Assessment of reading skills in Gaelic-medium education: Exploring teachers’ perceptions and present practice

Abstract

A distinctive feature of education in Scotland is the provision of Gaelic-medium education (GME), which spans preschool, primary and secondary education. During 2010–2011, over 2000 children were enrolled within 60 primary schools in 14 education authorities. Considering that GME was only formally introduced in 1985 these figures can be taken as an indicator of the demand for GME (HM Inspectorate of Education, 2005, 2011). However, concurrent developments have not transpired in the assessment tools available to Gaelic-medium teachers or indeed educational psychologists linked to GME schools. Difficulties with reading may be just as prevalent for Gaelic speaking pupils as for English speaking pupils. The aim of this study is to explore how language skills are assessed in GME. To this end, a teacher from each of the 60 GME schools and units spread across Scotland was invited to complete a questionnaire and comment on their experience regarding additional support needs in GME. In general, there was a reliance on teacher judgement to act as a means of assessment. Tools and tests available for use for assessment purposes were informal measures, and regularly found to be a translated version of existing tests. Tests that have been translated may suffer from inadvertent weaknesses, especially when the phonology of one language differs greatly from another. In order to support learners at an early stage in their education, not only do such tests need to be developed, but crucially they ought to be based on the Gaelic language.