Download pdf - Ncca interculturalism guide

INTE

RCU

LTU

RAL

EDU

CATI

ON

Enabling students torespect and celebratediversity, to promoteequality and to challengeunfair discrimination

IN THE POST-PRIMARYSCHOOL

GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOLS

INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE POST-PRIMARY SCHOOL

ENABLING STUDENTS TO RESPECT AND CELEBRATE DIVERSITY, TO PROMOTE EQUALITY AND TO CHALLENGE UNFAIR DISCRIMINATION

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment wishes toacknowledge the work of Dr. Roland Tormey and the Centre forEducational Disadvantage Research, Mary Immaculate College,Limerick in the development of these Guidelines.

The material in these guidelines may be reproduced by schoolsand other educational institutions for educational purposes.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION i

CHAPTER 1 The Context of Intercultural Education 1

CHAPTER 2 Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School 13

CHAPTER 3 School Planning 21

CHAPTER 4 Classroom Planning 35

CHAPTER 5 Intercultural Education across the Curriculum 495.1 Integrated thematic planning 515.2 Intercultural education opportunities across the curriculum 62

CHAPTER 6 Approaches and Methodologies 79

CHAPTER 7 Assessment and Cultural Diversity 89

CHAPTER 8 Language and Interculturalism 103

GLOSSARY OF TERMS 113BIBLIOGRAPHY 116CLASSROOM RESOURCES 119

INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION AND THE POST-PRIMARY SCHOOL

Art, Craft and Design 62

Civic, Social in Political Education 64

English 64

Gaeilge 66

Geography 66

History 67

Home Economics 68

Mathematics 69

Modern Languages 70

Music 71

Physical Education 72

Religious Education 74

Science 74

Social, Personal and Health Education 75

Technology subjects 76

SUBJECT STATEMENTS

Additional resources, including curriculum audits for each subject identifyingopportunities for exploring intercultural themes and exemplar lessons, can be accessed on the accompanying CD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

http://www.ncca.ie

WHAT IS INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION?

At its core, intercultural education has twofocal points:

• It is education which respects, celebratesand recognises the normality of diversityin all parts of human life. It sensitisesthe learner to the idea that humans havenaturally developed a range of differentways of life, customs and worldviews,and that this breadth of human lifeenriches all of us.

• It is education which promotes equalityand human rights, challenges unfairdiscrimination and promotes the valuesupon which equality is built.

Intercultural education is a synthesis of thelearning from multicultural educationapproaches and anti-racist educationapproaches which were commonly usedinternationally from the 1960s to the1990s. Ireland has long had an experience

of ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religiousdiversity. This can be seen, for example, inthe way in which bilingualism in Gaeilgeand English has played an important partin Irish life as well as in the long-standingpresence of the Traveller community and ofminority religious groups. In recent yearsthis diversity has been added to throughimmigration. Different words like‘multicultural’ and ‘intercultural’ have beenused in recent years to describe the changesthat have been happening in Irish society. Common to them all is the idea of‘culture’. Both these terms describe asituation where there is more than oneculture in a country. While the term‘multiculturalism’ is sometimes used todescribe a society in which differentcultures live side by side without muchinteraction, the term ‘interculturalism’expresses a belief that we all becomepersonally enriched by coming in contactwith and experiencing other cultures, and

Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School i

INTRODUCTION

Education is therefore an education in freedom–freedom frominherited biases and narrow feelings and sentiments, as well as freedom to explore other cultures and perspectives and make one’s own choices in full awareness of available and practicable alternatives.

(Bhikhu Parekh, 1986)

that people of different cultures can andshould be able to engage with each otherand learn from each other.

Education not only reflects society but isalso an influence in shaping itsdevelopment. As such, schools are one ofthe institutions that have a role to play inthe development of an intercultural society.While education cannot bear the soleresponsibility for challenging racism andpromoting intercultural competence, it hasan important contribution to make infacilitating the development of interculturalskills, attitudes, values and knowledge.

An intercultural education is valuable to all students in equipping them toparticipate in an increasingly diverseIreland, Europe and global society. Equally,an education that has a limited culturalfocus will be less likely to develop thesecapacities in students.

In Guidelines on Traveller Education inSecond Level Schools, (pp.20-21) theDepartment of Education and Science(2002) has defined intercultural educationas aiming to:

• foster conditions conducive to pluralismin society

• raise pupils’ awareness of their ownculture and to attune them to the factthat there are other ways of behavingand other value systems

• develop respect for lifestyles differentfrom their own so that pupils canunderstand and appreciate each other

• foster a commitment to equality;• enable pupils to make informed choices

about, and to take action on, issues ofprejudice and discrimination

• appreciate and value similarities anddifferences;

• enable all pupils to speak for themselvesand to articulate their cultures andhistories.

Some key features of interculturaleducation are:

• Intercultural education is for all studentsirrespective of their ethnicity. Since allour students live in a country and aworld that is becoming increasinglydiverse, we need to prepare them forthat world. Intercultural education is animportant part of every student’seducational experience whether he/she isin a school which is characterised byethnic diversity, in a predominantlymono-ethnic school, or whether thestudent is from the dominant or aminority culture.

• Intercultural education is for all studentsirrespective of their age. Recognisingthat diversity is normal in humans issomething that is appropriate at all ages.

• Dialogue and story are identified asfundamental components of interculturaleducation. While it is important to giveyoung people accurate information andto challenge stereotypes andmisconceptions, equipping them withintercultural capacity is more effective if it is done through open dialoguewhich allows them to express theirthoughts, fears and perceptions ratherthan simply telling them the ‘right andwrong’ of the situation.

• Intercultural education happensnaturally through the ‘hiddencurriculum’ of the social and visualworld within which the student learns.While it is possible and necessary toinclude intercultural ideas in the taught‘formal curriculum’, the images,messages and values that are conveyedthroughout the school culture are alsocrucial. In exploring the hiddencurriculum it is important to note thatwhat is absent can be as important aswhat is present.

• Intercultural education is concerned withethnicity and culture and not simply withskin colour. Intercultural education would

Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary Schoolii

be equally concerned with discriminationagainst white minority ethnic groups suchas people from Eastern Europe orTravellers, or against other culturalminority groups such as those for whomIrish is a first language.

AIMS OF THE GUIDELINES

These guidelines identify the ways in whichintercultural education can be integratedinto the curriculum in post-primaryschools. While the examples in theseguidelines focus mainly on JuniorCertificate subjects, intercultural educationis relevant to senior cycle education tooand there are ample opportunities withinsenior cycle programmes and subjects toincorporate intercultural perspectives.

The aim of these guidelines is to contribute to the development of Ireland as an intercultural society through thedevelopment of a shared sense thatlanguage, culture and ethnic diversity is valuable.

They aim to contribute to the developmentof a shared ability and sense ofresponsibility to protect for each other the right to be different and to live freefrom discrimination.

The specific objectives of the guidelines are to:

• support the aims of post-primarycurricula in the context of a growingcultural and ethnic diversity in a waywhich will maximise and enrich learningfor all students and make the curriculumas accessible as possible for studentsfrom minority ethnic groups

• address the curriculum needs of all post-primary students, whether from aminority or the majority ethnic group,which arise in the context of a growing

cultural and ethnic diversity• facilitate schools and teachers in creating

an inclusive culture and environment• raise awareness within the educational

community on issues which arise fromlinguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity in Ireland

• provide an overview of assessment in an intercultural context.

USING THE GUIDELINES

The audience for the guidelines includethose with a responsibility for and interestin post-primary education. The documentis of particular relevance to teachers,school managers, school support staff andpolicy makers. It is hoped that theseguidelines will support teachers, bothindividually and as teams, in developing amore inclusive classroom environment.They will also support whole schoolplanning and policy development withinschools and so contribute to developing aschool culture that is welcoming, respectfuland sensitive to the needs of all students.

The guidelines are written so that they canbe used in a number of ways. Some peoplewill read the guidelines from the beginningand work through them to the end. Otherswill find it useful to focus initially on thespecific chapter that addresses a need that is pressing for them and then expandtheir reading to include the rest of thechapters. In order to facilitate these waysof using the guidelines, key ideas areoccasionally repeated at intervalsthroughout the guidelines.

Chapter 1 provides backgroundinformation that places the rest of theguidelines in context. It outlines the extentand nature of cultural, linguistic and ethnicdiversity in contemporary Ireland and alsodefines terms like ‘racism’ and‘institutional racism’.

Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School iii

Chapter 2 articulates the major elements ofan intercultural approach to education.

Chapter 3 highlights the ways in whichintercultural education should be takeninto account in school planning, policydevelopment and in shaping the wholeschool environment. It identifies that all ofthe members of the school community havean important role to play in ensuring anintercultural ethos within the school.

Chapter 4 focuses attention on theclassroom and classroom planning. Itexplores the ways in which the social,visual and educational environment of theclassroom can maximise the interculturalexperience of all students in school. It alsolooks at choosing resources and welcominga student from another culture.

Chapter 5 explores the integration ofintercultural themes–identity and belonging,similarity and difference, human rights andresponsibilities, discrimination and equality,conflict and conflict resolution across arange of Junior Certificate subjects. Whilethe examples in the guidelines relate toJunior Certificate subjects, interculturaleducation is equally important for andrelevant to senior cycle students. The CD-ROM included with the Guidelines and theNCCA website www.ncca.ie provideexemplars of classwork incorporating theintercultural themes.

Chapter 6 identifies and describes theapproaches and methodologies that areparticularly suitable for interculturaleducation. It also offers practical tips ondealing with controversial issues in theclassroom.

Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary Schooliv

http://www.ncca.ie

Chapter 7 deals with assessment andcultural diversity. It highlights the ways inwhich different forms of assessment canbecome biased or unreliable in a culturallydiverse context and it provides guidance onhow teachers can broaden the range oftools used for assessment.

Chapter 8 explores the creation of asupportive language environment forlearners of Irish and English, withparticular reference to students who arelearning the language of instruction as asecond language.

These guidelines are designed to providesupport for all the members of the schoolcommunity, including teachers, schoolmanagers, support staff and parents.

In this respect, they deal with a wide rangeof issues, including school planning,classroom planning, assessment and thelanguage environment.

While these guidelines focus ondiscrimination on the basis of ethnicity,many of the underlying ideas are equallyapplicable to other forms of discriminationsuch as sexism, ageism or discriminationagainst people with a disability.

These Guidelines on InterculturalEducation in the Post-Primary School areaccompanied by Guidelines on InterculturalEducation in the Primary School. Both setsof guidelines are based on the same keyprinciples and themes. Together, theyprovide a context in which young peoplewill continue to develop interculturalcompetence in an integrated way as theytransfer from primary to post-primaryeducation.

Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School v

“ Intercultural education isimportant for all studentsto help them to participatein an increasingly diverseIreland, Europe and globalsociety...”

The Context of Intercultural Education

1

1

The growth of immigration into Irelandsince the mid-1990s has brought the issueof ethnic and cultural diversity to theforefront and has encouraged discussionaround diversity. However, it would not beaccurate to suggest that Ireland has onlyrecently experienced diversity. Significantminority ethnic, linguistic and religiousgroups have long been part of Irish society.Ireland has a long history of culturaldiversity that has contributed to makingIreland the country it is today. In a widersense, membership of a European andglobal community has also played asignificant role in the experience of beingIrish. In the context of growing diversity,and growing awareness of diversity, issuesof discrimination, particularly racialdiscrimination, have come into focus. Anti-discrimination has been written into Irishlaw and into education policy. All thesefactors combine to provide the backgroundwithin which these guidelines operate.

ETHNIC AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN IRELAND

The growth in ethnic and cultural diversityin Ireland in recent years has arisen for anumber of reasons, including increasedmovement from other EU countries (Table2), as well as increases in asylum seekers(Table 4) and in those issued work permits(Table 3). This diversity is not, however, anentirely new phenomenon: Ireland has, infact, a long history of cultural diversity.

Table 1: Place of birth of people usually livingin Ireland in Census figures, 1991 and 2002

Place of Birth 1991 2002

Ireland 93.9 % 89.6 %

Northern Ireland 1.0 % 1.3 %

Great Britain 3.8 % 5.1 %

Other EU 0.4 % 0.9 %

USA 0.4 % 0.6 %

Other Countries 0.6 % 2.5 %

Total 100 % 100 %

Intercultural Education in the Post Primary School2

THE CONTEXT OF INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION

The more people who are on the margins the weaker is the centre…we all have a stake in building a future which respects and celebratesdiversity—a generous sharing Ireland that encompasses manytraditions and cultures and creates space for all its people.

(President Mary McAleese, 24 February 2000)

1

As EU citizens, Irish people enjoy the rightto move to other EU states. Other EUcitizens, including the 10 countries thatjoined the EU in May 2004, also enjoy thesame right, and many have chosen to liveand work in Ireland. From May 2004 toApril 2005 85,114 people from the tenaccession countries were allocated PersonalPublic Service Numbers (PPS No) inIreland. We cannot be certain that all thosepeople are now working in Ireland but itwould be the intention of the majority ofthose applying for PPS Nos to work. Thismovement of people across Europeanborders has contributed to a culturalexchange between European countries aswell as affording people an opportunity toidentify the similarities that underlie ourEuropean identity.

During the economic boom years of thelate 1990s and early 2000s, significantlabour shortages developed which had anegative impact on economic growth. The number of workers from EU countrieswas not sufficient to meet the economy’slabour needs. As a result, work permitswere issued to non-EU citizens to fillspecified jobs. Apart from EU citizensliving in Ireland, significant numbers ofmigrant workers have come to Irelandfrom countries such as Russia, Romania,the Philippines, South Africa and theUkraine.

Table 3: Employment migration to Ireland fromoutside the EU

2000 18,000 work permits issued





Another group of recent immigrants toIreland comprises those who are seekingasylum. The asylum process is designed toprotect those who have a well-founded fearof persecution in their country of origin. Inorder to protect such people, the right toask for asylum was written into theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights.Those who are granted asylum are knownas refugees. The numbers of asylum seekersand refugees internationally grew duringthe 1980s and early 1990s. In the UK, forexample, the number of asylum seekersgrew from 2,905 in 1984 to 22,005 in1990 and 44,845 in 1991. In Ireland, atthe same time, the number of peopleseeking asylum rarely rose above 50. In1991 it stood at 31.

Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School 3

THE CONTEXT OF INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION 1

Table 2: Estimated immigration to Ireland of people of EU nationality

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

UK 8,300 8,200 8,300 7,900 7,100 7,000 5,100

Rest of EU 5,000 5,500 5,800 6,800 7,100 5,800 6,100

Note: A substantial number of those included in the above statistics are not immigrants in the strict sensebut returning Irish migrants. The figure for returning Irish migrants peaked in 1999, at 55 per cent of allmigrants. At present is it under 40 per cent.

Table 4: Asylum Applications in Ireland

Year

1992 40

1993 90

1994 360

1995 420

1996 1,180

1997 3,880

1998 4,630

1999 7,720

2000 10,938

2001 10,325

2002 11,634

2003 7,900

2004 4,766

During the 1990s Ireland began to receivea larger share of asylum seekers (Table 4).These asylum seekers came from manycountries including Nigeria, Romania,Republic of Moldova, Poland, DemocraticRepublic of Congo, the RussianFederation, Algeria, and the Ukraine. Inaddition to those who sought asylum inIreland, the Irish government has, atvarious times, welcomed groups of peoplewho were fleeing persecution, such asthose from former Yugoslav states such asBosnia-Herzegovina during the period ofgenocide in that country, or at a later date,those fleeing persecution in Kosovo. Thesewere known as Programme Refugees anddid not have to go through the asylumprocess. In recent years the number ofapplications for asylum in Ireland has been decreasing.

Simply listing the numbers of people andthe countries from which they come in thisway does not fully represent the reality ofcultural diversity, which these immigrantsrepresent. A country like Nigeria, forexample, contains three major ethnicgroups and, perhaps more than 240minority languages and ethnic groups.

Other countries of origin may also be quite diverse.

Although the recent growth in immigrationhas given rise to a greater awareness ofcultural diversity in Ireland, it could beargued that Ireland has long been culturallydiverse. One of the largest minority ethnicgroups in Ireland is the Irish Travellercommunity. There are an estimated 25,000Travellers in Ireland, a further 15,000 IrishTravellers living in the UK and 10,000 livingin the USA. The Irish Government’s 1995Report of the Task Force on the TravellingCommunity identifies that Travellers are adistinct ethnic group in Ireland, but alsoidentifies that this has often not been fully recognised.

It is clear that the Traveller community’sculture is distinct and different. ‘Settled’people generally recognise the differencebut fail to understand it as culturaldifference. This is a phenomenon,characteristic of many societies, where themajority culture sees itself as holding auniversal validity or norm in relation tovalues, meanings and identity.

Ireland has also long been a linguisticallydiverse society and has two officiallanguages, Irish and English. The island ofIreland is also the home of a number ofother native languages, including UlsterScots, Irish Sign language and Gammon orCant (a language historically known to andused by Irish Travellers). Indeed, like manysocieties world wide, Ireland ischaracterised by some degree ofbilingualism. The 1996 Census showedthat, as well as being speakers of English,43 per cent of the Irish population werespeakers of Irish. In Gaeltacht areas, thisrises to 76 per cent. On a national basis,one quarter of those who speak Irish use itdaily. This rises to 60 per cent in Gaeltachtareas. For some, Irish is their first language(usually with English as a second

Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School4

language). For others, it is a secondlanguage, learned in addition to thelanguage of their home. This highlights thecomplexity and diversity of the linguisticenvironment in Ireland, and indeed in Irisheducation. Both Irish and English play animportant role in Irish identity and society,and both languages are required subjects ofstudy for students following the juniorcycle programme.

Religious diversity is also a feature of Irishsociety. The 2002 Census shows that over11% of the population belong to minorityreligious groups. Alongside the 3.4 millionRoman Catholics in the state, over200,000 people were described as havingno religion or did not state a religion,while over 115,600 people described theirreligion as Church of Ireland or Protestant.Presbyterians and Muslims each accountfor about 20,000 people while theOrthodox Church accounted for over10,000 people. Other significant religiousgroups in Ireland include Jews andJehovah’s Witnesses. While the religiousmake-up of Ireland has changed over theyears, Ireland has long had significantreligious diversity. Indeed, in the past theProtestant and Jewish populations inIreland would have been significantlylarger than in more recent times.

Even within the majority ethnic group(although the term ‘ethnic’ is often appliedto minority groups, everyone has anethnicity) there exists significant diversityin lifestyle, values and beliefs. A number ofstudies of Irish attitudes and values showsignificant differences between urban andrural dwellers, as well as differences acrossage, education level and social class. Thissuggests that, even without looking atminority ethnic groups, the generalisationthat is called Irish culture hides a greatdiversity of ways of life. Diversity in food,music, lifestyle, religious beliefs, language,values, ethnicity and, increasingly, in skin

colour, are a core part of Irish life. Theyeach play a role in contributing to the richmix that is Irishness.

In this respect, Ireland today mirrorsIreland at various times in her past. Irelandhas been forged from diversity, fromsuccessive waves of immigration includingCeltic, Viking, Norman, English, Scots andHuguenot, something which can be seen inthe diversity of origins of names which aretypical in Ireland. The Irish Nobel Prizewinning playwright George Bernard Shawexpressed this when he wrote, “I am agenuine typical Irishman of the Danish,Norman, Cromwellian and (of course)Scotch invasions.”

RACISM IN IRELAND

Some researchers indicate that a traditionalview of Irishness–one that does notrecognise the cultural and ethnic diversity,which has long existed in Ireland–hasmade many Irish people from minoritygroups feel excluded. In a similar way, theidea that ‘Irish’ means ‘settled’ has meantthat there has been little accommodationfor what is distinctive in Traveller culturein Irish society. These can be understood as some of the manifestations of racism inIrish society.

UNESCO Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice

Article 2:2 – Racism includes racistideologies, prejudiced attitudes,discriminatory behaviour, structuralarrangements and institutionalised practices resulting in racial inequality as well as the fallacious notion thatdiscriminatory relations between groups are morally justifiable; it is reflected indiscriminatory provisions in legislation orregulations and discriminatory practices aswell as in anti-social beliefs and acts...



UN International Convention on theElimination of All Forms of RacialDiscrimination

Article 1 – "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restrictionor preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin whichhas the purpose or effect of nullifying orimpairing the recognition, enjoyment orexercise, on an equal footing, of humanrights and fundamental freedoms in thepolitical, economic, social, cultural or anyother field of public life.

The term ‘race’ appears in invertedcommas each time it is used here (except inquotes) because scientific research has nowmade clear that, although the term iswidely used to describe groups of peoplewho are thought of as biologicallyseparate, there is, in fact, no genetic orother scientific basis underlying the term.

