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Are we leading by example?
So, what role should Scottish culture play in the modern classroom - and why? We ask some key figures for their perspectives.
The Panel
Chair: Joan Parr (JP) - Head of Education at Creative Scotland
Phillipa Cochrane (PC) - Learning Manager at the Scottish Book Trust
Matthew Fitt (MF) - Founder of Itchy Coo publications
Stephen Allen (SA) - Head of Learning and Programmes at National Museums of Scotland
What role do you feel Scottish culture plays in the modern classroom?
JP. Our vision is that all children and young people will be empowered to develop their imagination and demonstrate their capacity for original thought.
Creative learning and teaching is a necessary part of enabling young people to develop as successful learners with openness to new ideas and thinking. It nurtures important life and work skills such as creative and independent thinking, flexibility, intelligent risk taking, problem solving and confidence.
MF. Scottish culture should occupy a far more mainstream position in the classroom than at present. The tradition of celebrating Scotland's culture only on or around Burns Day in January is still very prevalent. One day is patently not enough to explore the culture of a nation like Scotland.
Recently though St Andrew's Day has become another date in the school calendar for highlighting Scottish culture. And a growing number of schools are making a Scots language week or Scotland topic covering several weeks a regular feature of the school year. The legacy of Homecoming 2009 was that more schools celebrated Scottish culture in some way but without continuing support and encouragement this may fade. But in most countries learning about the nation's culture is not a special event but a normal everyday part of school life. And there is nothing parochial in learning about where you come from. Knowing your country's history and culture is the proper foundation on which to build learning about other nations and the world in general. Scottish culture is still very much an add-on in most Scottish schools but there is a real desire among teaching professionals to address this. And to do so they need adequate guidance and resources.
SA. With the advent of Curriculum for Excellence there has been a strong emphasis on promoting an appreciation of Scotland's heritage and development as a nation. National Museums Scotland collects, displays and interprets the national collections and supports teachers and pupils to access learning through and about Scottish culture through its world class collections at its five museums.
At the National Museum of Scotland, the re-development of the Victorian part of the building will improve public access to one of Scotland's major cultural institutions. The redeveloped Museum, which will open in summer 2011, will be transformed by sixteen new galleries created to display thousands of new treasures. The space for education in the museum will be trebled and a new learning centre created.
PC. The role of Scottish culture is to provide a context for teaching and learning - bringing pupils understanding and sense of themselves and their place in the world to life. Scottish languages, our creative landscape, heritage, and contemporary media all have a role to play in supporting pupils to develop their identities, understanding and skills.
Why is instilling a sense of Scottish culture in students important?
JP. Learning in and through Scottish culture nurtures all aspects of the 'responsible citizen'. It nurtures knowledge and understanding of the learner's environment and place in the world as well as a confidence in their identity.
MF. Scotland must be the only country in Europe which is still not convinced of the need to teach its pupils about their own culture. Imagine educators in France or Italy agonising over teaching children the basics of their own history, languages and traditions. Of course we should offer our students the opportunity to learn about Scotland. How else can they be confident about themselves as Scots? How can the aims of Confident Individuals and Responsible Citizens ever be met if our young people do not know very much about the country in which they live? Ask a pupil what happened in 1603 or 1707? Ask them to name a Scottish writer other than Burns? Ask them to point out Scotland's cities on a blank map. The question should not be is Scottish culture important; the question should be how can we most effectively incorporate it in education.
SA. A recognition of what makes Scotland and 'the Scots' 'different' from other cultures or peoples in the UK and beyond - traditions, beliefs, attitudes can help to inspire a sense of pride and positive identity in students and help to create engaged citizens. The new Discoveries gallery at the National Museum of Scotland, created as part of the redevelopment; will showcase Scots' achievements across the world and throughout the centuries.
Scotland's culture encompasses a history and expertise in the arts, science and social sciences. Incorporating aspects of Scottish culture in teaching therefore, can promote interdisciplinary learning, develop a range of skills and use innovative approaches to teaching and learning in line with Curriculum for Excellence. As part of the redevelopment of the National Museum of Scotland, 80% of objects from the unique national collections will be displayed for the first time in generations, in galleries which seek to explore interesting and sometimes unexpected synergies between disciplines.
Learning about Scotland's culture should be a dynamic process where young people are given the chance to interpret and experience a range of stimulus and a range of viewpoints. At the National Museum of Scotland an appreciation of Scottish culture may be set in a global context, with pupils being able to explore both Scottish and world culture galleries under one roof. There will be seven new world culture galleries developed as part of the redevelopment.
Exploration of Scottish culture provokes political and social debate - what is culture? Who defines it? What purpose does it serve in modern, multi-cultural society? The One Nation Five Million Voices film in the National Museum of Scotland's; Scotland: A Changing Nation gallery and online, addresses the role of 'cultural identity' posing the question how do you define yourself?
PC. Understanding and feeling part of the culture of the country they live in is fundamental to improving pupils' confidence, enabling them to develop their sense of their own identities and raising their ambition. Enabling them to discover that culture is a living, changing thing to which they can and do contribute in turn supports their ability to understand and meaningfully engage with other cultures.
