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What is the value of the Welsh language in children's education?

The welsh language is on the verge of becoming a ‘pointless’ language, and therefore being used less and less throughout Wales. In the UNESCO ‘Red Book of Endangered Languages’ (Salminen 1993-1999), Welsh is classified as an endangered language due to the number of welsh speakers being 582,368 reported in 2001 census. Jenkins (2001) analyses a portion of the history of the Welsh language, beginning with the 1901 census which showed that almost one million people (more than 50 per cent of the population of Wales) could speak Welsh and that 30 percent of Welsh speakers monolingual. In contrast to this, over 582,000 people in Wales speak Welsh and there are over a million who understand it, not to mention those who live and speak Welsh outside of Wales (Cardiff University, 2019). The Welsh Government has a long-term vision to see the Welsh language thriving, with a million people able to speak Welsh by 2050 (Aberystwyth University, 2019). The question we need to be asking is why s...
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What are the values of expressive arts activities in primary education?

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The term ‘Arts in Education’ refers to a complementary relationship between the arts and education sector and the practitioners within them, which is designed to enhance learners personal, interpersonal and academic development (Smith, 2013). The Expressive Arts are proposed as one of six areas of ‘learning and experience’ in Professor Donaldson’s Review of the Education Curriculum in Wales (Donaldson, 2015). Donaldson (2015) devised this with the intention that it will encourage children to develop their creativity and ability to perform with confidence. The Expressive Arts curriculum area includes art and design, dance, drama and music. ( Education Scotland, 2018; Levine & Levine, 2011). Expressive Arts and Design involves supporting children to explore with a wide range of materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and tec...
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How can science and technology activities be made engaging and relevant in primary education?

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  In this blog I will talking about why science and technology is important in education and why children need to learn and realistically enjoy being involved with the subjects for their future selves.   Children in primary education should receive an enjoyable and experimental education. Science and technology can be made fun and engaging to allow children to get the most out of the subject as they can to benefit them. Our society is filled with science and technology, it’s almost impossible to live a day without being involved with science and technology and everyone needs at least a basic level of understanding of them, including our children in education settings (Osborne & Dillon, 2008 ). Children being un-interested in science and technology and other subjects for that matter, can be due to various explanations. A report published by Green (2016) suggest that during secondary school interest in science and math’s drops by 53% for girls and 42% for b...
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