‘Rarely’ Responses
Chapter 6 Parent Questionnaire
Introduction
The survey of parents was conducted under the same conditions for all four schools. Gaelic teachers in the participating schools were sent copies of the questionnaire together with explanatory letters and stamped addressed envelopes. The questionnaires were circulated to Gaelic classes that had participated in phase 1. Pupils were asked to take the questionnaire home to parents and the parents were asked to post the completed questionnaire to me at my home address. In this way the schools themselves were distanced from the exercise.
There were twenty seven responses: three from Barra, four from Harris, twelve from Lewis and eight from Uist. The collated results represent the views of a small but significant group of households.
Parents responded in some detail even when only ‘yes’ or ‘no’ options were suggested by the question.
The responses were collated to give a general impression of what was being said and then broken down into their constituent themes and categorised on Excel spreadsheets. The charts show the results of this categorisation and offer a snapshot of parental views. I have also quoted some of the comments, given in full in Appendix D.
The main impression from the responses is that parents have a high regard for Gaelic- medium education, seeing it as beneficial in providing a good education and other wider cultural and career opportunities. This is clearly shown in some of the charts. Where a few parents were expressing reservations these seemed to be in the area of lack of support for parents who were themselves learners, who thought that more support could be offered.
Very few responses indicated total dissatisfaction. The breakdown of responses shows that parents on the whole chose Gaelic to help preserve fluency in the language and for sound
educational reasons. A close study of the charts and accompanying commentary in the following section will show the level of satisfaction in more detail.
In addition to the chart information I have drawn on the compilation of written comments of parents to give a broader perspective.
P a ren t Q uestionnaire A n alysis a n d C o m m en tary
Question 1
What were your reasons for choosing Gaelic-medium education?
Q1 Parent Analysis %
70
□ Percent
Response
T h e c a t e g o r ie s s p e c if i e d b y p a r e n ts in r e s p o n d in g to t h is q u e s t i o n in c lu d e w h a t I h a v e
c a lle d ‘ S t e p p in g S t o n e . ’ I h a v e u s e d t h is te r m t o c o v e r a n y c o m m e n t , w h i c h r e f e r r e d to
fu tu r e b e n e f it in te r m s o f c a r e e r a s p ir a t io n s o r o t h e r e d u c a t io n a l b e n e f it s . T h e h e a d in g
‘G a e lic C u ltu r e ’ e m b r a c e s a n y c o m m e n t , w h i c h r e fe r r e d to c u lt u r e o r h e r it a g e . T h e
c a t e g o r y ‘ S u p p o r t L a n g u a g e ’ w a s u s e d to in c lu d e a n y c o m m e n t , w h i c h r e fe r r e d to
la n g u a g e m a in t e n a n c e o r p r e s e r v a t io n . T h e ‘P e e r I n f l u e n c e ’ c a t e g o r y r e f e r s t o i n f l u e n c e s
fr o m o t h e r p a r e n ts.
It is c le a r th at th e o v e r r id in g c o n s id e r a t io n f o r p a r e n ts in s e l e c t i n g G a e l i c - m e d i u m w a s
‘F l u e n c y ’ . In s o m e c a s e s t h e p a r e n ts s p e c i f i e d o t h e r c o n s id e r a t i o n s s u c h a s c u lt u r a l/
h e r ita g e is s u e s o r th e f a c t th a t G a e lic w o u l d p r o m o t e t h e ir o v e r a ll e d u c a t io n a n d b e o f u s e
in future careers (‘Stepping-Stone’). A few mentioned the influence of their own peers, i.e.
other parents but it is interesting to note that this was not a great consideration. This suggests that perhaps in its early days Gaelic-medium was not being recommended by word of mouth. Next to fluency, parents seemed to be aware of the importance of Gaelic as part of their culture. They also believed that by choosing Gaelic they were supporting the language.
In relation to prioritising fluency parents said that they saw Gaelic as an extra language, the language of the home, their children’s heritage. In some cases they linked fluency with what they perceived as a high standard of education. Some parents felt that the school would do the job of providing the fluency, and were clearly disappointed that this did not turn out to be the case, while others thought that they had the prime role and that the school would reinforce parents in promoting fluency in the language.
Some parents specifically mentioned literacy and where this has happened it has been quantified on the graph. In the questionnaires parents elaborated on this by saying for example that they wanted children to ‘read, write and think’ in Gaelic or that they wanted
‘full’ bilingualism.
