As standards slip, SNP pushes more lessons… in Scots
- Teachers are being encouraged to ‘embed’ Scots language into classroom – despite literacy standards falling
Teachers are being encouraged to ‘embed’ the Scots language in the classroom, despite literacy standards falling.
The SNP is driving teachers towards new training courses which aim to further integrate Scots language and culture into schools.
More than 120 teachers specialising in different subjects have signed up to courses being delivered by the Open University, with funding from the Scottish Government.
It opens up the prospect of Scots words being used to teach maths or science in mainstream schools.
But it has sparked a row over taxpayers’ money being spent on promoting the Scots language at a time of growing concern over declining skills in the ‘three Rs’.
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Scottish Tory education spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘Scotland’s education system is in crisis: violence in schools has soared, teachers have been left languishing on temporary contracts and we’ve tumbled down education rankings.
‘The SNP needs to focus on the real priorities facing schools first. Given that pupils’ literacy rates have declined so significantly on their watch, many people will feel that the SNP should focus on improving the delivery of languages already in schools before trying to add in anything new.’
The Open University states there is a ‘need and demand for high-quality training material specifically for teachers to improve and develop their skills in and knowledge of Scots language teaching’.
The course looks at the ‘role and use of Scots language in Scotland today’ and ‘learning about standardisation/dialect diversity and the impact of multilingual classroom practices on pupils’ attainment and inclusion’.
Teachers will have the ‘time and support required to experiment with lessons which explore the educational benefits of Scots language’.
The use of Scots language in the classroom has been promoted by the SNP Government for years.
In one primary school project, the pupils named body parts – or ‘boady pairts’ – using Scots words such as ‘oxters’ for armpits and ‘keekers’ for eyes.
In December, the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment, measuring key skills in maths, reading and science, revealed that 15-year-olds in Scotland lag behind pupils in former Soviet bloc countries such as the Czech Republic, Estonia and Slovenia – and are also outperformed by their peers in England.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth launched the course yesterday at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh.
Ms Gilruth called it an ‘important step’ towards embedding and protecting the language in Scottish education.
She added: ‘The Scots language programme is a very welcome addition to both the resources that we have in place to promote Scots and also to the range of support we provide for teachers in schools.’
Louise Glen of Education Scotland, the Government’s schools quango, said: ‘This course emphasises the transformative role of Scots in Scottish schools, promoting multilingual classrooms.’
