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Lift off literacy programme for the Irish medium school

Language Learning, Shared Island / Scotens Research Initiative

This research will focus on:

  • Redeveloping the Lift Off programme into Irish;
  • Exploring the training needs for teachers and classroom assistants to organise, plan and carry out this programme in Irish;
  • Assessing the outcomes of the programme, using the AML assessment tool;
  • Producing resources and information to support the implementation of this programme on a wider scale in the future;

 

 

Gaeilge labhartha na Bpáistí I scoileanna lán-Ghaeilge in Éirinn – The spoken Irish of pupils in Irish-medium schools

Language Learning, Shared Island / Scotens Research Initiative
Download a copy of "The spoken Irish of pupils in Irish-medium schools in Northern Ireland"
Download a copy of “The spoken Irish of pupils in Irish-medium schools in Northern Ireland”

This project will examine the proficiency in Irish of Primary 7 pupils in Irish-medium primary schools in Northern Ireland and compare them to data already gathered in relation to 6th class pupils in Irish-medium primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. The study in the Republic of Ireland identified weaknesses in the syntactic and lexical features of Irish-medium pupils’ spoken Irish and the present study will seek to ascertain if there are significant differences between the features of both populations.

 

English as an Additional Language in undergraduate teacher education programmes in Ireland

Language Learning, Shared Island / Scotens Research Initiative
English as an additional language in undergraduate teacher education programmes in Ireland
Download report (444kb)

To carry out a comparative study of the provision for EAL in pre-service and continuing professional development courses in Ireland north and south by holding 4 meetings of the project team between St Mary’s Belfast and Coláiste Mhuire, Marino.

The significant actions associated with the Project include:

  • A literature review of the field
  • A comparison of the education contexts in each jurisdiction
  • A review of the official policy context
  • An identification of the opportunities available for profession development for teachers in schools
  • A determination as to how EAL is structured into courses at the ITE phase in these two colleges
  • A survey of attitudes to EAL and views on personal competence among BEd students in the final year of their ITE programme in both institutions
  • A seminar to disseminate findings of the Project.

 

 

The development of North/South case studies identifying key features of good practice in the teaching of pupils from ethnic minorities

Special Education and Inclusion, Shared Island / Scotens Research Initiative

This research project will develop case studies exemplifying good practice in the teaching of pupils from ethnic minorities by focusing mainly on identifying teaching/learning strategies which are successful in integrating ethnic minority children into the classroom and engaging them actively in their learning. Schools will be chosen from the North and South and will be representative of both the primary and post-primary sector.

 

Dyslexia, Literacy and Inclusion – Conference

Conferences, Special Education and Inclusion, Shared Island / Scotens Research Initiative
Conference organisers and presenters at the Joint North South Conference - Dyslexia, Literacy and Inclusion on Friday 12th March 2010 in Saint Mary’s University College, Belfast
Conference organisers and presenters at the Joint North South Conference – Dyslexia, Literacy and Inclusion on Friday 12th March 2010 in Saint Mary’s University College, Belfast

To help fund a conference which seeks to:

  • Develop a dynamic interface on the island of Ireland that will harness educational theory, research and practice on the special educational needs, dyslexia for the purposes of enhancing learning and teaching in schools.
  • Promote collaboration between Northern Irish and Southern Irish educational practitioners into what constitutes best practice in the identification and management of dyslexia.
  • Contribute to an overall knowledge-based society and inform the educational inclusion debate in the North and South of Ireland.
  • Bring together a nucleus of academics, educational psychologists, NGOs ( for example, representatives from the Northern Ireland Dyslexia Association) and curriculum developers from the North and South of Ireland who are interested in the area of dyslexia, and to sustain this initiative through the creation of a discussion group via e mail to disseminate research and examples of best practice.

 

Student Teachers Perceptions of their Competence to meet the needs of pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder in mainstream Primary Schools

Special Education and Inclusion, Shared Island / Scotens Research Initiative, Teacher Education
Download Student teachers’ perceptions of their competence to meet the needs of pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder in mainstream primary schools
Download the report (570kb)

Objectives:

  • To ascertain how competent BEd primary students in their respective institutions perceive themselves to be in identifying the characteristics of ASD through the teaching element of the BEd course
  • To establish how well prepared BEd primary students feel they are in addressing the needs of pupils with ASD through the teaching element of the BEd course.
  • To ascertain how much BEd primary student competence in the field of ASD is enhanced as a result of their time spent on school experience.
  • To investigate how BEd primary students could be helped to develop their teaching in the area of ASD whilst on school experience
  • To examine data gathered from the BEd primary students so as to establish whether there are observable differences between students in the two jurisdictions in order to make comparison.

Consulting Pupils on the Assessment and Remediation of the Specific Learning Difficulties

Special Education and Inclusion, Shared Island / Scotens Research Initiative

Objectives:

  • To consult with primary and post-primary pupils on their level of participation in the assessment and remediation of their specific reading difficulties
  • To share ideas and findings between the two partners of the project via e-mail and face-to-face meetings
  • To work with Northern Irish and Southern Irish research partners to understand what constitutes good practice in collecting and analysing research data
  • To provide opportunities for young people in Dublin and Belfast to exchange information about their learning experiences

To empower the young people involved in this project in becoming more fully involved in designing, implementing and evaluating their education plans.