Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools

Katriona O’Sullivan; Niamh Bird; Gareth Burns

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13

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Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools

Katriona O’Sullivan, Niamh Bird, Gareth Burns

Published in International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (Volume 4, Issue 5)

Received: 27 September 2019 Accepted: 12 October 2019 Published: 28 October 2019

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Abstract

Irish policy is increasingly focused on addressing the lack of teacher diversity. However, persistent challenges remain around the high standard of Irish required to enter primary level Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and the quality of Irish language teaching in schools that are designated disadvantaged in Ireland. This research aims to explore the relationship between these variables. Students from groups currently underrepresented in ITE and who are participating in a Foundation Course for Initial Teacher Education (FCITE) described their experiences of learning Irish in schools that are designated as disadvantaged, and then their journey through Irish language learning on the FCITE. Participants described largely negative experiences of learning Irish in school which contrasted with positive experiences of learning Irish while on the FCITE. Participants believed the communities they came from, and schools they attended, influenced the quality of teaching received; while teacher expectations of their language capabilities, and consequently their language proficiency impacted upon their Irish language learning. The findings indicate that specific measures should be put in place along the continuum of teacher education to ensure that there is an emphasis placed on not only improving the quality of Irish language teaching in schools located in communities experiencing social and economic inequality, but the parallel need to develop a model of social and political criticality amongst student and practicing teachers that addresses the problematic assumptions observed in this research about students’ language learning capabilities.

Published in	International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (Volume 4, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13
Page(s)	87-97
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Education, Access to Higher Education, Foundation Course for Initial Teacher Education, Irish Language Teaching and Learning, Qualitative Analysis, Online Questionnaire

References

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APA Style

Katriona O’Sullivan, Niamh Bird, Gareth Burns. (2019). Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 4(5), 87-97. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13

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Katriona O’Sullivan; Niamh Bird; Gareth Burns. Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools. Int. J. Educ. Cult. Soc. 2019, 4(5), 87-97. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13

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AMA Style

Katriona O’Sullivan, Niamh Bird, Gareth Burns. Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools. Int J Educ Cult Soc. 2019;4(5):87-97. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13,
  author = {Katriona O’Sullivan and Niamh Bird and Gareth Burns},
  title = {Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools},
  journal = {International Journal of Education, Culture and Society},
  volume = {4},
  number = {5},
  pages = {87-97},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijecs.20190405.13},
  abstract = {Irish policy is increasingly focused on addressing the lack of teacher diversity. However, persistent challenges remain around the high standard of Irish required to enter primary level Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and the quality of Irish language teaching in schools that are designated disadvantaged in Ireland. This research aims to explore the relationship between these variables. Students from groups currently underrepresented in ITE and who are participating in a Foundation Course for Initial Teacher Education (FCITE) described their experiences of learning Irish in schools that are designated as disadvantaged, and then their journey through Irish language learning on the FCITE. Participants described largely negative experiences of learning Irish in school which contrasted with positive experiences of learning Irish while on the FCITE. Participants believed the communities they came from, and schools they attended, influenced the quality of teaching received; while teacher expectations of their language capabilities, and consequently their language proficiency impacted upon their Irish language learning. The findings indicate that specific measures should be put in place along the continuum of teacher education to ensure that there is an emphasis placed on not only improving the quality of Irish language teaching in schools located in communities experiencing social and economic inequality, but the parallel need to develop a model of social and political criticality amongst student and practicing teachers that addresses the problematic assumptions observed in this research about students’ language learning capabilities.},
 year = {2019}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools
AU  - Katriona O’Sullivan
AU  - Niamh Bird
AU  - Gareth Burns
Y1  - 2019/10/28
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13
T2  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
JF  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
JO  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
SP  - 87
EP  - 97
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-3363
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13
AB  - Irish policy is increasingly focused on addressing the lack of teacher diversity. However, persistent challenges remain around the high standard of Irish required to enter primary level Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and the quality of Irish language teaching in schools that are designated disadvantaged in Ireland. This research aims to explore the relationship between these variables. Students from groups currently underrepresented in ITE and who are participating in a Foundation Course for Initial Teacher Education (FCITE) described their experiences of learning Irish in schools that are designated as disadvantaged, and then their journey through Irish language learning on the FCITE. Participants described largely negative experiences of learning Irish in school which contrasted with positive experiences of learning Irish while on the FCITE. Participants believed the communities they came from, and schools they attended, influenced the quality of teaching received; while teacher expectations of their language capabilities, and consequently their language proficiency impacted upon their Irish language learning. The findings indicate that specific measures should be put in place along the continuum of teacher education to ensure that there is an emphasis placed on not only improving the quality of Irish language teaching in schools located in communities experiencing social and economic inequality, but the parallel need to develop a model of social and political criticality amongst student and practicing teachers that addresses the problematic assumptions observed in this research about students’ language learning capabilities.
VL  - 4
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Katriona O’Sullivan