Scotland has a rich range of languages and literature, with a thriving community of authors, poets, storytellers and playwrights. Being encouraged to play with language - be it English, Scots or Gaelic - and having the opportunity to meet and work with members of the artistic community enables young people to become confident and articulate about expressing their ideas, opinions and beliefs, and allows them to understand that creativity is not a rarefied thing, but rather something that everyone can access and develop within themselves.
Do you have practical examples of work you have been involved in (especially with students) in this area that has made a lasting difference?
JP. There are a number of organisations that could talk about their practical experiences of creative learning. Earlier this year we supported ten arts organisations to each develop innovative approaches to learning through Glow, thanks to a partnership project between ourselves and Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS).
Creative Scotland-funded arts organisations linked up with local authorities to develop inspiring new projects and resources for Glow, the Scottish schools intranet. These pioneering and ambitious projects pilot new ways of learning and teaching.
Two such projects which are due to take place before Christmas include 'State of Emergency', a project which will help pupils participate in online dramas broadcast 'live' from a fictional country in conflict to explore dilemmas and themes associated with war. Another project seeks to bring together mainstream and disengaged primary pupils and their teachers, learning across the curriculum and local authority boundaries through traditional arts and new media.
MF. I have been working since 2002 as Education Officer for the Itchy Coo Scots language project. I have visited around a thousand schools in that time. Itchy Coo's remit has been to engage pupils with the Scots language through the school curriculum. Almost all children from Scots speaking backgrounds respond positively to Scots learning activities. Often reticent or disruptive children become model pupils when they experience their home language in the classroom. They are keen to read books in Scots and to write in it too. Teachers comment that their Scots speaking children regularly regain enthusiasm for reading and writing in English as well as developing an interest in foreign languages. But the main improvement evident in many children is in their confidence to talk, read aloud and take an active part in classroom learning. Denying children the chance to learn Scots (as has been standard practice for generations) goes against the spirit and ambitions of Curriculum for Excellence. Thankfully there are many teachers in the profession working to include this important element of Scottish culture in programmes of study throughout the whole school year.
SA. The National Museum of Scotland's One Nation, Five Million Voices film, made in 2008 for the new Scotland, A Changing Nation gallery involved students as participants - Anderson High School and Bells Brae Primary School, Shetland; Stornoway Primary School, Nicolson Institute (High School), Isle of Lewis; Kilmarnock Academy, and Loanhead Primary School, East Ayrshire; Donaldson's School for the Deaf, West Lothian.
A further six schools responded to the film through LTS Glow (2009) and the National Museum of Scotland ran schools' workshops (2009) to create pod cast versions of the film. An extract of the film is available on our website or through Glow and a full DVD copy plus transcript is available from the National Museum of Scotland.
National Museums Scotland continues to extend its online and digital resources, for example the recently launched Unmask the Lewis Chessmen online learning resource, and has recently launched a national Glow group. These digital developments will provide new ways of exploring and responding to our national collections and provide a platform for schools to interact with us and with each other.
In 2009, seven hundred students from across Scotland participated in a successful Glow meet based on the history and science of flight; live from the National Museum of Flight, with another being planned for 2010. At the National Museum of Scotland, a Glow meet inspired by the Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked exhibition will offer children from all over Scotland the chance to discuss one of the country's most significant archaeological finds with the exhibition's curator. Pupils will be encouraged to create and display their own work in the Glow group and there will be a live Gaelic language Q&A session. The event will be recorded and made available as a learning resource on the Glow network.
PC. For the last four years we have been running the Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books. This is the national award for children's fiction and is judged by young people throughout Scotland across three age categories - 0-7, 8-11 and 12-16. Participating children, of which there were 30,000 in 2009, read three books in the appropriate age category and vote for their favourite. The Awards are structured around a reading group model to support discussion of the books and to enable children to form and champion their own opinions. This project gives young people in Scotland regular, consistent access to the best contemporary Scottish children's fiction - written by authors and illustrators who live and work in Scotland - and thus is a very direct way to ensure pupils' ongoing engagement with Scottish culture which is aimed specifically at them. www.scottishbooktrust.com/scottishchildrensbookawards
Money is tight. Isn't it time to focus on more practical issues?
JP. Curriculum for excellence offers an opportunity to do things differently. More collaborative working can provide creative solutions, without compromising quality.
Creative Scotland is a new body and inherits the budget commitments of Scottish arts council and Scottish Screen and will this year be delivering significant savings in its own service delivery costs.
Our strategy will be to maintain our strong foundation organisations programme, deliver further savings in administration and wherever possible protect the cultural sector. We have also been working to encourage greater collaboration across arts organisations.
MF. What can be more practical than teaching children about their own country? A knowledge of Scottish culture can ignite young people's interest in a wide range of subjects. Learning about Watt, Clark Maxwell, Slessor, Mungo Park, Livingstone, Hume, Dunbar, Wallace, Logie Baird, Stevenson, and Fleming can be a spur to explore chemistry, physics, mathematics, geography, religion, technology, history, economics and literature. Those famous people were all from my country. Some of them were born near my house. They were Scottish. So am I. Why can't I do something like that too? If they did it, so can I.
