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Latin Challenges: Perceptions, Policy and Curriculum for Excellence. Barriers to Teaching Latin in Scottish Schools

Received: 9 September 2024     Accepted: 25 September 2024     Published: 18 October 2024
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Abstract

Over the last decade, the number of Scottish learners presented for National Qualification exams in Latin has declined. There are a number of factors contributing to this decline. Some of these relate to the study of Classics generally, such as perceptions around the subject being socially and academically elitist, while others are specific to the study of Latin and the challenges arising from it being a language. Some factors are relevant to the situation of Latin internationally, for example the desire for education which is more explicitly relevant to the demands of modern societies, while others relate to specific features of the Scottish education system. Examination of the impact of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and of the Scottish Language Learning policy on education will give context to the current position of Latin within primary and secondary schools. Significant institutional support for the learning of Gaelic and Mandarin and the challenges currently facing all language learning in Scotland in the senior phase of formal schooling must also be considered in any discussion of the barriers to the provision of Latin. The decision of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the body responsible for the accreditation of educational awards in Scotland, to cease offering a National Qualification in Ancient Greek in 2015 was based on low uptake of the subject, making the provision of external assessment no longer viable. It is, therefore, crucial to examine the current status of Latin within Scottish education and to determine the reasons for its decline in order to better understand how to address those issues, where possible, so as to secure the sustainability of the subject in the curriculum as well as its accreditation through National Qualifications.

Published in American Journal of Education and Information Technology (Volume 8, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajeit.20240802.13
Page(s) 85-94
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Latin, Classical Studies, Curriculum for Excellence, Language Policy, Scottish Education, Elitism

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    O’Reilly, M. (2024). Latin Challenges: Perceptions, Policy and Curriculum for Excellence. Barriers to Teaching Latin in Scottish Schools. American Journal of Education and Information Technology, 8(2), 85-94. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20240802.13

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    ACS Style

    O’Reilly, M. Latin Challenges: Perceptions, Policy and Curriculum for Excellence. Barriers to Teaching Latin in Scottish Schools. Am. J. Educ. Inf. Technol. 2024, 8(2), 85-94. doi: 10.11648/j.ajeit.20240802.13

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    AMA Style

    O’Reilly M. Latin Challenges: Perceptions, Policy and Curriculum for Excellence. Barriers to Teaching Latin in Scottish Schools. Am J Educ Inf Technol. 2024;8(2):85-94. doi: 10.11648/j.ajeit.20240802.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajeit.20240802.13,
      author = {Mary O’Reilly},
      title = {Latin Challenges: Perceptions, Policy and Curriculum for Excellence. Barriers to Teaching Latin in Scottish Schools
    },
      journal = {American Journal of Education and Information Technology},
      volume = {8},
      number = {2},
      pages = {85-94},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajeit.20240802.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20240802.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajeit.20240802.13},
      abstract = {Over the last decade, the number of Scottish learners presented for National Qualification exams in Latin has declined. There are a number of factors contributing to this decline. Some of these relate to the study of Classics generally, such as perceptions around the subject being socially and academically elitist, while others are specific to the study of Latin and the challenges arising from it being a language. Some factors are relevant to the situation of Latin internationally, for example the desire for education which is more explicitly relevant to the demands of modern societies, while others relate to specific features of the Scottish education system. Examination of the impact of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and of the Scottish Language Learning policy on education will give context to the current position of Latin within primary and secondary schools. Significant institutional support for the learning of Gaelic and Mandarin and the challenges currently facing all language learning in Scotland in the senior phase of formal schooling must also be considered in any discussion of the barriers to the provision of Latin. The decision of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the body responsible for the accreditation of educational awards in Scotland, to cease offering a National Qualification in Ancient Greek in 2015 was based on low uptake of the subject, making the provision of external assessment no longer viable. It is, therefore, crucial to examine the current status of Latin within Scottish education and to determine the reasons for its decline in order to better understand how to address those issues, where possible, so as to secure the sustainability of the subject in the curriculum as well as its accreditation through National Qualifications.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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