An Tumoideachas Déanach: deis nó dúshlán sna scoileanna DEIS

Ref: 05/16/2024 - 5092025
Name: Hilary Ní Chonchubhair
Email Address: hilary.nichonchubhair@ucc.ie
Phone Number: 0852548924
Institution Address: University College Cork
Seeking a partner/s in: Northern Ireland

My research aims to investigate late immersion education, creating a profile of late immersion learners and their needs. Immersion education is a form of bilingual education in which students normally receive at least half of their subject matter instruction through an additional language (Lyster & Genesee, 2012). Late or delayed immersion refers to a later entry point to immersion education, defined by Ó Muircheartaigh and Hickey (2008) as an entry point to immersion education at post-primary level. Learners transition from English-medium primary schools to Irish-medium post-primary schools. This is often seen in Wales, where late immersion offerings assist with the nurturing of bilingualism and the revitalisation of the Welsh language (Williams, 1996). Often, early and late immersion learners are placed in the same class. While 76%-100% of learners attend a Gaelscoil in the majority of Irish-medium post-primary schools in the Republic of Ireland, less than 50% can be found in some settings (Ó Duibhir et al., 2017).

Levels of proficiency among students may create challenges for immersion teachers, with specialised and specific professional development required to support the development of language, content and literacy (Cammarata & Ó Ceallaigh, 2020). While the vision for this research project is not solely focused on schools in areas of low socio-economic status, it is important to note that 5/29 Irish-medium post-primary schools in the Republic of Ireland have DEIS status. The DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) programme was designed to give tailored support to schools who have high concentration of disadvantage to improve educational outcomes and progression (Department of Education, 2017). Additional immersion education supports are needed to address the needs of low SES immersion students (Ní Chlochasaigh et al., 2021), and further challenges may be faced by late immersion students who may not have had the opportunity to attend a Gaelscoil or who may not have the same levels of parental support as their peers in non-DEIS schools (Nelis et al., 2021).

I am interested in finding a NI partner to create a much-needed profile of the late immersion community, exploring choice, identity and pedagogy.