Racism is one of a number of forms ofdiscrimination that exist in contemporarysocieties. Others include sexism, ageism anddiscrimination on the basis of a disability.All involve rules, practices, attitudes andbeliefs which have the effect of denying orimpairing someone’s access to the samebasic rights and freedoms as everyone else.Despite their similarities as forms ofdiscrimination, racism is sometimes wronglyperceived as being worse than other formsof discrimination, perhaps because it isoften associated in people’s minds withviolence, genocide or ‘hate crime’. The termracism, used properly, has much widerimplications than a narrow focus on ‘racial’hatred or violence would suggest. Itencompasses a range of attitudes or beliefson one hand and practices or rules on theother. This means that the term ‘racism’actually includes some things that may not

have appeared as such to many people at afirst glance.

• An attitude or belief is racist if it impliesthat some groups are superior or inferiorto others based on their ‘race’, colour,descent, or national or ethnic origin.This might include the belief that certaingroups (for example, Traveller, Asian orMiddle Eastern cultures) are moreprimitive or contain less intrinsic valuethan others.

• A racist practice or rule is one thatdistinguishes, excludes, restricts or givesrise to a preference based on ‘race’,colour, descent, or national or ethnicorigin. Racist practices and rules make itmore difficult for members of somegroups to attain the human rights, accessto opportunities and life chances to whichthey are entitled. Racist practices or rulesmay be practised by individuals (forexample through name-calling, racistgraffiti, excluding people or usingviolence against them), or by institutions(for example, though the application ofrules or regulations which do not makeallowance for cultural difference).

These interlocking dimensions of racismare represented graphically in Figure 1.

RACIST ATTITUDES OR BELIEFS

Studies in Ireland from the 1980s onwardshave consistently found a significantminority who held hostile attitudes. In hisstudy of Prejudice and Tolerance in IrelandMicheál Mac Gréil found that in the late1980s there was a significant minority ofIrish people who expressed racist views:

• 16.7% of his national sample said thatblack people could never become asgood Irish people as others because oftheir basic make up.

• 10.8 % believed that black people wereinferior to white people.




• Only 13.5% would welcome a Travellerinto the family through marriage while59% would not welcome Travellers asnext door neighbours.

• When asked if an American personwould be welcome into the family,78.6% said that they would welcome awhite American, while only 26.2%would welcome a black American.

• 95.6% said they would have whiteAmericans as a next-door neighbour, butonly 59% said they would similarlywelcome black Americans.

A 2000 Eurobarometer study found that,in Ireland

• 13% of the national representativesample had very negative attitudestowards minorities

• 24% support the outlawing ofdiscrimination against minorities (thelowest figure in the European Union)

• 31% support promoting equality at alllevels of social life (also the lowest in theEuropean Union)

• Irish people are more prepared towelcome Muslims and people fromeastern and central Europe than areother EU citizens, but are lesswelcoming of people fleeing humanrights abuses or situations of conflict

• Only 32% of Irish people feel minoritiesenrich our cultural life compared to50% of all EU citizens surveyed.

Recent studies have found that some schoolchildren associate black people with imagesof poverty, warfare and helplessness withwhich they have become familiar frompictures and stories from Africa which arecommonly used in Ireland. While suchattitudes may express themselves throughideas of charity and aid, they can beunderstood as racist attitudes, if they arebased on a sense that African cultures areinferior to Western cultures.

RACIST PRACTICES BY INDIVIDUALS

Evidence of racist practices by individualscan be found in studies of the experiencesof ethnic minorities in Ireland. In a 2001Amnesty International survey of ethnicminorities in Ireland, 78 per cent of morethan 600 respondents from a variety ofethnic minorities living all over Irelandhighlighted that they had been a victim ofracism, most often in public places like thestreet, or in shops or pubs, and over 80 percent of the sample tended to agree thatracism is a serious problem incontemporary Ireland.

In 1995, the Government’s Task Force onthe Travelling Community noted:

Discrimination at the individual level ismost common when a Traveller seeksaccess to any of a range of goods, servicesand facilities, to which access is deniedpurely on the basis of their identity asTravellers. Examples abound of publichouses refusing to serve Travellers, hotelsrefusing to book Traveller weddings, bingohalls barring Traveller women, leisurefacilities barring access to Travellers, andinsurance companies refusing to providemotor insurance cover. This experience canalso include physical and verbal attacksand intimidation. (pp 70-80).


FIGURE 1

What do we mean by racism?

Belief that

> one culture is inferioror superior to another

> one culture isprimitive or lacksvalue.

Practices including

> shunning people> name-calling> graffiti> violence.

Indirect discrimination may include

> entry criteria that do not allow for nomadic lifestyle

> indiscriminate use of standardised tests on ethnic minorities that are notnormed for that ethnic group

> development of service provision in a way which reflects only the majoritycommunity's culture and identity

> a lack of positive action to promote equality

> a lack of professional expertise or trainingin dealing with diversity in the organisation

> a lack of systematic data gathering on theimpact of policies on minority groups

> a lack of workable facilities for consultationand listening to minority groups.

Racist Attitudes

IndividualRacist Practices

InstitutionalRacist Practices

RACISM

RACIST PRACTICES BY INSTITUTIONS

While individual racist practices andattitudes are sometimes the most obviousform of racism, they are not the only formof racism. The term institutional racism isused to describe racism in the form ofdiscriminatory provisions in legislation,regulations or other formal practices.Institutional racism includes:

• indirect discriminations• a lack of positive action to

promote equality• a lack of professional expertise or

training in dealing with diversity in the organisation

• a lack of systematic data gathering on the impact of policies on minority groups

• a lack of workable facilities forconsultation and listening to minority groups.

Indirect racism and other types of indirectdiscrimination occur when practices orpolicies, which do not appear todiscriminate against one group more thananother, actually have a discriminatoryimpact. It can also happen where arequirement, which may appear non-discriminatory, has an adverse effect on agroup or class of people. For example, aschool that, because it is oversubscribed,offers places first to children who have asibling there is likely to disadvantagenomadic families who move into and outof a given area. While the practice did notoriginate from the prejudiced intention ofreducing the numbers of Traveller children,this will be the effect. Such a practicewould also have the effect of reducing thenumbers of children of recent immigrantsin the school. Practices such as these aredefined as indirect racism.

Indirect racism may be found in theapplication of culturally inappropriate

criteria in rules or regulations. Forexample, if the entry criteria for a society,club or school required people to beresident in an area, this may discriminateagainst nomadic families. Indirect racismmay also be found in the development ofprovision which reflects only the majorityculture or which assumes that everyonebelongs to that culture. For example, ifinformation or services are made availablein a way that assumes that everyone willhave a good proficiency in the language ofthe majority, those who have difficultywith that language may be discriminatedagainst. If clinical testing or interviewing isonly carried out in the language of themajority or in a way which reflects theculture of the majority, or using criteriawhich are derived in respect of themajority population, incorrect judgementsmay be reached concerning members ofminority groups.

DISCRIMINATION AND INTERCULTURALISM INLAW AND POLICY

In recent years, the Irish Government hasworked to challenge racism and topromote intercultural practices in Ireland.To these ends, it has introduced bothlegislation and initiatives. These have

• provided a framework for people tochallenge racism and discrimination inIreland across a range of grounds

• promoted equality and interculturalismthrough education and publicawareness.

A National Action Plan Against Racism(NPAR) has been developed by theGovernment. This was a key commitment,which arose from the World ConferenceAgainst Racism, which was held inDurban, in South Africa, in 2001. This will include an education action planagainst racism.



Legislation which provides a frameworkfor people to challenge discriminationincludes the Employment Equality Act(1998) and the Equal Status Act (2000).These make it illegal to discriminateagainst a person in employment, vocationaltraining, advertising, collective agreements,the provision of goods and services andother opportunities to which the publicgenerally have access, if the discriminationhappens on one of nine grounds. Thegrounds are gender, marital status, familystatus (having children or being a carer),age (between the ages of 18 and 65),disability, race, sexual orientation, religious belief, membership of theTraveller community.

Much of Ireland’s policy framework foreducation has sought to promote equalityand interculturalism through education. The 1995 White Paper on Education–Charting our Education Future highlightsthat equality and pluralism are two of thekey considerations, which underpin

educational policy. It also notes ‘thedemocratic character of this societyrequires education to embrace the diversetraditions, beliefs and values of its people’.

These principles are also endorsed inschool curricula. The Primary SchoolCurriculum recognises the diversity ofbeliefs, values and aspirations of allreligious and cultural groupings in Irishsociety and acknowledges that it has a‘responsibility in promoting tolerance andrespect for diversity in both school and thecommunity’. This is reiterated in two ofthe aims and principles of the JuniorCertificate education which states,

The Junior Certificate programme aims to

• contribute to the moral and spiritualdevelopment of the young person and todevelop a tolerance and respect for thevalues and beliefs of others;


• prepare the young person for theresponsibilities of citizenship in thenational context and in the context ofthe wider European and globalcommunities.

Guidelines on Traveller Education inSecond-Level Schools, issued by theDepartment of Education and Science in2002, also emphasise the importance ofinterculturalism within the school. In this,they emphasise the two elements ofintercultural education, appreciation ofdiversity and the challenging of inequality.

An intercultural approach is importantwithin the curriculum in order to helpstudents to develop the ability to recogniseinequality, injustice, racism, prejudice andbias and to equip them to challenge and totry to change these manifestations whenthey encounter them. Young people shouldbe enabled to appreciate the richness of adiversity of cultures and be supported inpractical ways to recognise and tochallenge prejudice and discriminationwhere they exist. (p. 20).

All children, irrespective of their country oforigin or their reasons for being in Ireland,are entitled to free primary and post-primary education. All children arerequired to attend school from the age of 6to the age of 16, or until the completion ofthree years of post-primary education,whichever is later. The Department ofEducation and Science does notdifferentiate between ‘national’ and ‘non-national’ children.

Intercultural education is one of the keyresponses to the changing shape of Irishsociety and to the existence of racism anddiscriminatory attitudes in Ireland. As an approach, it emerges naturally fromexisting educational policy and is inkeeping with other equality legislation and initiatives.



Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School

2

13

If the primary aim of education is thepreparation of young people for thechallenges of living in the world today then intercultural education is an essentialpart of that process. Interculturaleducation is not another subject to beadded to the curriculum, nor does itinvolve extra material to be covered inparticular subjects. It is an approach toeducation that can be integrated across all subject areas.

Chapter 5 illustrates how such anapproach might be taken in a range ofsubject areas. However, it is important toemphasise that there are opportunities forall teachers to promote the knowledge,values and skills associated withintercultural education through theirinteractions with students both withinformal class time and informally.

Two of the aims of the Junior Certificateprogramme are to:

• contribute to the moral and spiritualdevelopment of the young person and todevelop a tolerance and respect for thevalues and beliefs of others;

• prepare the young person for theresponsibilities of citizenship in thenational context and in the context ofthe wider European and globalcommunities.