Q uestion 2
What have been the benefits?
Q2 Parent Analysis %
100 80
-□ P e rc e n t
40
-Response
T he areas identified b y parents included the ones m en tioned above in Q1 ‘reaso n s for ch oosing G aelic-m edium e d u c atio n ’ to g eth er w ith a new cate g o ry th at em erged,
‘Im proving C o n fid en ce.’ P arents also m en tio n ed the feelin g o f b e in g p art o f a w id e r w o rld o f G aelic culture and b e in g in contact w ith the local culture.
T he overw helm ing body o f opinion, 79% w as that fluency h ad b e e n a b e n e fit, w ith learn in g about G aelic cu ltu re co m ing a close third to literacy. P aren ts also th o u g h t th at G aelic gave other educational op p o rtu n ities, i.e. ‘S tep p in g S to n e .’ S om e p arents h ighlighted the role that G aelic had play ed in im p ro v in g their c h ild re n ’s confidence.
L ess frequent but still recurrent w ere issues o f literacy, learn in g about G aelic cu ltu re and educational opportunities, (stepping stone) m en tio n ed by 30% to 39% o f parents.
In th eir supportive com m ents about G aelic culture and p ride in th eir lan g u ag e p aren ts m ad e reference to the d ev elopm ent o f c h ild re n ’s abilities in singing, p a rticip a tio n in T V and radio program m es, p ride in th eir lan g u ag e and culture. A n o th e r b e n e fit iden tified
under literacy was the ability of children to become competent in English and in other modem languages because of their fluency in Gaelic.
The ability to write in Gaelic was mentioned by several parents and this was seen also as a benefit in being able to cope with the Gaelic curriculum in secondary school. One parent specifically referred to Gaelic-medium as providing ‘an excellent general education.’ On the basis of the range of positive comments made it can be inferred that parents see Gaelic- medium as providing a good range of educational opportunities. Parents are positive about the cultural benefits and the notion of supporting the Gaelic language.
Q uestion 3
Were there disadvantages?
Q3 Parent Analysis %
20 — 15
-□ P e rce n t
Response
T his question threw up a w ide range o f com m en ts from som e p arents b u t all o f the o th er parents said that there w ere no disadvantages. W here disad v an tag es are m en tio n ed they provide interesting feedback on the G aelic-m ed iu m p ersp ectiv e from a p arental v iew p o in t.
‘Poor R eso u rces,’ in the graph refers to the lack o f m aterials sp e cific a lly d esig n ed for G aelic-m edium b ut this w as only m entioned b y a sm all percentage. P aren ts also referred to difficulties that w ere experienced in the rela tiv e ly new area o f tea c h in g o th er su bjects, such as M athem atics, in the m edium o f G aelic.
A few parents tho u g h t that th eir children w o u ld have to w o rk h a rd e r to keep up w ith children in the m ainstream , esp ecially in th e tran sitio n stages o f sp eak in g and rea d in g English. O ne parent thought that b y seco n d ary the children had had e n o u g h o f G aelic.
T here w ere also parents w ho thought that there w ere d ifficu lties caused b y the n e g ativ e attitudes held by others to G aelic-m edium . A n o th e r d isad v an tag e m en tio n e d w as that children m ight begin to feel alienated from th e rest o f the school b y b e in g in an ‘e x c lu s iv e ’ group. O ne parent felt th at G aelic im m ersio n co u ld result in pupils feelin g less co n fid en t in English but only one paren t m en tio n ed th at lack o f su pport put th em at a disad v an tag e.
H ow ever in a later question, Q5, w hen asked sp ecifically about th e su p p o rt th at w as required, several parents offered co n stru ctiv e com m ents.
Q uestion 4
Do you support Gaelic-medium subjects in Secondary?
Q4 Parent Analysis %
□ P e rc e n t
Y e s N o
Response
T h is q u e s t io n y ie ld e d a ‘Y e s ’ o r ‘N o ’ r e s p o n s e w it h p a r e n t s in s o m e c a s e s a d d in g
c o m m e n t s . In o n e c a s e a p a r e n t p o in t e d o u t th a t t h e o p t io n w a s n o t a v a ila b le . P o s i t i v e
c o m m e n t s in c lu d e d s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t th e im p o r t a n c e f o r G a e l i c la n g u a g e s t a tu s o f t e a c h in g
o th e r s u b j e c t s th r o u g h t h e m e d iu m .
