Irish Speakers And Schooling In The Gaeltacht 1900 To The Present

This book offers the first full-length study of the education of children living within the Gaeltacht, the Irish-speaking communities in Ireland, from 1900 to the present day. While Irish was once the most common language spoken in Ireland, by 1900 the areas in which native speakers of Irish were located contracted to such an extent that they became clearly identifiable from the majority English-speaking parts. In the mid-1920s, the new Irish Free State outlined the broad parameters of the boundaries of these areas under the title of ‘the Gaeltacht’. This book is concerned with the schooling of children there. The Irish Free State, from its establishment in 1922, eulogized the people of the Gaeltacht, maintaining they were pious, heroic and holders of the characteristics of an invented ancient Irish race. Simultaneously, successive governments did very little to try to regenerate the Gaeltacht or to ensure Gaeltacht children would enjoy equality of education opportunity. Furthermore, children in the Gaeltacht had to follow the same primary school curriculum as was prescribed for the majority English speaking population. The central theme elaborated on throughout the book is that this schooling was one of a number of forces that served to maintain the people of the Gaeltacht in a marginalized position in Irish society.

This book examines the radical reform that occurred during the final two decades of British rule in Ireland when William Starkie (1860–1920) presided as Resident Commissioner for the Board. Following the lead of industrialized nations, Irish members of parliament sought to encourage the establishment of a state-funded school system during the early nineteenth century. The year 1831 saw the creation of the Irish National School System. Central to its workings was the National Board of Education which had the responsibility for distributing government funds to aid in the building of schools, the payment of inspectors and teachers, the publication of textbooks, and the cost of teacher training. In the midst of radical political and cultural change within Ireland, visionaries and leaders like Starkie filled an indispensable role in Irish education. They oversaw the introduction of a radical child-centered primary school curriculum, often referred to as the ‘new education’. Filling a gap in Irish history, this book provides a much needed overview of the changes that occurred in primary education during the 22 years leading up to Ireland’s independence.

This innovative collection is the first of its kind to showcase global perspectives on learning minority languages as second languages, offering unique insights into their acquisition and specific characteristics and raising greater awareness around other languages and contexts where SLA occurs. The volume examines how minority languages are acquired as second languages across a range of geographic settings where these languages are unique minorities; that is, they are spoken in one or more states where they have a minority status. International case studies explore particular features of these languages as well as the challenges of teaching and learning them, including standardization, legal recognition at all educational levels, the dissemination of printed and digital materials and more or less limited language use in the local community. Highlighted languages include Ashaninka, Basque, Frisian, Hawaiian, Irish, Isthmus Zapotec, Quechua Chanka, Tonga and Welsh. Each chapter adopts a consistent structure, with a brief introduction to the sociolinguistic landscape, followed by sections on language use in education, research studies, reflections and discussions related to the learning of minority languages as second languages and the implication of these processes for the revitalization of minority languages. Breaking new ground in second language acquisition research, this book is an indispensable resource for advanced students and researchers in SLA, multilingual education, bilingualism and sociolinguistics.

For centuries, the Catholic Church around the world insisted it had a right to provide and organize its own schools. It decreed also that while nation states could lay down standards for secular curricula, pedagogy, and accommodation, Catholic parents should send their children to Catholic schools and be able to do so without suffering undue financial disadvantage. Thus, from the Pope down, the Church expressed deep opposition to increasing state intervention in schooling, especially during the nineteenth century. By the end of the 1920s however, it was satisfied with the school system in only a small number of countries. Ireland was one of those. There, the majority of primary and secondary schools were Catholic schools. The State left their management in the hands of clerics while simultaneously accepting financial responsibility for maintenance and teachers' salaries. During the period 1922-1967, the Church, unhindered by the State, promoted within the schools' practices aimed at 'the salvation of souls' and at the reproduction of a loyal middle class and clerics. The State supported that arrangement with the Church also acting on its behalf in aiming to produce a literate and numerate citizenry, in pursuing nation building, and in ensuring the preparation of an adequate number of secondary school graduates to address the needs of the public service and the professions. All of that took place at a financial cost much lower than the provision of a totally State-funded system of schooling would have entailed. Piety and Privilege seeks to understand the dynamic between Church and State through the lens of the twentieth century Irish education system.

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0, University College Dublin, course: Seminar: Minority and Endangered Languages, language: English, abstract: This essay discusses the ways in which the Irish Government attempts to revitalize the Irish language. Even though Irish is technically the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, it is a minority language, while Engish (the second official language) is spoken by the majority. The essay gives a short historical overview and analyzes revival strategies, for example within the educational system of Ireland.

In this auto-ethnography, which is a contribution to a form of writing only recently adopted by historians, the author provides an exposition of how, since 1957, he has been located in education currents flowing through various exotic lands. He addresses how, in participating in that flow, he has been influenced by historical events in which he participated, along with broader societal events reaching back over 150 years. As such, this book is illuminative on education developments in education in Ireland and internationally over the last 70 years in relation to a longer time-scale. It commences with an account of the author’s early life and schooling in County Waterford, Ireland, addresses his undergraduate years in London and Limerick, and reflects on 13 years of school teaching and studying for postgraduate degrees at Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin. An account of the author’s life and academic work in Papua New Guinea, Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Malaysia then follows.

"Apart from highlighting the clash between the demands of nationalism and the role of the education system, the volume shows how criticism of the compulsory Irish policy was stifled; the resultant effect on the education system and the levels of attainment of pupils; and the attempts to apply compulsion more widely, including in competitions for public sector employment. In assessing the long-term costs of the strategy, both social and economic, Adrian Kelly illustrates the dangers in allowing ideology to win over pragmatism in the formulation of policy."--BOOK JACKET.