This is echoed in the statement of purposeand aims of senior cycle education:

The fundamental purpose of senior cycleeducation is to enable and prepare peopleto live lives to the fullest potential withindemocratic society. (Developing Senior Cycle Education, NCCA,2003, p.37)


INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN THEPOST-PRIMARY SCHOOL

The general aim of education is to contribute towards thedevelopment of all aspects of the individual, including aesthetic,creative, critical, cultural, emotional, intellectual, moral, physical,political, social and spiritual development, for personal and familylife, for working life, for living in community and for leisure.

(The aims of the Junior Certificate as stated by the Department of Education and Science)

2

One of the specific aims of senior cycleeducation is to

• educate for participative citizenship atlocal, national, European and globallevels.

Intercultural education is one way that aschool can make provision for therealisation of these aims.

It can also inform and support wholeschool development planning and it cancontribute to the development of a schoolculture that is open, positive, inclusive andsensitive to the needs of all students. Theseguidelines for post-primary schools mustbe seen in the context of a longer process.

Guidelines have also been produced forprimary schools and it is hoped that bothsets of guidelines will support and buildupon each other providing teachers with acoherent and comprehensive menu of ideasfor incorporating an interculturalperspective across the student’s fulllearning experience.

This chapter outlines some of thecharacteristics that underlie contemporarygood practice in the area of interculturaleducation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERCULTURALEDUCATION

The following seven characteristics ofintercultural education are discussed in thischapter:

• Intercultural education is for allchildren;

• Intercultural education is embedded inknowledge and understanding, skills andcapacities, and attitudes and values;

• Intercultural education is integrated withall subjects and with the general life ofthe school;

• Intercultural education requires a real-world focus;

• Language is central to developingintercultural abilities and capacities;

• Intercultural education takes time;• The school as a model of good practice.

Intercultural education is for all

Intercultural education is based on thegeneral aim of enabling the student todevelop as a social being throughrespecting and co-operating with others,thus contributing to the good of society.Intercultural education is beneficial to allthe students in our schools, irrespective oftheir skin colour or ethnicity, since allstudents need to learn how to live withinand contribute to the evolution of ourgrowing multicultural society.

As the Rampton Report in the UK hasstated:

A ‘good’ education cannot be based on one culture only, and … where ethnic minorities form a permanent andintegral part of the population, we do notbelieve that education should seek to ironout the differences between cultures, nor attempt to draw everyone into thedominant culture.

All students have a culture and ethnicity.Learning to value their own culture andethnicity is central to their self-esteem andsense of identity. Intercultural educationfacilitates all students in coming to valuetheir own heritage and the heritage ofothers.

Intercultural education has many benefits:

• It encourages curiosity about culturaland social difference.

• It helps to develop and support young people’s imagination bynormalising difference.


INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE POST-PRIMARY SCHOOL 2

• It helps to develop critical thinking byenabling people to gain perspective onand question their own culturalpractices.

• It helps to develop sensitivity in thestudent.

• It helps to prevent racism.

Intercultural education is embedded in knowledge and understanding, skills and capacities, and attitudes and values

The general aim of education is tocontribute towards the development of allaspects of the individual, includingaesthetic, creative, critical, cultural,emotional, intellectual, moral, physical,political, social and spiritual development.Intercultural education is built on thisvision, and is outlined in these guidelinesunder the headings of knowledge andunderstanding, skills and capacities, andattitudes and values.

Neither racism nor interculturalism is basedon knowledge alone. Both are informed andenforced by emotional responses, feelingsand attitudes as well as knowledge. Simplyproviding people with facts and informationor focusing on cognitive development willnot, on their own, be sufficient to tackleracism, since there may be an emotionalresistance to changing one’s mind in light ofnew evidence, facts or ways of thinking. Inparticular, the development of positiveemotional responses to diversity andempathy with those discriminated againstplays a key role in intercultural education.The school that places a high value on thepersonal well-being of all its students andstaff will foster the kind of environmentwhere positive attitudes towards diversitycan thrive.

However, intercultural education may giverise to some conflict and to a range of

strong emotions. When people (students,teachers, parents and others in the schoolcommunity) explore their own attitudesand values and when they look at theirown past reactions to certain situationsthey may get defensive, angry or upset.Learning to deal with one’s own emotionsand the emotions of others is an integralpart of the intrapersonal (self-understanding) and interpersonal(understanding of relationships withothers) skills essential for personal, socialand educational fulfilment. This is bestdone within a school and classroom ethos,which is characterised by a caringrelationship between staff and students andby providing young people with a positive,inclusive and happy school experience.

Intercultural education is integrated across all subject areas and into the life of the school

The integration of knowledge andunderstanding, skills and capacities, andattitudes and values across all subject areasprovides the learner with a more coherentand richer learning experience. It is alsomore likely that appropriate attitudes andvalues will be developed by young people ifthey are integrated across subject areas andwithin the whole life of the school, than ifthey are dealt with in a piecemeal or ‘one-off’ fashion. Intercultural educationtherefore, should be central to all aspectsof school life. It should be reflected in thehidden curriculum of the school, in schoolpolicies and practices and the teaching ofthe different subject areas.

Intercultural education requires a real-world focus

It is a fundamental principle of learningthat the student’s own knowledge andexperience should be the starting point foracquiring new understanding. In this


respect, first-hand experience that connectsstudents with the world in which they liveand with people of different perspectivesand experiences is the most effective basisfor learning.

Students’ lives will provide the teacherwith many opportunities to exploreintercultural themes and to developintercultural competence. Young peoplemay well experience examples ofunfairness, discrimination or conflict intheir own lives that will enable them toengage in a concrete way with the concernsof intercultural education. Conversely,unless young people are encouraged andfacilitated in critical reflection on theirown lives, they may well identify withintercultural ideas in abstract but notengage in intercultural practices.

Teachers should be aware that looking atsituations which involve conflict or

disagreement between ethnic groups maywell give rise to strong emotions, especiallyif students are being asked to consider ifthey are part of the dominant ordiscriminating group. Nonetheless, lookingat such situations is central to developing instudents the ability to apply interculturalideas to their own lives.

Examining real-life situations can also playa role in developing a sense of empathy forthose who are discriminated against. Manyyoung people will identify that they havebeen treated unfairly at one time oranother, whether that means having hadsomeone else getting preference over themunfairly, or having had assumptions madeabout them because of the way they lookor where they live, or having someone inauthority refuse to listen to them. Suchexperiences mean that students can oftenreadily empathise with others who arevictims of discrimination.



Language is central to developingintercultural abilities and capacities

Whether difference is seen as normal orabnormal, whether equality is seen as agood thing or a problem will depend onthe language that students learn to apply tosituations. Language not only expressesthoughts, ideas and values-it shapes themtoo. Because language is so crucial to thelearning process the use of dialogue anddiscussion is a key teaching strategy in alleducation. Dialogue also allows us torecognise the value of differences. Throughdialogue it is possible to see that twopeople can view the same thing andinterpret it differently. Unless we value thedifferences in our ideas, beliefs andperceptions, unless we value each otherand give credence to the possibility that lifeis richer for all its diversity then we willhave difficulties meeting the challenges ofan increasingly diverse and complex world.

Dialogue facilitates the exploration ofexperiences, ideas, and emotions throughincreasingly complex language. Throughdialogue students can also be brought toreflect on the way language is used and thepower of language in labelling people. Theaim of dialogue in the context ofintercultural education is to developempathetic listening. Empathetic listeningmeans listening with the intent tounderstand. It means getting inside anotherperson’s frame of reference, seeing theworld the way they see the world andtrying to understand how they feel.Empathy is not sympathy.

The essence of empathetic listening is notthat you agree with someone; it’s that youfully, deeply, understand that person,emotionally as well as intellectually. (Covey, 1998, p. 240.)


Both Irish and English play an importantrole in Irish identity and society, and anexperience in both languages is the right ofevery child. Experience of a secondlanguage is thought to have a number ofadditional benefits for pupils includingenhancing cognitive development andincreasing the capacity for learningsubsequent languages.

Intercultural education takes time

Children will already have developed someideas about diversity even prior to enteringprimary school. By the time they enterpost-primary school many of their ideasand prejudices are already well established.These ideas and attitudes are developedover a period of time throughout thechild’s early years experience. They can bereinforced or challenged as students movethrough post-primary education.

For adolescents and teenagers conformingwith the majority view and behaviour isvery important. Kohlberg called this stageof moral development the conventionalstage when young people are typicallyconcerned with doing what will gain theapproval of others. Therefore developingthe skills and capacities to reflect criticallyand independently and act ethically withinthat world will not be achieved in one classor one term. It is acknowledged that manyadults never go beyond the conventionalstage of moral development to the post-conventional level where one’s actions arebased on moral principals and values and agenuine interest in the welfare of others.Hence building intercultural sensitivity andchallenging prejudicial beliefs, attitudesand actions is a lifelong process.

The school as a model of good practice

The social context within which learningtakes place is a key influence on the natureand effectiveness of the learning process. Inteaching the knowledge, skills and attitudesof intercultural competence the educationsystem can model good practice for thestudents.

Students will learn attitudes, values andskills through seeing them modelled bythose in the school and in the schoolcommunity. In teaching young people tothink critically about the world in whichthey live, it is appropriate for us model thisby thinking critically about our ownactions and the institutions within whichwe work, and if necessary, to vet schoolpolicies in relation to the potential fordiscrimination. Indeed, in this respect,intercultural education will bring benefitsto the school and the education system ingeneral, alongside the benefits to individualstudents.

The concepts of ‘indirect racism’ and‘institutional racism’ help us to understandhow institutions such as schools may infact be unintentionally racist in theiroperations. When a school prioritises theculture of one ethnic group to thedetriment of others it may be guilty ofinstitutional racism. Those in the schoolcommunity who are responsible forpolicies, practices, and the cultivation ofthe school ethos should always be vigilantin ensuring that the culture, beliefs andway of life of all the children in the schoolare respected.



School Planning

3

21

As such, intercultural education extendsbeyond a narrow focus on the content ofclassroom teaching. Using an interculturalperspective when addressing the schoolplan is central to the effective developmentof an inclusive, intercultural school.