Department of Adult and Community Education, North Campus, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland
Niamh Bird

Department of Adult and Community Education, North Campus, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland
Gareth Burns

Department of Adult and Community Education, North Campus, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Katriona O’Sullivan, Niamh Bird, Gareth Burns. (2019). Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 4(5), 87-97. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13

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ACS Style

Katriona O’Sullivan; Niamh Bird; Gareth Burns. Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools. Int. J. Educ. Cult. Soc. 2019, 4(5), 87-97. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13

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AMA Style

Katriona O’Sullivan, Niamh Bird, Gareth Burns. Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools. Int J Educ Cult Soc. 2019;4(5):87-97. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13,
  author = {Katriona O’Sullivan and Niamh Bird and Gareth Burns},
  title = {Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools},
  journal = {International Journal of Education, Culture and Society},
  volume = {4},
  number = {5},
  pages = {87-97},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijecs.20190405.13},
  abstract = {Irish policy is increasingly focused on addressing the lack of teacher diversity. However, persistent challenges remain around the high standard of Irish required to enter primary level Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and the quality of Irish language teaching in schools that are designated disadvantaged in Ireland. This research aims to explore the relationship between these variables. Students from groups currently underrepresented in ITE and who are participating in a Foundation Course for Initial Teacher Education (FCITE) described their experiences of learning Irish in schools that are designated as disadvantaged, and then their journey through Irish language learning on the FCITE. Participants described largely negative experiences of learning Irish in school which contrasted with positive experiences of learning Irish while on the FCITE. Participants believed the communities they came from, and schools they attended, influenced the quality of teaching received; while teacher expectations of their language capabilities, and consequently their language proficiency impacted upon their Irish language learning. The findings indicate that specific measures should be put in place along the continuum of teacher education to ensure that there is an emphasis placed on not only improving the quality of Irish language teaching in schools located in communities experiencing social and economic inequality, but the parallel need to develop a model of social and political criticality amongst student and practicing teachers that addresses the problematic assumptions observed in this research about students’ language learning capabilities.},
 year = {2019}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of Irish in Designated Disadvantaged Schools
AU  - Katriona O’Sullivan
AU  - Niamh Bird
AU  - Gareth Burns
Y1  - 2019/10/28
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13
T2  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
JF  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
JO  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
SP  - 87
EP  - 97
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-3363
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20190405.13
AB  - Irish policy is increasingly focused on addressing the lack of teacher diversity. However, persistent challenges remain around the high standard of Irish required to enter primary level Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and the quality of Irish language teaching in schools that are designated disadvantaged in Ireland. This research aims to explore the relationship between these variables. Students from groups currently underrepresented in ITE and who are participating in a Foundation Course for Initial Teacher Education (FCITE) described their experiences of learning Irish in schools that are designated as disadvantaged, and then their journey through Irish language learning on the FCITE. Participants described largely negative experiences of learning Irish in school which contrasted with positive experiences of learning Irish while on the FCITE. Participants believed the communities they came from, and schools they attended, influenced the quality of teaching received; while teacher expectations of their language capabilities, and consequently their language proficiency impacted upon their Irish language learning. The findings indicate that specific measures should be put in place along the continuum of teacher education to ensure that there is an emphasis placed on not only improving the quality of Irish language teaching in schools located in communities experiencing social and economic inequality, but the parallel need to develop a model of social and political criticality amongst student and practicing teachers that addresses the problematic assumptions observed in this research about students’ language learning capabilities.
VL  - 4
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download