Desirably Different: Recontextualising the Role of Scottish Culture in the Secondary Curriculum

Abstract

Over the last decade, academic conceptions of the nature of Scottish identity have been changing. Critics have re-examined the underlying sources which gave rise to metaphors of illness or inferiority or division which were used to describe literary culture, in particular, and have argued that the phenomena which gave rise to them can be interpreted more positively. Thus conceptions now embrace the plural identities which can be found in Scotland and also point out the extent to which beliefs or practices, commonly thought of as ‘distinctively’ or ‘essentially’ Scottish can be paralleled by other societies. Scotland thus becomes a nation defined by the actions and aspirations of its inhabitants. This lively debate is taking place as the changes associated with devolution and the setting up of a new Scottish Parliament are becoming more apparent. Such strengthening of local identity, paradoxically, enables a country to interact with globalising processes without being consumed by them. The impact of globalisation is already being felt in Scottish education. The increased mobility of services and labour means that 106 different languages are now spoken by pupils in Scottish schools (Scottish Executive 2006). Given the radical nature of the changing world in which Scotland finds itself, the Scottish Executive