THE ROLE OF ALL THE MEMBERS OF THESCHOOL COMMUNITY

It is important that all the members of theschool community, students, parents,teachers, support staff and managementare involved in the collective responsibilityof developing and maintaining an inclusiveand intercultural school. One of theunderlying principles of successful schooldevelopment planning is goodcommunication between all members ofthe school community. While some of theactions arising from the planning processeswill be mandatory, for example, changes inthe school behaviour code or keeping

records of racist incidents, most of the realchange will depend on the voluntaryactions and goodwill of all the members ofthe school community. It will be important,therefore, that everyone involved has theopportunity to have their views heard andfeel a sense of involvement in the processof change. People may engage with theprocess with differing levels of enthusiasmand some may be somewhat resistant tocertain initiatives. It is not unusual forpeople to be surprised at some of theirown attitudes and beliefs as various issuesare discussed. Such resistance, handledsensitively, can provide a valuableopportunity to raise people’s awarenessand develop their intercultural capacitiesand knowledge. It may provide an impetusfor staff to explore these issues further intraining aimed at developing a sense of thevalue and normality of diversity and atenabling them to recognise and challengeunfair discrimination and racism.


SCHOOL PLANNING

Formal and informal policies and practices related to all the differentcomponents of the life of the school have a significant impact on theexperience of students and other members of the school community. Theschool community develops an experience of, and positive engagementwith, cultural diversity through the policies and practices which shapeand make up the student’s total experience of school life.

3

STUDENT COUNCILS

As the representative structure for all thestudents in a school, the Student Councilcan play a very important role in thedevelopment of an intercultural schoolenvironment. In fact working inpartnership with school management, staffand parents on planning for anintercultural school can provide theStudent Council with a focus that couldlead them to be involved in a number ofrelated activities. For example:

• liaising with Principal and Board ofManagement on intercultural issues ofconcern to students

• involvement with the school planningprocess of the school

• making their views known in relation topolicies that are being developed ormodified to reflect an interculturalperspective, for example the receptionand induction of new students

• making suggestions for improving thephysical and social environment of theschool

• contributing to the development of aschool charter that celebrates diversityand promotes equality

• ensuring an intercultural balance in theschool newsletter/magazine

• mentoring programmes for newcomerstudents.

The Student Council should listen to theviews of the students in the school whendrawing up their calendar of activities forthe school. In this respect it would beimportant that the council would ensurethat newcomer students to the school arerepresented in the collection of views.Further information on the work of andsetting up of Student Councils is availableon www.studentcouncil.ie

THE INVOLVEMENT OF PARENTS AND THEWIDER COMMUNITY

Parental involvement is crucial to astudent’s success in school. Theinvolvement of parents in the formaleducation of their children complementsand acknowledges their central role in thechild’s development. Parents may feelreluctant about approaching their child’sschool. This may be particularly an issuefor parents from minority ethnic groups orfor those whose first language is not thatof the school. In order to improve schoolcontact with all parents and the widercommunity, schools might consider

• supporting the work of the parents’association and encouraging theassociation to become involved in thedevelopment of school policies and plans


SCHOOL PLANNING 3

http://www.studentcouncil.ie

• providing information to parents in away which takes account of the existenceof a diversity of literacy levels as well ascultural and linguistic diversity. Forexample, parent-teacher meetings, schoolhandbook, inviting parents in to theschool for special events

• providing opportunities for informalmeetings of staff and parents andestablishing parent—teacher contact thatoffers opportunities to discuss andunderstand each other’s points of view

• addressing parental fears and concerns• inviting parents to become involved in

extra-curricular activities or interculturalevents

• identifying opportunities where parentsand other members of the community cansupport the school, for example, languagesupport, translation, homework clubs

• developing strategies to involve the widercommunity in an intercultural approach,for example, inviting individuals orcommunity groups that may have aparticular area of expertise.

SCHOOL PLANNING FOR AN INTERCULTURALSCHOOL

School planning for an intercultural schoolcan be incorporated into school planningwork which is being started in schools or isalready underway. Each school communitywill be at a different stage in the schooldevelopment planning process and will alsohave different conceptions of the mostappropriate way of developing an inclusiveand intercultural school. These differenceswill affect the way in which each schoolcommunity engages in the planning process.

In the Department of Education andScience’s School Planning: Developing aSchool Plan-Guidelines for Second LevelSchools, it is suggested that there are fourmain stages that might be considered byschools: review of current practice and

provision, design of a plan, implementationand evaluation. These stages form acyclical process, which continuallyunderpin the work of the school. Furtherdetails on the review, design,implementation and evaluation process canbe accessed in the support materialsprovided by the School DevelopmentPlanning Initiative (www.sdpi.ie).

There are many approaches to schooldevelopment planning and it is importantthat the school community adopts anapproach that suits its particular situation.However, sometimes it can be difficult toknow where to start. The followingguidelines may give some ideas about howa school might include an interculturalperspective in school planning.

The planning process should assist all themembers of the school community indeveloping an inclusive and interculturalschool that addresses the needs of all itsstudents. The planning process shouldinclude the following:

• conducting an intercultural schoolreview

• including an intercultural awareness inthe school mission, policy and actionplan

• implementing the school plan• monitoring and evaluating the action

plan.

The school review

As an initial step in the planning process itis useful to engage in a review of where theschool is positioned at the moment inrelation to being inclusive andintercultural. To this end the schoolcommunity could engage in anintercultural school review. The SchoolReview Checklist (Figure 2) could be usedas a model for planning this review.


http://www.sdpi.ie


SCHOOL PLANNING 3

FIGURE 2: SCHOOL REVIEW CHECKLIST

For each question place a tick in the appropriate box. The more positive answers the moreintercultural the school context is. Negative answers identify opportunities for furtherdevelopment. Use them to make a list of what you need to do, and try to set achievabledeadlines for addressing these issues.

YES TO SOME NOT EXTENT YET

School mission or vision

Is the mission statement written in such a way that it is easy for all in the school community to understand?

Does the mission or vision include a commitment to help each student towards achieving his or her full potential?

Does it reflect the principles of equality and diversity?

Does it promote a positive self-concept for each student?

Current practice

Do all aspects of the school plan have an intercultural perspective?

Are school organisational and administrative procedures fair and considerate of the needs of all students?

Is the language of the school, both spoken and written, inclusive of all cultures?

Is the school environment, both physical and social, inclusive of all cultures?

Is the school complying with the relevant legislation in this area?

Other issues to consider

How have our practices changed in light of cultural diversity in recent years?

What intercultural issues are staff most concerned with at the moment?

Who should be involved in drawing up a plan for an intercultural school?

What aspects of school policy and practice need to be addressed?

What resource documents should be referred to in the planning process?

What resources, human and capital, are employed to facilitate intercultural education?

Developing a school mission, policy and plan

Once the review has taken place decisionscan be made as to what needs to be donenext. It is important to pick the issues thatare of most relevance to the school at thistime and to include some issues that can beaddressed quite quickly so that the schoolcommunity can see something happeningin the short term. This is not to underminethe importance of addressing the biggerissues that may take longer to happen, asthese are likely to effect the more long-term changes in school culture that willhave the greatest impact.

The school mission

The fundamental purpose of the schooldevelopment plan is to improve the qualityof teaching and learning for all thestudents in the school. The missionstatement will reflect the ethos of theschool community and encapsulate theaspirations, expectations and traditions ofthe school. In formulating this mission andin reflecting on its own ethos, the schoolcommunity will build a shared vision ofhow it can help each child towardsachieving his or her full potential. A schoolphilosophy that accommodates principlesof equality, diversity and the promotion ofa positive self-concept and personal well-being for each individual is likely to ensurea supportive environment in which theparticular educational needs of all youngpeople may be met.

All schools have a sense of mission orvision. In some schools this will have beenconsidered as part of the schooldevelopment process and will be clearlyarticulated. Other schools may not havereached a stage where they have formalisedthe mission statement but nonetheless mayhave a clear sense of what the school isabout. Therefore, in reviewing the school’s

provision for the education of all studentsin an inclusive and intercultural school,considering the mission statement andcharacteristic spirit of the school may be agood place to start.

School organisation and management

The school planning process facilitates theformulation of basic policies in relation toimportant routines and procedures of dailyschool organisation and management.Consistency in the implementation ofagreed policies greatly assists in theeffective running of the school. The schoolplan incorporates a coherent set of generalpolicies that reflect the particular situationin which the school operates. Schools mayhave policies on

• school enrolment and admissions• school code of behaviour and anti-

bullying policy• programme and subject choices• religious education• involvement of parents in the school and

home-school-community liaison• the allocation of specialist resources• assessment• the special responsibilities of the staff of

the school• school uniform• healthy eating• tours and extra curricular activities• homework• learning support• home-school partnership• induction and reception of new students.

All schools are required under theEducation Act (1998) to ensure that theschool plan supports principles of equalityof access and participation. Theseprinciples should be reflected in theschool’s general organisational policies andthe school plan should formally set out themeasures the school proposes to take toachieve these objectives. One way to


ensure this is addressed at all stages ofschool planning and policy making is tohave an Intercultural Education headingfor every section of the School Plan, andfor each policy addressed therein. As partof the planning process, reference shouldbe made to

• the Education Act (1998)• the Education (Welfare) Act (2000)• the Equal Status Act (2000)• Education for Persons with Special

Educational Needs Act (2004).

Curriculum and assessment

How the school manages curriculum andassessment is informed by its educationalaims and objectives. The school’s broadcurriculum programme should besufficiently comprehensive and flexible toensure that the needs of all students arecatered for.

Intercultural education promotes anengagement with a diversity of cultures forstudents of all ethnic groups and religions.As such, students of ethnic groups(minorities and majority) become aware ofand develop intercultural attitudes towards adiversity of cultures at the same time and inthe same way. It should be noted however,that the Education Act does not ‘require anystudent to attend instruction in any subjectswhich is contrary to the conscience of theparent of the student or in the case of thestudent who has reached 18 years, thestudent’. The place of intercultural educationin the school’s mission and the value to allstudents of engagement with a diversity ofcultures should play a key role in decision-making on subject options and a schoolassessment policy. Such a context is alsoimportant in discussing that work withparents. Collaborative planning in relationto the intercultural dimension of somesubject areas will greatly enhance theplanning process.

Please refer to Chapter 5 for furtherinformation on the planning of lessoncontent and to Chapter 7 for furtherdetails on assessment and cultural diversity.

Including intercultural education in all areasof school planning

In addition to ensuring that anintercultural perspective is brought toreviewing existing elements of the schoolplan, there are other areas that need to beaddressed in order to ensure that theschool is an inclusive school. They includethe following:

• incorporating an intercultural and anti-discrimination approach to staffdevelopment

• ensuring equality of access andparticipation

• promoting intercultural education in theclassroom

• recording and reporting racist incidents• creating an inclusive physical and social

environment in the school• providing language support• providing age-appropriate placement of

newcomer students in class groups• selecting appropriate resource material

for learning and teaching• celebrating special events in the

calendars of a diversity of cultures• developing a communication policy:

within the school, between school andhome, and between home and school

• developing a school charter thatcelebrates diversity and promotesequality.

