26 February 2026
Does a Gaelic education improve the early careers of young Scots?
With the Scottish Languages Act (2025) coming into force on St Andrew’s Day, it strengthened the position of both Gaelic and Scots as official languages for public life. A recent online article in TES Scotland suggests that this Act may have most effect in the education sector, where there is strong demand from parents for Gaelic-medium education. Around 3% of primary school pupils are in Gaelic-medium education, and Gaelic is one of the most popular choices in the 1+2 languages policy.
With the Act placing duties on public bodies to promote Scots and Gaelic, it seems likely that it will impact on career services too.
Dr Emma Bolger and Ann Morrison, from the University of the West of Scotland, are currently running a research project addressing this topic, Gaelic Medium Education: A career advantage for school leavers in Scotland? and Emma presented on this at the CDI Scotland Student Conference on 25th February. The research explores senior phase pupils’ perceptions of the career benefits of Gaelic-medium education, as well as the impact on early career decisions of school leavers up to the age of 25.
With the Act placing duties on public bodies to promote Scots and Gaelic, it seems likely that it will impact on career services too.
Dr Emma Bolger and Ann Morrison, from the University of the West of Scotland, are currently running a research project addressing this topic, Gaelic Medium Education: A career advantage for school leavers in Scotland? and Emma presented on this at the CDI Scotland Student Conference on 25th February. The research explores senior phase pupils’ perceptions of the career benefits of Gaelic-medium education, as well as the impact on early career decisions of school leavers up to the age of 25.
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