SA. Focusing on Scottish culture makes practical sense since the Scottish economy and the nation's international reputation are intertwined with Scotland's cultural life.
Organisations such as National Museums Scotland provide excellent free resources both online and at our museums. School visits are free with the exception of special activities for which a small charge is made. Our collections across the five museums cover archaeology, Scottish history, science and technology, art and design, fashion, natural sciences and world cultures.
PC. Culture is a practical issue. Creativity has been identified as one of key elements that education should provide. Culture provides a framework for understanding and developing personal creativity and a context for exploring ideas, playing with knowledge and acquiring and honing new skills. What is more practical than that?
We shouldn't think of culture as a separate issue, to be taught and discussed on its own, but rather as an integrated element of the whole learning experience - that is how culture and cultural learning can be most effectively access and understood.
What resources, support or advice would you point teachers towards if they are embarking on this?
JP. Later this month (September), Creative Scotland will launch a brand new initiative, 'The Creativity Portal', that will help bring Scotland's cultural and creative resources and education closer together and in support of creative learning and teaching across Curriculum for Excellence. The exciting project has been developed with Learning and Teaching Scotland and will be launched at the Scottish Learning Festival on 23 September.
Learning and Teaching Scotland provides a range of support and resources for teachers embarking on creative learning projects, particularly surrounding the Co-Create project. Visit www.ltscotland.org.uk for more information.
MF. The Itchy Coo imprint has published 35 titles including Scots translations of Roald Dahl, AA Milne and Alexander McCall Smith and produces the best available teaching resources for the Scots language. However, the Itchy Coo Education and Outreach programme, which has worked in almost every local authority, will cease in 2011, leaving a huge gap in educational provision at a crucial time in the development of Scots in schools. The Aberdeen Reading Bus Initiative is a very dynamic organisation offering information and resources on Doric and Shetland has a newly appointed Dialect Officer. When We Find the Gowd is a high quality teaching pack produced by Inverclyde Education as is Whar's Wattie? from Dundee City Education. And for teachers looking for guidance and practical help on Scots in the classroom, the most comprehensive information point currently available can be found in the Knowledge of Language modules on the Learning & Teaching Scotland website.
SA. A great starting point is our website www.nms.ac.uk/schools which highlights the opportunities presented through our world class collections at our five museums; National Museums Scotland offers rich resources for learning and teaching across a range of topics, age ranges and curriculum areas.
With a full programme of Curriculum for Excellence-linked workshops and activities, CPD opportunities for teachers, outreach, online and glow resources and support for self-directed learning; schools, teachers and pupils are able to access a range of resources focused on Scottish culture.
The National Museums Scotland pre-school, primary and secondary schools' programmes are available online on our website and in paper format. New cross-curricular opportunities include taking part in storytelling and jewellery-making sessions inspired by real museum objects; discovering how to create an exhibition and investigating material evidence from pre-history to the modern era.
National Museums Scotland has also provided content for online learning resources such as Scotland's History and NQ History Higher resource for the compulsory paper 2 Scottish history unit.
PC. Scotland is fortunate to have a range of high quality literary organisations, all providing resources, learning opportunities and professional development to the education sector. Scottish Book Trust, Scottish Poetry Library, Scottish Storytelling Centre, National Library of Scotland, Scots language dictionaries, Scots Language Resource, the Association of Scottish Literary Studies, Scottish PEN, numerous Book Festivals.
You can visit the Scottish Book Trust website atfor links to many of Scotland's literature organisations:
www.scottishbooktrust.com/learning-and-inclusion/LiL/member-organisations
We also have fantastic libraries and librarians all over the country, in schools and in local authorities, who are providing a huge range of literature development! Make a friend of a librarian and explore how you can work together.
Anything else you'd like to add?
MF. I believe that most teachers would like more information and training on how to deliver effective meaningful learning activities around Scottish culture. It's all very well for government to ask schools to include Scottish culture but more guidance and resources are required to achieve this. I know of one school which created its own signage in the corridors in Scots language and another which plastered a wall in a classroom with Tunnock's Teacake wrappers. Both exercises reflected aspects of Scottish culture but which project was more valuable in terms of learning and literacy? There is another school which finds it appropriate to punish pupils when they use Scots words. Surely there is scope for leadership from the main educational agencies to help schools develop positive and clear policies on the teaching of Scottish culture.
For me, culture is that which happens every day and the speaking of Scots is an everyday fact of Scottish life. Celebrating Scottishness once a year is not enough. Putting a kilt on something and calling it Scottish is simply ludicrous. We need to look at what is Scottish about the lives of our young people and include that as part of the everyday routine of the school.
Although our schools are all centres of excellence staffed by talented, hard-working teachers, Scottish education reminds me sometimes of the Scotland Edition of the Times newspaper: the majority of the content delivered from an English/UK point of view with a few minor features about Scotland.
Yet I have faith in Scotland's teaching profession that Scotland's culture will become over time a more normal component of learning in this country.
SA. Discover more about learning at National Museums Scotland and view our pre-school, primary and secondary schools' programmes online.