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    The Experience of Migrant Students in an Irish Second Level School


    Condon, John (2017) The Experience of Migrant Students in an Irish Second Level School. PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.

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    Abstract

    Immigration to Ireland in the late 20th and early 21st century has transformed Irish society from being a largely mono-cultural to a more intercultural society. This study is concerned with the experience of migrant students in a second level school. It explores the experiences of a small number of migrant students who completed five years of second level education in a provincial Irish town. The students came from a range of countries in Eastern Europe and Africa. This is a one-school insider case study where the principal is the researcher using qualitative interviews with students and staff to build a picture of intercultural education with its strengths, weaknesses and suggestions for improvement. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with students in the year or two after they completed school. Teachers’ experiences were also analysed using questionnaires and interviews. The portrait that emerges is that of a school in transition with a vibrant and complex intercultural student population. Themes emerging as significant from the research include the school curriculum, bullying and racism, relationships with teachers, the role of parents, the experience of socialisation and schooling and pedagogical responses. These complex issues are discussed in light of student experiences, teacher comments and insights from literature. Recommendations are made for a more inclusive curriculum, for celebrating the resource that is an intercultural classroom, for a pedagogy of cooperative learning, peer education and action research by students and teachers.
    Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
    Keywords: Migrant Students; Irish; Second Level School;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Adult and Community Education
    Item ID: 8853
    Depositing User: IR eTheses
    Date Deposited: 27 Sep 2017 09:17
    URI: https://mu.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/8853
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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