Supporting the Parents of Students with Irish Literacy Difficulties in Gaeltacht Schools
Keywords:
parents, literacy difficulties, challenges, Irish, GaeltachtAbstract
International research states that parental involvement in education can impact positively on a child’s academic, social, and emotional development. This study investigated the strategies in place in Gaeltacht schools to support the parents of student with early Irish literacy difficulties. This is particularly important as students in Gaeltacht schools are fully immersed in the Irish language for the first two years of their primary education (age 4-6). They do not undertake formal English literacy until first class (age 7-8). Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with four special education teachers from Gaeltacht primary schools in Ulster. The findings suggest that the home languages of students can pose difficulties in relation to parents helping their child with homework. The strategies implemented by schools and teachers to address the challenges that they face in this area are discussed. Following on from this, recommendations are made as to how parents in these schools can be supported further.
References
AUTHOR, XXXX
Barnes, E., 2017. Dyslexia Assessment and Reading Intervention for Pupils in Irish-Medium Education: Insights into Current Practice and Considerations for Improvement. https://www.cogg.ie/wp-content/uploads/Trachtas-WEB-VERSION.pdf (accessed 17th November 2021).
Braun, V. and Clarke, V., 2006. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), pp.77-101.
Castro, M., Expósito-Casas, E., López-Martín, E., Lizasoain, L., Navarro-Asencio, E. and Gaviria, J.L., 2015. Parental involvement on student academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Educational research review, 14, pp.33-46.
Central Statistics Office. 2023. Census of Population 2016 – Profile 10 Education, Skills and the Irish Language. https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cp10esil/p10esil/ilg/ (accessed 13th August 2023).
Cenoz, J. and Gorter, D., 2011. A holistic approach to multilingual education: Introduction. The Modern Language Journal, 95(3), pp.339-343.
Department of Education and Skills (DES). 2016. Policy on Gaeltacht Education 2017-2022. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/5cfd73-policy-on-gaeltacht-education-2017-2022/ (accessed 6th November 2021).
Ee, J., 2017. Two dimensions of parental involvement: What affects parental involvement in dual language immersion? Bilingual Research Journal, 40(2), pp.131-153.
Fan, X. and Chen, M., 2001. Parental involvement and students' academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Educational psychology review, 13, pp.1-22.
Gaeloideachas. 2023. Statistics. https://gaeloideachas.ie/i-am-a-researcher/statistics/ (accessed 13th August 2023).
Goldman, S.E. and Burke, M.M., 2017. The effectiveness of interventions to increase parent involvement in special education: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Exceptionality, 25(2), pp.97-115.
Kavanagh, L., 2013. A Mixed Methods Investigation of Parental Involvement in Irish Immersion Primary Education: Integrating Multiple Perspectives. https://www.cogg.ie/wp-content/uploads/A-Mixed-Methods-Investigation-of-Parental-Involvement-in-Irish-Immersion-Primary-Education.pdf (accessed 10th November 2021).
Kavanagh, L. and Hickey, T., 2013a. An exploration of parents’ experiences of involvement in immersion schooling: Identifying barriers to successful involvement. Language learning and teaching: Irish research perspectives, pp.65-86.
Kavanagh, L. and Hickey, T.M., 2013b. ‘You’re looking at this different language and it freezes you out straight away’: Identifying challenges to parental involvement among immersion parents. Language and Education, 27(5), pp.432-450.
Kim, S., 2022. Fifty years of parental involvement and achievement research: A second-order meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 37, p.100463.
Lasky, B. and Karge, B.D., 2011. Involvement of Language Minority Parents of Children with Disabilities in Their Child's School Achievement. Multicultural Education, 19(3), pp.29-34.
National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). (2019). Effective Interventions for Struggling Readers. https://assets.gov.ie/24811/6899cf6091fb4c3c8c7fce50b6252ec2.pdf (accessed 21st November 2021).
MacPhee, M., Turnbull, M., Cormier, M. and Miller, T., 2017. The experience of non-Francophone parents in a French minority-language school. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 20(1), pp.115-134.
