English language support for migrant students in Irish post-primary schools : an exploration of policy & practice

Abstract

This thesis presents an empirical exploration of language support for English as a Second Language (ESL) students in Irish post-primary schools. The presence of large numbers of ESL students can be attributed to the unprecedented large-scale migration into Ireland since the 1990s. The arrival of so many students presented schools with new challenges. The Department of Education and Skills (DES) provides a special teaching allocation for language support but many schools struggle to devise programmes which develop students' English language proficiency while drawing them into curriculum subject learning. To find out what the varied landscape of language support in Irish post-primary schools looked like, I developed an empirical plan to explore provision and practice in schools. Data were collected to investigate language support in a small number of schools in the Dublin area. The research presented in this thesis complements the work of the Trinity Immigration Initiative's (Til) English Language Support Programme (ELSP), which conducted a larger survey of provision of in post-primary schools. My research was undertaken from a broadly Gramscian perspective, which describes how dominant cultural ideology can be reproduced in education systems, which in turn maintains the disadvantage of minority cultural groups. This thesis also draws on research from the rapidly expanding fields of educational linguistics and of the education of children from migrant backgrounds. One key argument which runs through this thesis is that of the 'gap' between the kinds of knowledge presented by the school system, as well as the culture of school in general, and the knowledge and experience of disadvantaged and/or minority students. ESL students have the additional challenge of a linguistic 'gap'. The thesis explores how pedagogical approaches can bridge the gap, and indentifies how such approaches can and should form part of a school's language support provision.