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

在中学阶段，英国孩子接受古希腊和罗马教育的人太少了。研究古希腊和罗马文明，历史，思想，文学，艺术和考古学不仅令人兴奋和有益，但赋予深刻的优势：它磨练分析和批判技能，训练头脑比较使用不同类型的证据，向年轻人介绍最好的演讲和辩论与交流技能，提高文化素养，提高对文化差异和相对主义的认识，培养了三千年之久的过去的意识，沿着民主的模式和理想，并在国家，欧洲和国际化，全球层面上发展公民身份。不幸的是，在GCSE和拉丁语和古希腊语的“A”或A/S水平的资格在私立教育部门之外很难获得。然而，对于国家部门的学生来说，有一个经济上可行的解决方案：引入课程，以获得古典文明或古代历史的资格。目前有3至4 000名青少年在国家部门的这些科目中达到“A”级水平，但这一数字可能会大幅增加，因为古典文明和古代历史可以由任何教师教授，任何科目，目前在学校或六年级学院任职，拥有合格的教师地位，热衷于教授古代世界，这些课程无论在哪里推出，都非常受欢迎和成功。但是，即使是学术古典主义者，也对它们知之甚少，更不用说普通大众了。没有关于他们历史的研究;英国学校古典教育的规范描述在1960年结束了调查，这几乎是古典文明开始在相对大量的学校引入的时刻。拟议中的研究将弥补学校和六年级学院这些科目教学的权威历史的缺乏，以及对它们所需要的描述，通过制作一本60，000字的书作为其主要产出，在线免费提供，由研究员（英国精英之外的古典学专家）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与这些科目资格有关的所有印刷文件，以及分发给尽可能多的人的问卷调查结果，这些人在现在或过去的任何时候都有中学古典文明或古代历史课程的经验。但研究结果也将通过网站，宣传电影，在国家和地方报纸上发表2篇学术文章和专题报道，并在国家和地方电视/广播新闻频道播出。最重要的是，研究员和PDR将直接与教师，学校和公众参与一系列旨在最大限度地提高对话的公共活动，这些活动将在苏格兰，威尔士和北方爱尔兰以及八个英语区域中心的不列颠群岛提供研究和公众影响。目标是在至少12所新学校或六年级学院中引入或支持古典学科的教学，提高其公众形象，并就其价值和可持续性发起公开辩论，并影响教育政策，特别是通过将古典文明与古代历史一起作为即将到来的英语学士学位的核心人文学科。

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.