Developing the National Intercultural Education Strategy Breda Naughton

Developing the National Intercultural Education Strategy Breda Naughton, PO Integration Unit Dept. of Education and Science and Office of Minister for Integration Breda_naughton@education. gov. ie

Presentation Outline • • Current scenario IES and the consultation process OECD Thematic Review of Migrant Education Inspectorate’s evaluation Value for Money Review ESRI Report, 2009 International research The future

Age profile of Irish and Non- Irish Nationals (CSO, 2008)

Current profile • 10% pupils in primary education – newcomers • 8% in post-primary are newcomers • Top countries of origin in post-primary are: UK, Poland, Nigeria, Lithuania, USA, Spain, Germany, Philippines, Latvia and S. Africa • Most newcomer parents have at least an upper secondary education • 13, 000 adult newcomers in English language classes in VECs • Some schools run English language classes for parents • Immigrants to Ireland are a very heterogeneous group

Current Policy • Minister for Integration, John Curran, T. D. – Office of the Minister – interdepartmental approach • Migration Nation – (Statement on Integration, Strategy and Diversity Management) – Partnership approach – Links between integration policy and wider social inclusion measures – Mainstreaming to avoid parallel societies – Local delivery: aligning services to newcomers with the host population

Department of Education and Science Mission • To provide a high quality education to – Enable individuals to develop their full potential and participate fully as members of society – Contribute to Ireland’s social, cultural and economic development • High level goals include – Support and improve the quality, relevance and inclusiveness of education for every learner in our schools – Support the delivery and development of education through policy formulation, high quality planning and a strong customer focus.

Current resources • Over 2, 100 EAL teachers in primary and post-primary – to be reduced in Sept. 2009 to approx. 1, 500 • Circular 15/09 (section on potential additional posts by appeal) • CPD offered to all EAL teachers by PPDS and SLSS – Support for ELSTA • Extensive resource materials • “AIM” – accessing intercultural materials – to be available on DES and OMI websites • Materials in no. of languages - DES, NCCA, NEWB, Jesuit Refugee Service • DES committed to research and policy development

Intercultural Education Strategy • Proposed Principles – Mainstreaming of all learners (including affirmative actions, eg EAL) – Knowledge of English (Irish) – Rights and responsibilities – High aspirations and expectations – Partnership and engagement • Proposed Actions – Leadership – Research – Awareness raising • CPD for staff • provision of information to parents, students, NGOs, embassies etc) – Implementation, monitoring and evaluation

Consultation Process for Intercultural Education Strategy • Conference Oct. 2008 • Seven sectoral meetings (over 200 delegates) – including primary and post-primary stakeholders • 50 written submissions received • Strategy to also take on board research findings

Views from Post- Primary meeting • Principles should – Incorporate social justice, human dignity, equality of outcomes, inclusion – Acknowledge diversity as an asset – Explicitly refer to racism and discrimination – Address not just formal setting of school but also the community and civil society – Include all minorities (Travellers) – Take whole school approach – Address mother tongue and culture of newcomer students

Views from Post- Primary meeting • Actions – Importance of language acquisition and cultural diversity in pre-service and teachers’ CPD – Centralised information system to ease access to resources – More diverse teaching staff – role of Teaching Council – Share exemplars of good practice – Involve parents and community – Denominational nature of Irish education system – “Absorption” classes in summer – Role of Principal and DP in encouraging an intercultural/ inclusive environment in schools

OECD – Thematic Review of Migrant Education in primary and post-primary • Ireland participating with – – – Norway Sweden Denmark Netherlands Austria • What education policies will promote successful education outcomes for first and second generation migrants? • 2 visits to Ireland to consult with key stakeholders • Report by late autumn, 2009

OECD – identified key areas for second country visit – April 2009 • Ensuring quality teaching and learning environment • Need for CPD • Fostering effective partnership and engagement • Implementing effective early interventions • Research and evaluation • Ensuring access to quality education

Inspectorate’s evaluation • Effectiveness of provision of EAL ( sample of 30 primary and 15 post-primary schools) • Individual school reports available on DES website (composite report due end of 2009) – Evaluate quality of teaching and learning – Establish quality of whole school planning and school review – Review progress of students in oral competency, literacy and numeracy – Identify good practice and disseminate same – Identify areas where practices can be improved.

Value for Money Review of EAL in primary and post-primary schools • • Identify objectives and examine their validity Define outputs, their levels and trends Have objectives been achieved? Does EAL warrant funding on a current and ongoing basis? Specify potential performance indicators Benchmark with other countries Provide recommendations Report due autumn 2009

ESRI review: - Adapting to Diversity: Irish Schools and Newcomer Students • Qualitative – 12 schools with newcomers, 4 with none • Quantitative survey – response from 1, 200 schools • Fieldwork in 2007 – post- primary spring 2007 – primary autumn 2007 • Report published June 2009 www. esri. ie

Percentage of schools with different proportions of newcomers

No. of national groups (other than Irish) in schools with newcomers

% of schools reporting language difficulties among > half of newcomers

Sustained academic difficulties among newcomers

Some challenges- ESRI, 2009 • Proportionally more newcomers in urban and in disadvantaged areas • 75% primary and 70% post-primary newcomers no English on enrolment • Day to day fluency v. subject/ academic language • Need for CPD on English within the curriculum and on integration/ interculturalism for – – principals EAL teachers mainstream teachers whole school community

Some challenges – ESRI, 2009 • Lack of qualified EAL teachers • Need for guidance on best practice – Differentiated teaching methods – All teachers are, in fact, language teachers • Few sustained integration difficulties – academically and socially • Importance of positive school climate • Some bullying – may not always be visible to staff – (D. Devine, UCD researcher in this area) – racism and stereotyping should be named in bullying policies • Schools and their wider communities – all have roles

Mode of language support provision: formal and informal

Social support structures

Perceptions of curriculum (all schools)

Perceptions of teacher education (all schools)

Rating of newcomers as ‘above average’ (schools with newcomers)

International research For example; • EU Green Paper on Migrant Education – (incl. role of heritage language), 2008 • Council of Europe work on language and interculturalism (TCD key partners) • UNESCO work on intercultural education • N. Ireland policy and evaluation – recent report • Jim Cummins, Canada ( social and conversational language + academic language proficiency )

Integration into the future • “Integration is a dynamic, two way process of mutual accommodation by all immigrants and residents of member states” (EU –one of eleven principles of integration) • Integration provides so many opportunities – it also provides challenges – important not to start from a negative perspective • Newcomers complement and enhance our society, our skills and our economy – Language pool increases – Their positive attitude to maths and science –key asset – Their different perspectives challenge ours and lead to positive tensions with more creative outcomes – Provide easier access to our global partners

Intercultural Education Strategy • Whole school/ institution approach • Generic – covering all sectors – opportunities and challenges very similar whether in early childhood or in higher education • Relevant to all – in our diverse society • Diversity will be an integral part of Irish society into the future • Very few newcomer families going back to their countries of origin • Awareness of current economic and policy climate • Strategy to be completed by end of 2009