A recent research study by Claire Needler o the University o Aiberdeen, published online on e 3rd o June 2024, leuks at e factors aat hinner forderin Scots literacy in skweels. Hauden at Banff Academy in North-East Scotland ower e 2018–2019 academic year, e study explores foo a lack o staundartised orthography, limited exposure tae written Scots, lairner attitudes, an students’ confidence affect lairnin.

Scots, een o Scotland’s three indigenous leids alangside English an Gaelic, is spoken by mair nor 1.5 million fowk. Historically excluded fae formal education, e leid’s role his evolved syne a Scots qualification wis introduced in 2014. E study, based on a skweel-university pairtnership atween e University o Aiberdeen’s Elphinstone Institute an Banff Academy, shaws aat fyle mony pupils speak Scots fluently, they face challenges fan needin tae read an scrieve in e leid.

Ae major barrier is e absence o a staundart wey tae spell Scots. A pupil in e study explained, “If there wis a set wey, I hink fowk wid tak it mair seriously.” Ithers noted aat spikkin Scots comes naiturally, fyle readin an writin is mair o a chav. Iss lack o a uniform written form leads tae varyin practices amang baith lairners an teachers.

E research pynts oot aat exposure tae written Scots his bin limited. Ae pupil minded, “In primary, ye’d hae tae scrieve doon an try tae get e spellin richt, but they wir aa English wirds, nivver Scottish wirds.” As fewer Scots texts wir available in classrooms, pupils fun it difficult tae growe literacy skills in their native leid.

Teacher attitudes played a significant role as weel. Negative messages aboot leid eess wir passed fae educators tae students. Ae extract shawed iss, “Fit did her mentor say? She got telt by her mentor tae nae spik Scots acause it’s nae proper.” Sic experiences hae lang-lastin effects on students’ self-esteem an their willinness tae eese Scots in academic settings. Fooivver, e study shawed positive developments. In a supportive classroom environment, pupils raxed success by owercomin e stigma associated wi scrievin in Scots. For example, ae pupil described e classroom experience: “I like scrievin in Scots,” efter engagin in creative scrievin an poetry activities.

E study forder explores foo modren communication channels, like social media, are apenin nyew gates for Scots literacy. Younger spikkers scrieve in Scots on platforms sic as WhatsApp an Snapchat, eesin creative abbreviations an localised vocabulary. A skweel librarian commented on iss chynge, “Sae mair an mair, I am textin in Doric, if I can spell it, an if it disna lowp back intae some predictive text.”

Needler’s research recommends raisin awareness o Scots as a leid an increasin its visibility baith in skweels an in e braider community. Pairticipants caad for mair quality media an creative airts projects in Scots, as weel as mair support fae national educational bodies. E study suggests aat innovative classroom approaches an a shift in leid attitudes can help brigg e gap atween oral fluency an literacy proficiency.