Studying Classical Civilisation in Britain: Recording the Past and Fostering the Future

在中学阶段接受古希腊和古罗马教育的英国孩子太少了。研究古希腊和古罗马文明、历史、思想、文学、艺术和考古学不仅令人兴奋和有益，而且具有深远的优势：它磨练了分析和批判技能，训练了对不同类型证据的比较使用，向年轻人介绍了最好的演讲和辩论和沟通技巧，提高了文化素养，提炼了文化差异和相对主义的意识，培养了对三千年过去的认识，以及民主的模式和理想，并在国家，欧洲和世界主义，全球层面上发展了建立在公民身份基础上的身份。不幸的是，在私立教育部门之外，很难获得GCSE和拉丁语和古希腊语“A”或A/S水平的资格。然而，对于公立学校的学生来说，有一个经济上可行的解决方案：引入古典文明或古代史方面的课程，从而获得资格证书。目前，大约有三千到四千名青少年在这些学科的国家部门中获得了“A”水平，但这些数字可以大幅增加，因为古典文明和古代史可以由任何教师教授，任何科目，目前在学校或六年级大学工作，拥有合格的教师身份，对古代世界的教学热情，并有足够的支持。无论在哪里介绍，这些主题都非常受欢迎和成功。但即使是学术上的古典主义者也很难理解它们，更不用说普通大众了。他们的历史没有可用的研究；英国学校古典教育的权威报告在1960年结束了它的调查，这几乎正是古典文明开始在相对大量的学校中引入的时刻。拟议的研究将弥补这些学科在学校和六年级大学教学的权威历史的缺失，以及它们所需要的描述，通过制作一本6万字的书作为主要成果，免费在线提供，由研究员（英国精英以外的古典专家）和博士后研究员（当代古典教育学专家）共同撰写。他们将审查的基本证据包括考试委员会历史上颁发的所有与这些科目资格相关的印刷文件，以及一份调查问卷的结果，该问卷的结果分发给尽可能多的人，这些人现在或过去任何时候都有中学古典文明或古代史课程的经验。但研究结果也将通过网站、宣传片、2篇学术文章、在国家和地方报纸上发表的专题以及在国家和地方电视/广播新闻频道上播出来传播。最重要的是，研究员和PDR将直接与教师、学校和公众进行一系列公共活动，旨在最大限度地开展对话，这些对话将在整个不列颠群岛（苏格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰以及八个英格兰区域中心）的研究和公共影响中发挥作用。目标是在至少12所新学校或六年级学院引入或支持古典学科的教学，提高它们的公众形象，引发关于它们的价值和可持续性的公众辩论，并影响教育政策，特别是通过让古典文明与古代史一起被接受为即将到来的英国学士学位课程的核心人文学科。

Far too few British children are educated about the ancient Greeks and Romans at secondary level. Studying ancient Greek and Roman civilisation, history, thought, literature, art and archaeology is not only exciting and instructive, but confers profound advantages: it hones analytical and critical skills, trains minds in the comparative use of different types of evidence, introduces young people to the finest oratory and skills in argumentation and communication, enhances cultural literacy, refines consciousness of cultural difference and relativism, fosters awareness of a three-millennia long past, along with models and ideals of democracy, and develops identities founded in citizenship on the national, European and cosmopolitan, global level.Unfortunately, qualifications at GCSE and 'A' or A/S Level in Latin and Ancient Greek languages are hardly available outside the private education sector. There is, however, a financially feasible solution for state sector students: the introduction of courses leading up to qualifications in Classical Civilisation or Ancient History. Between three and four thousand teenagers currently sit 'A' Level in the State sector in these subjects, but these numbers could be substantially increased since both Classical Civilisation and Ancient History can be taught by any teacher, of any subject, currently employed in a school or 6th-form college and in possession of qualified teacher status, enthusiasm to teach the ancient world, and sufficient support.These subjects prove extremely popular and successful wherever they are introduced. But they are poorly understood even by academic classicists, let alone the general public. There is no available study of their history; the canonical account of classical education in British schools ends its survey in 1960, which was almost exactly the moment when Classical Civilisation began to be introduced in a relatively large number of schools. The proposed research will remedy the absence of an authoritative history of the teaching of these subjects in schools and 6th-form colleges, and of a description of what they entail, by producing as its major output a 60,000-word book, available freely online, jointly written by the Fellow (an expert in Classics in Britain beyond the elite) and Postdoctoral Researcher (an expert in contemporary Classical pedagogy). The fundamental evidence they will examine consists of all the printed documentation relating to qualifications in these subjects issued historically by Examination boards, and the results of a Questionnaire distributed to as many individuals as possible who have experience of Classical Civilisation or Ancient History courses at secondary level at any time now or in the past.But the research results will also be disseminated via a website, publicity films, 2 academic articles, features published in both national and local newspapers and broadcast in both national and local tv/radio news channels. Most importantly, the Fellow and PDR will engage directly with teachers, schools and the public in a series of public events designed to maximise dialogue that will feed into the research and public impact across the British Isles - in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as in eight English regional centres. The goals are to introduce or support the teaching of Classical subjects in at least 12 additional new schools or 6th-form colleges, to raise their public profile and initiate a public debate about their value and sustainability, and to influence educational policy, especially by getting Classical Civilisation accepted alongside Ancient History as a core Humanities subject on the incoming English Baccalaureate.