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Minority Ethnicities and Minority Languages in Irish Education Conference
An important first step in providing a focal point for discussing issues of ethnic and linguistic diversity in education was created in St. Patrick's College of Education on Thursday, June 21st, with a conference entitled 'Minority Ethnicities and Minority Languages in Irish Education'. The audience of approximately 300 attendees were treated to some stimulating presentations and had much to reflect upon during this hugely successful event. The audience was comprised of a large number of teachers but also represented a wide selection of educational, non-governmental and social inclusion organisations. Dr. Dympna Devine provided some key research on ethnic diversity in Irish schools, and spoke of tendencies towards normalisation of white, middle class Irish students in schools and a view of those outside of this norm as 'other'. She and Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan particularly highlighted the importance of children's views in change and a need to take account of these views.
Professor Jim Cummins of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, delivered a keynote speech in which he shared some key orienting ideas in terms of Language and Literacy among English as an Additional Language pupils from his distinguished international career in this field. He also put forward the important notion of negotiating minority ethnic and language identities as valid within the school context. Dr Barbara Lazenby Simpson (Integrate Ireland Language and Training) and Annette Honan (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment) spoke of their work and the work of their organisations in terms of educating teachers around language teaching, celebrating cultural diversity while maintaining a strong stance against prejudice. Four second level students from Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa spoke of their positive experiences in terms of the teachers they have encountered, but also some of the negative aspects of moving here, including experiences of overt racism and discrimination around skin colour. Also, a Lithuanian parent, Renata Jurciukoniene spoke of the need to recognise the ambitions of parents from immigrant and minority ethnic communities while maintaining a consistency of standards of quality teaching and learning across schools for various communities. Geraldine McDonagh, an Outreach Worker for the Schools Completion Project in North Clondalkin brought home to the audience the importance of maintaining an awareness of the educational exclusion facing Traveller communities in the past and present, which provided an important opportunity for those present to consider the very complex needs of minority ethnic groups and a stark reminder that racism is certainly not a new phenomenon in Irish education. Deirdre Kirwan from Scoil Bhride GNS Blanchardstown also provided those attending with an important account of how the Blanchardstown school context has changed and how the school has learned to embrace change, celebrate diversity and teach languages effectively while maintaining a whole school focus on anti-racism strategies.
Further details on the development of a national network/association from this conference along with conference presentations (pending presenter permission) are available at:
http://groups.google.com/group/memlie/web/links-to-other-organisations (pending presenter permission).
Emer O'Kelly, Education Correspondent for RTE's piece on the conference was broadcast on Morning Ireland on the following Friday morning, and is available on RealPlayer download at the following address:
Rory and Karl wish to thank the conference attendees, presenters and particularly the staff of St. Patrick's College for their support on this initiative. Keep an eye also on www.spd.dcu.ie/memlconference2007 for future developments!
Last Updated: Monday July 02 2007