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Paper short abstract:

Historically, speaking Scots in schools was actively discouraged, but since 2014, a formal Scots qualification is taught in some schools. Using creative ethnographic methods to challenge hierarchies and change attitudes raised the status of Scots in this school context and subverted language norms.

Paper long abstract:

Scots is one of three indigenous languages spoken in Scotland, alongside English and Gaelic. Historically, speaking Scots in schools was actively discouraged. Generations of pupils were taught to ‘speak proper English to get on in the world’ and Scots was often thought of as slang or bad English. Scots is now recognised once again as a language, and recent policy and curricular changes have led to the introduction of the Scots Language Award (2014) a formal qualification, now taught in some schools in Scotland.

This presentation describes ethnographic fieldwork incorporating Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Creative Arts workshops in a secondary school in Scotland. The research team (PhD student and teacher) worked alongside staff and pupils to promote positive attitudinal change towards Scots. The methodology created space and time for key moments of transformation when conventional pedagogical approaches were disrupted. Each participant had the potential to be or become an agent of change, and the interaction between pupils, teachers, researcher, authors and artists, and senior management created opportunities for new ways of learning and thinking about the Scots language and its place within a formal learning environment, which in turn can both reflect and change wider societal attitudes.

A collaborative creative arts workshop became a key site for resistance. Power hierarchies were flattened, pupils became researchers and classroom norms were subverted. The resulting high-quality exhibition was described as ‘world class’ and is displayed permanently in the school boardroom. Scots is now visible in a site of power within the school.