A review process that looks at the school’spractice in response to these issues willenable the school community to establishclear development priorities and toundertake specific action planningactivities that will enhance the educationalprovision for all students.


SCHOOL PLANNING 3

Action planning

The school may choose to respond to theneed to develop an intercultural schoolculture by beginning with an action planmodel as used in the School DevelopmentPlanning Support materials (detailsavailable on www.sdpi.ie). The action planis a working document that describes andsummarises what needs to be done toimplement and evaluate a priority. It servesas a guide to implementation and helps tomonitor progress and success. Theadvantages of using the action plan as atool for a whole school approach are thatrepresentatives of the whole schoolcommunity may be involved in differentelements of the process. The school canwork on a number of areas at the one timeas different groups can work on a varietyof tasks, and the plan can focus on makingsome things happen quickly. Some schoolsmay have had their own action plans inplace already and therefore may be readyfor a broader planning approach.

Some of the key components of the actionplan are

• outlining the roles and responsibilities ofthe various personnel in relation to theactions

• identifying the resources needed• setting targets and success criteria• specifying a timeframe• putting in place procedures for

monitoring and evaluation.

Implementing the action plan

Having developed an action plan, themembers of the school community willengage in the process of implementation.The identification of roles, targets, successcriteria and a timeframe, through theaction plan model, will facilitate the schoolin turning policies into practice. In theimplementation phase, not all actions will

happen simultaneously. Areas identified aspriority may be dealt with first, with theschool culture becoming increasinglyintercultural as work in these areasprogresses and other areas of interculturalwork are focused on. It may happen thatin the course of the implementation newissues arise and require attention.Implementation must, therefore, be flexibleto respond to changing circumstanceswhile remaining true to the mission andpolicies that incorporate the school’sintercultural perspective.

Monitoring and evaluating the school action plan

The plan should include a procedure formonitoring, review and evaluation by agiven date. Successful implementationshould contribute towards

• promoting greater awareness ofinterculturalism;

• helping all students to achieve theirpotential;

• promoting a supportive and inclusivelearning environment which will fosterthe development of the self-esteem of allstudents;

• breaking down of stereotypes andcelebrating diversity.

As the school planning process is cyclical,this evaluation will inform a further phaseof review, planning and implementation.

Using a school development planning modelto develop a physical and social schoolenvironment inclusive of all learners

Important messages are conveyed to allthose who enter the school, whether asteacher, visitor, parent or student, by thephysical and social environment of theschool. This environment includes thelearning experience in individualclassrooms (see Chapter 4), the visual


http://www.sdpi.ie

environment, the learning resourcesavailable in libraries, the extra-curricularactivities encouraged, the languageenvironment, school policies and how theyare implemented and how special eventsare celebrated. Intercultural education isnot confined to a single subject within thecurriculum, or indeed to the learningexperience within the classroom. It is embedded in the practices anddispositions that make up the classroomand school climate, and in all aspects ofschool life and the hidden curriculum.Planning the physical and socialenvironment of the school will be a keycomponent of school developmentplanning. In this example, the first twostages of the school development planningmodel are described in relation to this area.Stages three and four (implementation andevaluation) will evolve as the processmoves into practice.

Planning an intercultural physical and social environment

The messages that are communicatedthrough the physical environment of theschool are important. Inclusive schools arecharacterised by learning environmentsthat reflect and show pride in the language,ethnic and cultural diversity thatcharacterises Ireland. As such, they providea support for the positive self-image of allstudents irrespective of their ethnicity, aswell as reinforcing the normality ofdiversity for all children. The examplesquoted in Chapter 4 on planning thephysical environment in the classroom canbe adapted to the planning of the schoolenvironment also.

The physical environment

Some of the key issues involved in planningthe physical environment include

• representing diversity as a normal partof Irish life and human existence

• ensuring that representations of minoritygroups do not focus on the spectacularor colourful events, as this may lead tostereotyping and may counteract thedesire to represent diversity as normal

• ensuring that all students irrespective oftheir colour, ethnic group, religion orability can feel at home and representedwithin the school.

The social environment

The student’s social environment isimportant in making them feel welcomeand comfortable within the school. For allstudents, arriving in a new school has thepotential to be both a stressful and excitingexperience.

For students from some minority ethnicgroups (Irish-Chinese or Travellers forexample), the dissonance between thesocial, linguistic and cultural environmentsof the home and school may be a source ofacute tension. For students who havenewly arrived in Ireland the unfamiliarityand stress of the situation may becompounded. Even in the case of olderstudents, the differences between theorganisation of education in Ireland and intheir country of origin may make their firstcontacts with Irish education a bewilderingexperience. Differences between educationsystems are commonly found in

• the age at which children start school• the subjects and topics which are

covered• the age at which subjects are covered• the sequence in which they are covered• the approach to homework• the amount of noise or activity which is

acceptable in the classroom• commonly used discipline strategies• commonly used teaching strategies


SCHOOL PLANNING 3


Reviewing the school social and physical environment from an intercultural perspective

FIGURE 3: SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT REVIEW CHECKLIST



Physical environment

Are the diverse cultures and ethnic groups of Ireland and of the school represented in pictures, multilingual signs, and other elements in the school’s physical environment?

Social environment

Are routines in place for welcoming new students, for assisting them in becoming part of the school and for ensuring that their culture is affirmed in the environment?

Are there procedures in place for ensuring that the capabilities and needs of new students are recognised?

Are school routines and expectations made explicit in a waythat can be understood by all?

Are there procedures in place for dealing with racist incidents?Is there a variety of extra-curricular activities to choose from?

Are special events planned to be as inclusive as possible of all the cultures in the school?

Is there recognition given to important festivals and special days of all the cultures in the school?

Are members of minority ethnic groups encouraged to develop a positive sense of their identity?

Has the school a proactive response to racist behaviour or incidents that seeks to reduce conflict and promote interpersonal skills?

Choosing resources

Is there a method for vetting the appropriateness of images andmessages contained in school texts and other resources?


SCHOOL PLANNING 3

• physical layout and design of the schoolbuildings

• the length of the school day.

In aiding students, whatever their ethnicityor background, in becoming accustomed toa new education system and a new schoolthe main concerns should be

• to create an environment which isexperienced as warm, welcoming andpositive

• to enable the person to be seen by othersand to see herself or himself in a positiveway in the classroom

• to enable the student to learn the waysof the school and the education systemas soon as is practicable.

SCHOOL PROCEDURES FOR NEW CHILDREN

It is valuable to take time to explain schoolprocedures to new students and theirparents at an early stage. Try to find out asmuch as you can about newly arrivingstudents, their capacities and theirparticular needs. An enrolment form maybe developed which requests the sameinformation in relation to all studentsirrespective of their ethnicity orbackground. Issues which may not have aplace on such a form (the pronunciation ofnames or some key words in the student’sfirst language, for example) may arise indiscussion with parents or guardiansconcerning the education of their children.

Important information includes

• the correct pronunciation of their name(being able to pronounce a student’sname as it is used by their family orguardians correctly, without shorteningit or using nicknames, is important inaffirming to them and to other pupilsthat they belong and that their language,while different, is accepted)

• their language abilities and needs (inmany countries it is normal for peopleto have two or three languages)

• a few key words in their first language,if possible (hello, welcome, well done/very good, please/ thank you, join in,stop, etc.)

• their religion, a basic understanding ofhow they practice it (not all members ofany given religion will practice theirreligion in the same way), and whetherthat has implications for classroomplanning (for example, whether physicalcontact between pupils might be deemedinappropriate in Drama or PE, whetherproducing representations of the humanbody or religious symbols may beinappropriate in Visual Arts, whether popmusic might be inappropriate in Music)

• whether there are any subjects thestudent will not be taking (theEducation Act does not ‘require anystudent to attend instruction in anysubjects which is contrary to theconscience of the parent of the studentor in the case of the student who hasreached 18 years, the student’. Inaddition, the student may, under somecircumstances, be exempt from learningIrish under the Department of Educationand Science’s Circular 10/94).

CHECKLIST: WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BEGATHERED WHEN A NEW STUDENT COMESINTO THE SCHOOL?

How are the names of the student andtheir parents correctly pronounced?

What language(s) does the student have,and what is their level of proficiency inthese language(s)?

How does one say some key phrases inthe student’s first language, such as agreeting, ‘please/thank you’, ‘join in’,‘stop’, ‘well done/very good’ etc?

Are there subjects the student will not betaking and what will they be doing duringthose times?

Are there any cultural practices thatmight affect classroom interaction? Are there actions which are deemedinappropriate or rude in the student’shome culture but which may not causeoffence to members of the dominantethnic group, or vice versa (showingsomeone an open palm or the soles of thefoot may be rude in some cultures; achild making eye contact with an adultmay be rude in some African cultureswhile in Traveller culture children oftenspeak very directly and openly to adults,something which is sometimes seen asrude in schools; standing close to aperson may be deemed rude in somecultures, while it may be normal inothers, etc.)?

How is teaching the student the cultureof the school to be handled?

What is the student’s religion, how is itpractised, and has this any implicationsfor classroom planning?

Will there be specific issues for studentsconcerning, food, jewellery or clothing(for example, the range of tastes cateredfor by the school canteen or thesymbolism of the school crest on theschool uniform)?


Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

Our interpretations of parents who caremay simply be parents who are like us,parents who feel comfortable in theteacher’s domain. (Finders and Lewis, 1994)

Parental involvement is a key factor in aschool successfully welcoming andincluding students from diversebackgrounds. This too can be one of thebiggest challenges. Low-income, immigrantand minority parents tend to participateless than white middle-class parents of thedominant culture in formal activitiesorganised to promote communicationbetween school and home. This is notbecause they care less about their childrenbut in the context of an increasinglydiverse community, many parents may beuneasy fitting in with current models ofparental involvement in schools. Forexample, parents may not feel comfortabletalking to teachers in the school if Englishis not their first language. Instead ofexpecting parents to participate in theschool in ways that may place them insituations where they may feeluncomfortable, schools can reach out toparents in two ways.

• Find appropriate ways to invite parentsinto the school building, to encouragedirect contact with teachers, and toestablish genuine two-way dialogue. TheParent’s Association may have a role toplay here.

• Support parents by sharing with themsome of the strategies that can be usedat home to promote school success, forexample, parents showing an interest inthe student’s learning, setting aside timeand space for study in the home, etc.

CHECKLIST FOR IMPROVING PARENTALINVOLVEMENT

The school is creative and flexible infinding ways to invite parents into theschool (such as involving parents in aFestival of Cultures, sports activities orart/music activities within the school).

Written communication with parents is ina language they understand.

