ERIC Number: EJ1021480
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1367-0050
EISSN: N/A
The Attainment of Pupils in Gaelic-Medium Primary Education in Scotland
O'Hanlon, Fiona; Paterson, Lindsay; McLeod, Wilson
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, v16 n6 p707-729 2013
The curricular attainment of pupils in Gaelic-medium primary education in Scotland is investigated using surveys of Gaelic-medium and English-medium pupils in the fifth and seventh years of primary school (approximately 9 and 11 years of age) in 2007. The Gaelic-medium survey was essentially a census of pupils. The English-medium survey was a clustered random sample of 25% of pupils. Attainment was assessed in Gaelic reading and writing (for the Gaelic-medium pupils), and English reading and writing, mathematics and science (for both Gaelic-medium and English-medium pupils). Science was assessed by tests administered as part of the survey; attainment in the other curricular areas was assessed by teacher judgement. The measures were analysed using multi-level modelling, with pupils grouped in schools (and, for some purposes with multivariate outcomes, with measures nested in pupils), and with controls for gender and social deprivation. While most Gaelic-medium pupils were performing in Gaelic at the level stipulated by the curricular framework, a larger proportion was doing so in relation to English. In English reading more Gaelic-medium pupils had reached the stipulated level than had English-medium pupils. There was no reliable evidence of any difference between the two pupil groups in English writing, mathematics or science.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Indo European Languages, Language of Instruction, Elementary School Students, Surveys, Science Tests, Teacher Attitudes, Literacy, Mathematics Tests, English, Gender Differences, Bilingual Education, Educational Attainment, Comparative Analysis, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ireland; United Kingdom; United Kingdom (Scotland)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A