorates as a major forum for the transmission of ideas about self-evaluation that illuminates the role of networks in promoting Europeanisation. (Contains 3 notes.)