A t th e t im e o f th e r e s e a r c h , th e a v a ila b ilit y o f G a e l i c m e d iu m t e a c h i n g in s u b j e c t s o t h e r
th a n G a e lic a s a g u a r a n te e d p e r m a n e n t fe a tu r e o f t h e c u r r ic u lu m v a r ie d . In L e w i s it w a s
o f f e r e d in s o c ia l s u b j e c t s a n d w a s e m b e d d e d in t h e c u r r ic u lu m d u e t o a c t i v e
e n c o u r a g e m e n t b y m e m b e r s o f t h e G a e lic d e p a r tm e n t, o n e o f w h o m a l s o t a u g h t H is t o r y . In
th e o t h e r s c h o o l s , H is t o r y w a s o f fe r e d b u t o n t h e b a s is o f d e m a n d a n d t i m e t a b li n g
c o n s t r a in t s w h i c h m e a n t th a t it c o u ld b e o n t h e c u r r ic u lu m o n e y e a r a n d o f f t h e n e x t . A t t h e
t im e o f m y s u r v e y , s e s s i o n 2 0 0 1 / 2 0 0 2 th e r e w a s l it t le o n o f f e r o u t w it h L e w i s ap a rt fr o m
th e p r o v is io n m e n t io n e d , a lt h o u g h th e B arra s c h o o l w a s m a k in g e v e r y e f f o r t to im p r o v e
p r o v is io n .
There was no formal promotion of subject teaching in Gaelic by the authority an it is therefore encouraging that so many of the parents were supportive of an experimental initiative of which they had very little direct knowledge or models to reassure them. Given that there is little official promotion it is also not surprising that some parents remain sceptical about the prospect of extended GM teaching.
One parent expressed some reservations about discrete subjects in GM on the basis that the examinations in other subjects are not as yet available in Gaelic. Another parent felt that teaching subjects such as Maths would not be practical. A third parent also pointed out some of the perceived problems that could arise post-school:
Subjects are more complex and it would be a disadvantage to be studying them in a language that you might not be using in college, university or working later on in life.
It should be said that the fears about Mathematics should have been somewhat allayed by the publication of the Attainments report of Richard Johnstone:
The attainment of Gaelic-medium pupils in AAP (Assessment of Achievement Programme) tests of mathematics seem positive in that they (Gaelic-medium pupils) were above those of their English medium educated counterparts in the same schools; with both groups together being ahead of national AAP levels for all schools and small schools.142
It is interesting to note similar high achievement in North America, where Navajo Indian children in Arizona outperformed their monolingual English counterparts on fourth grade tests, scoring ‘almost 10 percentage points higher in Maths.’143
142 Johnstone R. The Attainments o f Pupils Receiving Gaelic-medium Primary Education in Scotland, 1999:
69
143 Arviso M and Holm W. ‘A Navajo Immersion Programme in Fort Defiance Arizona’, The Green Book o f Language Revitalisation in Practice, 2001:208
Q uestion 5
What further support do you consider important in assisting parents who have chosen Gaelic-medium education?
Q5 Parent Analysis %
Response
□ P e rc e n t
T h e r e s p o n s e s to t h is q u e s t i o n in d ic a t e d a s t r o n g d e s ir e o n th e p a rt o f p a r e n t s t o h a v e
su p p o r t p r o v id e d p a r t ic u la r ly f o r t h o s e p a r e n ts w it h n o G a e lic , o r f o r h o u s e h o l d s w it h o n l y
o n e G a e lic s p e a k in g p a r e n t. T h e r e w a s a s t r o n g f e e l i n g th a t c h ild r e n fr o m s u c h h o u s e h o l d s
m ig h t b e at a d is a d v a n t a g e , a n d s u p p o r t fo r th e m a n d th e ir p a r e n t s in d e a lin g w it h
h o m e w o r k w a s a r e c u r r e n t t h e m e . S o m e s u g g e s t i o n s w e r e s o c ia l e v e n t s , la n g u a g e c l a s s e s
fo r p a r e n ts a fte r s c h o o l a n d a s s i s t a n c e f o r p a r e n ts to e n a b le t h e m t o h e lp c h ild r e n w it h
h o m e w o r k . A c o m m u n it y n e t w o r k w a s s u g g e s t e d , u s i n g t h e e x p e r t is e o f n a t iv e G a e l i c
s p e a k in g p a r e n ts.
