Literatures in decline in high school: What's happening in Europe?

Barcelona"We've been living on a path toward discrediting the humanities for some time now. With constant warnings that students can't read complex texts or don't understand the problems, how is it possible that anyone would think of removing required readings or reducing literature in the curriculum?" laments the literature professor at the University of Barcelona (UB). The fact that this week has been put on the table (and later retired) The decision to make Catalan and Castilian literature optional in the humanities baccalaureate has once again raised alarm bells about a clear problem in Catalonia: the humanities are losing importance at the educational and social levels.

Some examples of this decline can be found in the elimination of compulsory readings in baccalaureate (there will no longer be established essential works of Catalan literature that all students must read, but rather there will be a long list from which four readings can be chosen). Therefore, the university entrance exams will no longer ask specific questions about titles by authors such as Josep Pla or Mercè Rodoreda. Furthermore, high school students who don't choose the humanities branch only study literature in the two hours (previously three) of Catalan language and literature and Spanish language and literature that are taught as a core subject, but which leave very little space for exploring the works and authors that make up the country's literary history.

The consequences of this loss of importance have also been noted in the latest university entrance exams (PAU): only 1,412 students out of a total of 41,736 took the Catalan literature exam, that is, 3.3% of the students who took it. "I'm convinced that if I were to give a literature exam today like the ones I gave in the 1980s, I would fail everyone immediately, but the problem is an oil stain that extends far beyond pure reading: it's a series of general cultural knowledge that accompanies it," Losada insists.

In this sense, Jordi Mir, a professor of humanities at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), warns that "the decline of literature or the humanities is not so much a matter of wasting hours as of what we do with the hours we have." Mir points out how, unlike in other countries, in Catalonia it has not been understood (or not sufficiently) that literary knowledge is not "a complementary education or entertainment disconnected from knowledge," and insists that "when we talk about how we learn to understand the world and how we learn to analyze the things that happen to us, literature is a key element."

As an example to reflect on, the professor mentions France, where it is very clear that literature "beyond entertainment, leisure, and fun, is also seen as a form of knowledge" and, therefore, is an "essential learning, whether you end up learning letters or numbers."

In France, French literature occupies a privileged place during all educational stages, but especially inhigh school, which are the last three years of secondary school (ages 15-18). Arguably, along with the French language, it is the most important subject and is part of the core subjects required by both high school students who choose the general and technological track. "Literature constitutes the heart of French teaching in high school," states the National Education program.

For the French Republic, literature is not only knowledge but "plays a decisive role in the formation of the spirit." The teaching of literature, therefore, also serves to educate citizens and from this perspective is the most valuable subject in secondary school. Therefore, the successive changes introduced in high school have not altered the weight of literature in the educational program, nor has its importance been questioned.

Literature is included in the French subject, and while in the first years of secondary school the syllabus is half language and half literature, in the course equivalent to the first year of high school it is 100% literature. Students take the subject four hours a week and study poetry, prose, and theater. As it will later be part of the core entrance exams for the university entrance exam (the BAC), the syllabus and readings are the same in all French high schools. Required works include: The skin of chagrí, by Balzac, and The imaginary invalid, by Molière.

However, in the course equivalent to second year of high school (calledterminal), philosophy takes center stage in literature. It's the only secondary school course in which language and literature aren't included. In fact, students take the French entrance exam the year before.

In Italy, language and literature is a cross-curricular subject that begins in middle school, equivalent to high school in Catalonia, and continues through the five years of high school, which lasts from ages 14 to 19. In this final stage, students can choose between different options: technical-professional institute, vocational instruction and training, or high school. The latter, in turn, is divided into different itineraries: classical, scientific, artistic, etc.

Despite the different options, all high schools share the study of Italian literature 4 hours a week and also the same program. Among other reasons, because to obtain the final diploma, all students, regardless of the itinerary chosen, must pass the maturitano, an exam that is equivalent to the selectivity exam and is the same for all students.

The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, or Bride and groom (And promised sponer), by Alessandro Manzoni, two key authors of Italian literature, are some of the works that form part of the Italian school curriculum, but in recent years the teaching community has denounced that priority is being given to the analysis of texts with the aim of passing the final exam, instead of encouraging the more significant literary education of reading through reading.

In secondary education (GCSC, ages 14 to 16), which is compulsory in the United Kingdom, the study of English literature is mandatory. After that, it's no longer mandatory. The British sixth form system pays no special attention to literature. From the age of 16, when secondary school graduates, a student can graduate in a career, especially a technical one, without ever hearing—or reading—Shakespeare or Dickens again. From the age of 16 to 18, when the A-levels (Baccalaureate), the study of English literature is optional, and would only be compulsory if studying the International Baccalaureate. In fact, all subjects are optional at the A-levels. University applicants will only have to take English literature if they aspire to a specific career in that field.

For humanities degrees, however, English literature is generally highly valued, for example if you study history, philosophy, or law. But there is no specific literature exam, except for students applying for English studies or closely related degrees. Some universities require additional entrance exams or written work, such as the English Literature Admission Test (ELAT) for Oxford or Cambridge. What is clear is that a doctor, an engineer, or a City financier can reach the top of their field without ever having read Robinson Crusoe.

Despite the success of Harry Potter Over the past two decades, academic data indicates a progressive decline in literature and humanities studies in the United Kingdom. In 2013, 83,000 studentsA-levels chose English literature as one of the three subjects to take. In 2023, only 54,000. A drop that is also reflected in the university. According to data from the think tank According to the Higher Education Policy Institute, the only institution dedicated to analyzing higher education, the drop in demand for humanities students at universities in recent years has been on the order of 40,000 people.

Despite the Portuguese educational miracle, which in the last quarter of a century has managed to escape the bottom of the PISA report thanks to a broad agreement between political parties to avoid affecting the education system, on the other side of the Iberian Peninsula, they are not so far behind us regarding the importance of literature in the curriculum before entering university. To begin with, only students majoring in the humanities study it. And we're talking about Portuguese literature; rarely—only in some high schools—is there the opportunity to study foreign literature. However, regarding the Portuguese language, there is a significant emphasis on the study of authors' works, which often gets bogged down in another political debate about what they should be and the importance of some revision, especially considering the view of the imperial and colonial past and the slave trade.

If we focus on the Portuguese language exam, it should be noted that from the pandemic until the last university entrance exam, it was not mandatory to take it for university admission. This course, following criticism from the educational community, has once again been made mandatory, but the percentage of this exam's weight in the total count for higher education admissions has been reduced. Regarding Portuguese literature, and considering that the equivalent of our baccalaureate in Portugal is three years, it is not mandatory in humanities studies every year. However, the first two years can be chosen as a modality, along with geography, Latin, a foreign language, or mathematics applied to the social sciences. The final year can also be chosen, but psychology and sociology are also included.

Literature is compulsory in German high school (Upper Stage), but not in the final exam taken before entering university. Students have some leeway and can choose whether to take language and literature at an "advanced" or "basic" level. That is, whether to take it as a core subject and study it six hours a week, or as a secondary subject and study it only four hours a week.

In any case, it's worth remembering that each German federal state has discretion to choose the academic curriculum its students must follow, and therefore, there are regional differences throughout Germany regarding educational systems.

On the other hand, Nina Samberg, a teacher at a public high school in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, explains to ARA that there are required readings in high school and assures that the books they are required to read don't usually vary much. "Some haven't changed since I studied high school, about thirty years ago," she assures. However, she explains that her fellow literature teachers complain that "students' ability and performance have declined in recent years." "They hardly read anything anymore and spend their time on their phones and playing video games," the teacher says.