Sensitivity is shown to the linguistic andcultural background of parents in theplanning of parent-teacher meetings.

Parent networks are established as ameans of communication and support.

Parent-teacher communication consists ofa two-way flow.

Parents are invited to help the school inways that are appropriate.

Organised community groups play a rolein the school.

Parents receive advice on how to helptheir children at home.

Adapted from Elizabeth Coelho, Teachingand Learning in Multicultural Schools,1998, p.120.

33

SCHOOL PLANNING 3

Classroom Planning

4

35

Intercultural education provides benefits toall students, whether they are members ofthe majority community or members of aminority ethnic group. Although particularissues may emerge in classrooms wherethere are students from minority ethnicbackgrounds, for example, specificlanguage needs or the need to preventdiscrimination, the development of anintercultural classroom environment willbe of value to all students. Irrespective ofthe cultural or ethnic make-up of theschool environment it will aid theirunderstanding of the normality of diversityand help them to develop theirimagination, their critical thinking skills,their ability to recognise and deal withprejudice and discrimination, and theirsocial skills.

This chapter looks at the development ofan intercultural classroom. It explores thedevelopment of an intercultural context in

• reviewing the classroom environment• building a co-operative learning

environment• welcoming a new student• creating a supportive language

environment.

REVIEWING THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

As Chapter 2 identified, interculturaleducation is not confined to a singlecurriculum area, or indeed to areas withinthe ‘formal curriculum’. It is embedded inthe practices and dispositions that informboth the classroom climate and the ‘hiddencurriculum’.

The same process which is used in planningfor a school community and which wasdescribed in Chapter 3 (the review-plan-implement-evaluate process) can be used forplanning the physical and social environmentof the classroom as well as lessons.


CLASSROOM PLANNING

The key idea…was to take what we are already doing in the classroomand take it one step further by exploring the knowledge, skills andattitudes of intercultural education through these lessons. By seeing theopportunities that exist in our lessons for intercultural perspective, wecan easily make our lessons intercultural…The opportunities for anintercultural perspective are always in our lessons but can be easilymissed if we don’t look for them.

(The teachers involved in the Celebrating Difference: Promoting Equality Project)

4


CLASSROOM PLANNING 4

Use this exercise to review current practices.

CLASSROOM REVIEW CHECKLIST




Physical environment

Do the pictures, images, and displays in the classroom and school physical environment reflect in a current and accurate way the cdiverse ultures and ethnic groups of Ireland and of the school?

Social environment

Are routines in place for welcoming new students, for assisting them in becoming part of the class, for ensuring that their cultureis affirmed in the environment and for ensuring that their capabilities and needs are recognised?

Are classroom routines made explicit to all students?

Can students and teachers properly pronounce each other’s names?

Do students engage in co-operative learning activities which enable them to recognise and benefit from each others strengths?

Do students share responsibility for classroom organisation and for ensuring that all feel welcome and included?

Are members of minority ethnic groups affirmed in a positive sense of their identity?

Have strategies for dealing with discriminatory behaviour been considered and put in place?

Has consideration being given to ensuring appropriate language and interactions between teachers and pupils?

Is a supportive environment created for second language learners?

Choosing resources

Is there a method for vetting the appropriateness of images and messages contained in school texts and other resources?

PLANNING THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OFTHE CLASSROOM

The messages that are communicatedthrough the physical environment of theschool and classroom are important. Theyare often the first messages that parentsand pupils receive in a school, and theyremain as a constant reminder of theperson’s place in the school. Interculturalclassrooms are characterised by learningenvironments that reflect and show pridein the language, ethnic and culturaldiversity that characterises Ireland. Theyshould provide a support for the positiveself-image of all students, irrespective oftheir ethnicity, as well as reinforcing thenormality of diversity for all children.

Some of the key issues involved in planning the physical environment of theclassroom are

• representing diversity as a normal partof Irish life and human existence

• ensuring that representations of minoritygroups do not focus on ‘spectacular’ or‘colourful’ events

• ensuring that all students irrespective oftheir colour, religion, ethnic group, orability can feel at home and representedwithin the classroom.

Some areas for attention include

• classroom displays• textbooks and other resource materials• classroom behaviour and structures.

Classroom displays should representdiversity in Ireland in a positive way.

• Images displayed might includerepresentations of people from diverseethnic and cultural backgrounds.Sufficient images from minority ethnicgroups should be used to ensure that thedominance of the majority ethnic group

in images of Ireland in everyday life isbalanced. Care should be taken toensure that there are also balancedrepresentations of different age, gender,and social class and ability groups.

• The images should be chosen to reflectaccurately people’s current daily lives inIreland, rather than focusing solely oncolourful events like feasts or festivals orover-relying on images from othercountries. This will help to overcomestereotypes.

• Class displays might represent positiverole models drawn from the diverseethnic, cultural, gender, social class andability groups that make up Ireland.

• Artwork and cultural displays, includingthe students’ own work, should bedrawn from a range of culturaltraditions.

• Writing signs and notices in both Irishand English has long been commonpractice in many Irish schools.Expanding this practice to recognise theother languages of the school in this waywill be of value.

• Signs, notices and announcementsshould reflect and affirm the languagediversity of the class and should supportthe needs of second language learners.As such, notices may be in a range oflanguages (Irish, English and, asappropriate, Cant/Gammon,Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian or Yoruba, for example).

Choosing textbook and other resource materials

The influence of textbooks on studentattitudes is well documented. It has beenfound that the words and pictures not onlyexpress ideas-they are part of theeducational experience that shapes ideas.For example, how members of minoritygroups or women are treated in textbooksinfluences student attitudes and values.Favourable stories engender more positive


attitudes; unfavourable stories engendermore negative attitudes. Bias in textbookscan be conveyed in a number of ways. Thefour most common forms of bias areinaccuracy, stereotyping, omissions anddistortions and biased language usage.Developing the ability to recognise bias is akey skill for helping students becomecritical readers for life. This skill should befostered not just in relation to readingtextbooks but also in relation to using theinternet, films, videos and other media.

There are a growing number ofintercultural education packs available inIreland as well as resources in the relatedareas of human rights, conflict and peaceand development education. TheDevelopment Education Unit ofDevelopment Co-operation Ireland (Dept.of Foreign Affairs) produces an annualguide to available resources that may be ofuse to teachers. Pavee Point also produceslists of resources that promote equality anddiversity in schools. (See the resource listfor an extensive list of resources.)

In many cases teachers do not need to lookbeyond their existing texts and curriculumdocuments to find the necessary resources.Where existing resources offer limitedopportunities to explore difference, topromote equality or to develop criticalthinking skills, this can, in itself be turnedinto a resource. Through questioning whatperspectives are missing and how the samematerial or event might be presented orviewed differently or though comparingtexts with other possible source materials,teachers can use limited material to developpupils’ capacity to think about the way inwhich information is presented to them.

The following checklist will be of use inchoosing and using texts or resources foruse in the class. These issues apply equallyto fictional and factual resources. Forexample, questions regarding the

representation of a diversity of ethnicgroups apply as much to an Englishlanguage reader as they do to a Geographytextbook.

The resource should make realisticassumptions about the backgroundknowledge of the learners.

• Does it choose examples, stories orillustrations, which are predominantlydrawn from one culture, or does it usestories, examples and illustrations thatmight be familiar to different groups ofchildren from their home life?

• If the material is biased, how can theteacher mediate this to bridge the gapbetween the starting point of the pupiland that of the resource?

The resource should realistically andpositively reflect a diversity of ethnicgroups in its text, illustrations andexercises.

• Are there sufficient representations ofmembers of minority ethnic groups usedto ensure that the dominance of themajority ethnic group in images ofIreland in everyday life is balanced?

• Are the images chosen to reflectaccurately people’s current daily lives?

• Are minority ethnic groups or peoplefrom other countries represented instereotypical ways (for example, areAfricans largely depicted as living inpoverty and in need of aid, are NativeAmericans depicted largely in terms offrontier wars and struggles, are membersof minority groups depicted largely interms of their feasts or festivals)?

• Are particular groups represented onlyin terms of their membership of thatgroup (for example, are Travellersrepresented in ‘ordinary’ mathsquestions or stories, or do they onlyappear when minority issues are underdiscussion)?



• Are pejorative or evaluative terms (likesavage / primitive / unusual / crafty /corrupt / docile) used to describe peoplefrom other countries or members ofminority ethnic groups?

• Are members of different ethnic groups(as well as men and women) shownengaged in a variety of differentactivities (different jobs, working athome, engaged in leisure activities)?

• If the material available is biased, howcan the teacher use such materials inorder to sensitise students to bias inimages and texts?

The bias in the resource should beidentifiable and transparent.

• Does the resource represent white ormiddle class culture or lifestyles as beingthe ‘normal’ one? (for example, ageography text dealing with European

countries may or may not recognise andidentify that significant numbers ofEuropeans are non-Christians ormembers of ethnic minorities, whilemany popular comic book stories havefew, if any, members of ethnic minoritiesrepresented).

• Are pejorative or evaluative terms usedas if they were unbiased descriptions(for example, George Washington andMichael Collins could both be describedas either ‘patriots’ or ‘terrorists’,depending on your perspective.Likewise, terms like ‘progress’ or‘developed’, when applied to cultures,depend on the perspective of the writer).

• If perspectives are not presented clearlyas perspectives, how can the teacher usesuch materials in order to sensitisestudents to bias in images and texts?


The resource should make it possible toraise and discuss issues of equality,inequality, human rights, discrimination,conflict and conflict resolution and thevalue of diversity.

• Does the resource contain informationor stories which highlight interculturalissues?

• Does it contain positive role models ofpeople who engaged in justice struggles,both political leaders (like Gandhi orNelson Mandela or Nan Joyce) as wellas ‘ordinary’ women, men and children?

Apart from justice struggles, the resourceshould refer to and depict experts andpeople in positions of authority as drawnfrom a range of ethnic groups andcountries of origin, where appropriate.

• Are the scientists, historians, politiciansor other people who are identified ashaving made a contribution to ourworld drawn from a variety of ethnicgroups?

• Are members of minority ethnic groupsrepresented only in terms of theirmembership of that group (for example,are people from India or Afro-Americans represented for a range ofcontributions to society or are they onlyrepresented when they are people whofought for Indian or Afro-Americanrights)?

The resource should also contain sufficientbalanced representations of men andwomen, people of different ages andpeople with a disability.

• Are men and women depicted asdisplaying the full range of humanemotions and behaviours?

• Are members of minority ethnic groupsor people with a disability shown in avariety of settings?

