Edwards, Katherine Anne

Lawrence, Sarah

Nye, Adele

Koehn, Clemens

2025-03-25

<p>he teaching of Latin in Australian secondary schools has declined sharply over the past century, and Latin now faces an uncertain future in Australian education. This study, the first of its kind in the Australian context, examines the status of Latin in Australian secondary schools, the issues that place it under threat, and the rationale for teaching an ancient language in 21st-century schools. It fills a gap in the current understanding of the discipline’s status, and addresses a recognised need for qualitative research into the benefits of learning Latin. </p> <p>The first phase of the study’s sequential mixed-methods research design determined how many Australian high schools were teaching Latin in 2021 and estimated the number of students in these programs. In the second phase, an online survey investigated issues that compromise the place of Latin in Australian education as well as the benefits that it offers, with two separate samples capturing the views of people with experience of learning Latin, and the views of the general public. The resulting quantitative data was statistically analysed using SPSS. The third phase explored themes raised in the survey more deeply by means of semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data from the interviews and survey were thematically analysed using NVivo software. The fourth phase of the study integrated and interpreted the quantitative and qualitative findings to consider what Latin uniquely has to offer and what challenges for the discipline lie ahead.</p> <p>The attitudes and experiences of over 1,800 survey and interview participants who took part in this study reveal that several factors contribute to a serious ‘image problem’ for the discipline. These factors include old pedagogical practices, the elitism associated with Latin, and a general lack of awareness about what Latin is and what it has to offer in an increasingly neoliberal educational climate that privileges the teaching of vocational skills. However, the findings also suggest that there are myriad and substantial benefits to be gained from learning Latin, and that this ‘foundational’ discipline delivers a unique blend of academic and personal benefits within the one classroom, such as enhancing English literacy skills, cognitive dispositions, historical perspective and intercultural understanding. Most importantly, this study sheds light on the considerable ‘joy factor’ that is frequently experienced as part of the study of Latin and argues that it may be in this, rather than in any measurable or vocational outcomes, that the discipline’s greatest value lies.</p>

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/69182

en

University of New England

Wanted, Dead or Alive: The Place and Purpose of Latin in Australian Secondary Education

Thesis Doctoral

Publication