M o r a l su p p o r t w a s a ls o i d e n t i f ie d a s b e i n g e s s e n t ia l: t h is in c lu d e d m o r e in f o r m a t io n f r o m
t h e a u th o r it ie s a b o u t c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h in to G a e lic - m e d iu m a n d in f o r m a t io n o n t h e l i k e l y
p r o g r e s s o f th e ir c h ild r e n c o m p a r e d to c h ild r e n in m a in s tr e a m . T h e r e w a s a s u g g e s t i o n th a t
t h e a u th o r it ie s c o u ld b e m o r e s u p p o r t iv e in d e a lin g w it h a n x i e t i e s a b o u t t h e d e l i v e r y o f t h e
c u r r ic u lu m .
Support for learning was mentioned and the importance of effective reporting to parents on overall progress was also raised. A parent also felt that the importance of the influence of the home in promoting Gaelic fluency has not been stressed by the authority and neither has the input required by parents in developing English skills to a level comparable to pupils in English medium.
One parent raised the important issue of informing parents, both Gaelic and non-Gaelic speaking of the fact that the advantages of Gaelic-medium far outweigh the disadvantages.
Although the question elicited comments relating to areas where support was lacking it was clear that parents had lots of constructive suggestions to make.
Q uestion 6
Do you think TV and Radio play an important role for young people in promoting Gaelic education?
Q6 Parent Analysis %
90
□ P e rc e n t
m.1. ...
Y e s No
Response
T h e r e s p o n s e s in d ic a t e d b y a la r g e m a jo r it y th a t p a r e n ts f e lt T V a n d R a d io w e r e im p o r ta n t
p o s i t i v e e d u c a t io n a l in f l u e n c e s . T h e c o m m e n t s in d ic a t e d th a t th e r e w a s a s t r o n g f e e l i n g
th a t G a e lic - s p e a k in g c h ild r e n h a d a g r e a t a d v a n t a g e in b e i n g d ir e c t ly i n v o l v e d in
p a r t ic ip a t in g in p r o g r a m m e s . T V a n d r a d io h a v e n o t j u s t p r o v id e d p a s s i v e e x p e r i e n c e s b u t
m u c h m o r e in t e r a c t iv e o p p o r tu n it ie s f o r l a n g u a g e e n r ic h m e n t a n d p e r s o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t .
P a r e n ts f e lt th at c h ild r e n h a d g a in e d fr o m h a v i n g t h e ir m in d s b r o a d e n e d a n d t h e ir la n g u a g e
e x p e r ie n c e e n r ic h e d .
O n e p a r e n t r e fe r r e d to t h e p r o g r a m m e s a s b e i n g im p o r ta n t in t e r m s o f e d u c a t io n ,
in f o r m a t io n a n d e n t e r ta in m e n t. T h e p r o g r a m m e s a ls o p r o v id e a d e e p e r u n d e r s t a n d in g o f
G a e lic c u ltu r e . A n o t h e r b e n e f it id e n t i f ie d w a s th a t c h ild r e n w o u l d g a in in s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e
a n d s e l f - e x p r e s s i o n b y b e i n g in v o l v e d in p r o g r a m m e s a n d g e t t in g l i v e s t a g e e x p e r ie n c e .
S e v e n p a r e n ts m e n t io n e d th at th e ir c h ild r e n h a d h a d a c t u a l e x p e r i e n c e o f a p p e a r in g o n
p r o g r a m m e s .
One parent expressed this strong positive view
How many English speaking people do you know who have been on TV?
Television appearances by Gaelic speaking pupils are so common as to make pupils almost blase about the media.
The few parents who answered ‘No’ to this question seemed to criticise the quality of current programme formats rather than the potential in general of these media. It was suggested that teenagers were not as likely to watch programmes as younger children were.
One parent thought that the quality of programmes on Radio was poor, but a more general feeling was that Radio in itself was less geared to young children than TV, and catered in the main for adult audiences. One response indicated that Gaelic programmes were not well advertised and a parent also mentioned the late timing of programmes commenting that:
We are very much behind Wales in this respect and still suffer from Saxon thuggery
The importance and popularity of TV was very much highlighted however and one parent suggested that programme makers should try to be more innovative rather than just translating English programmes, echoing what was said by pupils in the group interviews in Chapter 5.
The question illustrated that although parents had criticisms of the role of the media they could also see the educational advantages and the potential for improvement.