To some extent, these differences may be attributed to differences of perspective. Teachers are in a better position to see long-term changes and global effects, students and parents the immediate context. It is quite possible that parents and students attribute problems to within school factors while teachers see these as a consequence of national policies. 4 Findings relating to perceptions of the impact of school policies and practice on uptake at Higher 4.1 Earlier research and debate suggested that learners' experiences of language learning in S3 and S4 lead them to dislike languages and therefore not to want to continue with languages in S5. These last three issues, on the other hand, are of concern to teachers.
Some students are unwilling to continue language study because of the nature of the curriculum.
The other factors, though problematic, are likely to affect uptake only indirectly. 4.2 Earlier research also suggested that there are restrictions preventing students interested in continuing to study languages from doing so. These restrictions arise partly from the options and choices systems within schools and partly from conditions limiting access to Higher imposed by modern languages departments themselves. Our findings suggest that the two different types of restriction on uptake interact to exclude some potential candidates from higher. While the information and 'mythology' attached to choices at S4, and the structuring of option 'columns' may discourage able students in particular from taking languages when these are placed in opposition to science or other attractive subjects, modern languages departments are also making it difficult for students other than the very able to take Highers in this subject because of the perceived difficulty of the examination.