Majid, M.A.A., Othman, M., Mohamad, S.F., Lim, S.A.H. and Yusof, A., 2017. Piloting for interviews in qualitative research: Operationalization and lessons learnt. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(4), pp.1073-1080.
Minihan, E., Adamis, D., Dunleavy, M., Martin, A., Gavin, B. and McNicholas, F., 2022. COVID-19 related occupational stress in teachers in Ireland. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 3, p.100114.
National Council for Special Education (NCSE)., 2013. Identifying dyslexia. https://www.sess.ie/dyslexia-section/early-signs-ages-3-5-years (accessed 17th November 2021).
National Council for Special Education (NCSE)., 2006. Guideline on the individual education plan process. https://ncse.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/final_report.pdf
Ní Chiaruáin, M., 2009. An Examination of How Children with Dyslexia Experience Reading in Two Languages in a Gaelscoil. https://www.cogg.ie/wp-content/uploads/mairead-ni-chiaruain-1.pdf (accessed 21st October 2021).
Ní Chinnéide, D., 2009. The special educational needs of bilingual (Irish-English) children. https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/11010/7/de1_09_83755__special_needs_of_bilingual_children_research_report_final_version_Redacted.pdf (accessed 20th October 2021).
Ní Thuairisg, L., & Ó Duibhir, P., 2016. An leanúnachas ón mbunscoil go dtí an iar-bhunscoil lán-Ghaeilge i bPoblacht na hÉireann [Pupil progression from Irish-medium primary to post-primary in the Republic of Ireland]. www.gaelscoileanna.ie/files/An-Lean--nachas-on-mbunscoil-go-dt---an-iar-bhunscoil-l--n-Ghaeilge-_MF-2016.pdf (accessed 9th November 2021).
AUTHOR, XXXX
Ceallaigh, T.Ó. and Dhonnabhain, Á.N., 2015. Reawakening the Irish language through the ırish education system: Challenges and priorities. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 8(2), pp.179-198.
Ó Duibhir, P., NigUidhir, G., Ó Cathalláin, S., Ní Thuairisg, L., and Cosgrove, J. (2015) Anailís ar mhúnlaí soláthair Gaelscolaíochta (An Analysis of Models of Provision for Irish-medium Education). Béal Feirste: An Coiste Seasta Thuaidh Theas ar Ghaeloideachas https://www.forasnagaeilge.ie/analysis-models-provision-irish-medium-education/?lang=en (accessed 7th November 2021)
Ó Giollagáin, C. 2007. Comprehensive linguistic study of the use of Irish in the Gaeltacht: Principal findings and recommendations. Dublin: Stationery Office.
Ó Laoire, M. and Harris, J., 2006. Language and literacy in Irish-medium primary schools: review of literature. Dublin: NCCA.
Peterson, S.S. and Heywood, D., 2007. Contributions of families’ linguistic, social, and cultural capital to minority-language children's literacy: Parents’, teachers’, and principals’ perspectives. Canadian Modern Language Review, 63(4), pp.517-538.
Powney, J. and Watts, M., 2018. Interviewing in educational research. Routledge.
Turney, K. and Kao, G., 2009. Barriers to school involvement: Are immigrant parents disadvantaged? The Journal of Educational Research, 102(4), pp.257-271.
Údarás na Gaeltachta. 2023. The Gaeltacht. https://udaras.ie/en/our-language-the-gaeltacht/the-gaeltacht/ (accessed 8th November 2021)
Wesely, P.M. and Baig, F., 2012. The “extra boost”: Parental involvement and decision making in immersion programs. Bilingual Research Journal, 35(3), pp.314-330.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 REACH: Journal of Inclusive Education in Ireland
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright Notice
Authors contributing to REACH: Journal of Inclusive Education in Ireland retain the copyright of their article and at the same time agree to publish their articles under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License allowing third parties to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following terms:
- Attribution (BY): You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial (NC): You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- NoDerivatives (ND): If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
Learn more about Creative Commons licensing.