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOUR AND STRUCTURES

Many of the more interesting interculturalmoments are those that are unplanned-moments arising from incidents in theschool or issues raised by childrenthemselves. These incidentals orunplanned moments offer a great chance for dialogue and often providesome of the best opportunities forintercultural education.(Quote from a teacher involved in the Celebrating Difference: Promoting Equality project.)

The interactions which take place withinthe classroom will be framed by a set ofagreed rules of classroom behaviour, whichemphasise that classroom members treateach other with respect. This respect willbe further emphasised through beingembedded in the minute interactions ofclassroom life.

Students sometimes respond to diversity (forexample, in skin colour, physical features,language or names) with discomfort andmay identify diversity as abnormal. Theymay also respond out of prejudice. Suchresponses might include laughing, name-calling, shunning or aggression. Suchresponses offer one opportunity forengaging in intercultural work.

In approaching such incidents it can beuseful for the teacher to

• intervene immediately, rather thanignoring it or waiting to see if thebehaviour will change on its own;

• challenge the ideas-not the person;• gently make clear that certain behaviour

or responses are inappropriate by makingreference to the agreed rules of classroombehaviour doing so in a way which doesnot leave the students who have engagedin discrimination likely to withdraw fromconversing with the teacher;



• support the student who was the target ofdiscriminatory behaviour, and with dueregard to the sensitivities of otherstudents, affirm them with specificreference to the focus of the othersstudent’s discrimination. For example, ifother students have made fun of theirname, identify that their name is beautifuland that millions of people world-widewould love to have that name;

• enable students who engage indiscriminating behaviour to relate tohow they would feel if they werediscriminated against in a similar way;

• help students identify why they wereuncomfortable with difference. Forexample, identify if there is amisconception or a prejudiced beliefwhich underlies their actions andaddress these causes immediately, and if,appropriate, in on-going work.

(These suggestions draw on the work ofDerman-Sparks’ (1989) The Anti-BiasCurriculum.)

Teachers can, through their interactionwith students, provide unintentionalinappropriate cues to students. They may,for example, find it difficult to pronounceunfamiliar names or identify appropriatelanguage for referring to ethnic groupssuch as not knowing whether to refer tosomeone as black, white or a Traveller.Teachers may also have unconsciously heldideas about the normality of culturalartefacts (‘normal’ homes, ‘normal’ food,‘normal’ hairstyles etc.). In order toprevent inappropriate messages beinginadvertently transmitted to students, it isvaluable for teachers to reflect on theirown language and interactions in theclassroom as part of the process ofreviewing the classroom environment.

BUILDING A CO-OPERATIVE LEARNINGENVIRONMENT

Traditional classroom organisationemphasises individualistic, competitivevalues. However, alternative approaches toclassroom organisation, based on acooperative model, can produce positiveacademic and social outcomes for nearlyall students.

Co-operative learning opportunities givepupils an opportunity to work closely withpeople from different social, ethnic orability groups. Co-operative learningshould give rise to frequent, meaningfuland positive contact in which the diversityof skills and capacities of differentmembers of the group are brought to thefore and can be recognised. Suchinterpersonal contact provides a key site oflearning. Relationships between students ofdifferent groups have been demonstrated toimprove significantly if mixed-group co-operative learning strategies are used,irrespective of the content that is covered.In addition, ethnic minority students haveshown greater academic gains incooperative settings than in traditionalclassrooms. Through the use of mixed-group co-operative learning strategies,every subject can provide an opportunityfor children to develop interculturalcompetence, irrespective of its content.

Placing people in a position where a skillcould be practised will not always besufficient to ensure it is learned. Forexample, making books available is noguarantee that someone will learn to read.This is also true of the social skills andattributes which give rise to intrapersonaland intercultural competence. Simplyorganising students in groups is noguarantee that they will learn how toengage in co-operative learning.


Care should be taken to ensure thatstudents are given an opportunity toidentify and learn the understandings andcapacities that will enable them to workconstructively as part of a group. Theseinclude

• specific co-operative behaviours such asasking questions, listening, speakingclearly and concisely, explaining reasons,etc.

• the social norms for group work, suchas taking turns to contribute, engagingin planning, evaluation, and working indifferent roles such as chair or recorder

• the understandings and skills specific toconflict resolution, such as recognisingthe value of different views, de-personalising conflicts of opinion,identifying common interests andinventing opportunities for mutual gain.

When organising groups and tasks it isimportant to ensure that there areopportunities in the assigned tasks forpeople to positively contribute to thegroup, and that no-one should becharacterised as needing to be ‘carried’ bythe group. The group work process mayneed to be supported by the teacher inorder to maximise co-operation andinclusiveness. In the context of promotingan inclusive classroom environment it isbetter that classroom duties andresponsibilities are shared by all ratherthan by a small select group of students.All students can take turns in such tasks ascollecting homework, checking attendance,distributing materials and equipment,room set-up, welcoming visitors, etc.



WELCOMING A NEW STUDENT

The importance of supporting studentsentering a new school has been identifiedin a range of research with ‘students fromlower income and minority ethnic groupsfound to be potentially more “at risk” inmaking the transition to post-primaryschool’ (Gutman and Midgley, 2000).Recent research exploring students’transition from first to second level schoolsin Ireland has shown that students tend tosettle quicker and experience lessdifficulties in schools where moredeveloped student integration programmesexist and

students from non-national or Travellerbackgrounds report more transitiondifficulties than other students. (ESRI/NCCA, 2004. p.283)

There are a number of ways in which aclassroom teacher can help support theintegration of a new student.

• Introduce new students in a positiveway, focusing on their capacities(“Goran speaks Croatian fluently, andalso speaks some English”) rather thanon their needs (“Goran doesn’t speakEnglish well”).

• Provide structured opportunities for newstudents to work with other students forthe first few days. Where languageallows, this can be done through pairedwork or group activities in most classes.Where there is not a shared spokenlanguage, art, music or drama activitiesprovide ideal opportunities.

• If possible, seat those who are beginningto learn English with someone whospeaks their first language for the firstfew weeks. If there is no-one who speakstheir first language in the class, it maybe possible to introduce the student toanother member of the schoolcommunity (another pupil, for example)who speaks their first language duringbreak time or at lunch time during theschool day. These arrangements shouldbe discontinued after a few weeks, inorder to ensure that the newly-arrivedstudent has an opportunity to developrelationships with his or her classmates.

• Establish routines in the class which areclear and explicit and which can belearned and understood by students whoare new to the peculiarities of the Irisheducation system or who are learningthe language of instruction as a second-language. This will provide some basisof familiarity, which will allow pupils tolearn the ways in which the schoolsystem works.

• Support all the students in developing aninclusive community in the classroom(rather than one in which the teachersimply polices and preventsdiscrimination) by identifying howstudents can make each othercomfortable and feel that they belong.This may mean that the students willagree strategies which they themselvesutilise to ensure that no one in theirclass is excluded.


CHECKLIST: WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD THESUBJECT TEACHER HAVE WHEN A NEWSTUDENT JOINS THE CLASS?

How are the names of the student andtheir parents correctly pronounced?

What language(s) does the student have,and what is their level of proficiency inthese language(s)?

How does one say some key phrases inthe student’s first language, such as agreeting, ‘please/thank you’, ‘join in’,‘stop’, ‘well done/very good’, etc?

Are there subjects the student will not betaking and what will they be doing duringthose times?

Are there any cultural practices thatmight affect classroom interaction? Arethere actions which are deemedinappropriate or rude in the student’shome culture but which may not causeoffence to members of the dominantethnic group, or vice versa (showingsomeone an open palm or the soles of thefoot may be rude in some cultures; ayoung person making eye contact with anadult may be rude in some Africancultures while in Traveller culture youngpeople often speak very directly andopenly to adults, something which issometimes seen as rude in schools;standing close to a person may bedeemed rude in some cultures, while itmay be normal in others etc.)? How isteaching the student the culture of theschool to be handled?

What is the student’s religion, how is itpractised, and has this any implicationsfor classroom planning?

Will the student have specificrequirements concerning food, jewelleryor clothing (for example, the range oftastes catered for by the school canteenor the symbolism of the schools crest onthe school uniform)?

CREATING A SUPPORTIVE LANGUAGEENVIRONMENT

Language is a key component of a person’sidentity as well as playing a central part inthe learning process. Ireland is, and hashistorically been, characterised by linguisticdiversity, with both Irish and Englishexisting as first languages. To this must beadded the range of languages of recentimmigrants. The right to have one’s ownlanguage is important in enabling people todevelop a strong positive self-image. Peoplealso generally find it easier to developcomplex thinking in their first language.For both ethical and educational reasons,then, it is important that the student’s firstlanguage is valued and affirmed within theschool context. It is also important tocreate an environment that supports thelearning of a second language.

Learning in a multi-lingual environmentcan be a positive experience for allstudents. It highlights concretely thediversity of languages and cultures in theworld and, as such, constitutes animportant resource for developingintercultural capacities and abilities in allstudents irrespective of their ethnicity.

Recognition and affirmation of thestudent’s first language can be achievedthrough

• the teacher and students learning some key words or phrases (greetings,simple instructions, etc.) in the students’first language

• communicating positive attitudestowards linguistic diversity and multi-lingual student’s skills andrecognising the capacities of secondlanguage learners rather than identifyingthem primarily as people with ‘languageneeds’

• providing multilingual resources where possible.



For learners of a second language, it isimportant to provide a range of cues andsupports in order to enable them tounderstand the language that is being used.Gesture, other non-verbal means ofcommunication and pictures can be auseful support to a second language learnerin understanding what is being said. The class community can become aresource for learners of a second language,and can, in the process, develop importantintercultural capacities and abilities.

Some of the strategies for doing this are asfollows:

• Ensure that all students understand thatthe classroom is a place in which peoplelearn the language of instruction at thesame time as they learn other subjects(History, Mathematics, etc.). Explain theimportance of a supportive environmentwhere people can speak and makemistakes without fear of ridicule.

• Suggest ways in which the students cansupport and help their classmates, suchas repeating or rephrasing statements, orusing gesture, pictures or written words.

• Model and role-play strategies forasking for clarification and forconfirming comprehension.




“ Interculturalclassrooms arelearning environmentsthat reflect and showpride in the language,ethnic and culturaldiversity thatcharacterisesIreland...”

Intercultural EducationAcross the Curriculum

5

49

5.1 Integrated thematicplanning of lesson content

As stated at the beginning of Chapter 2,the content of intercultural education iscompatible with the aims and objectives ofpost-primary education. As such,intercultural education is relevant to allsubject areas. The integration ofintercultural content across a variety ofsubject areas provides the student with amore coherent and richer learningexperience. It is more likely thatappropriate attitudes and values will bedeveloped by students if they are integratedacross subjects areas and within the wholelife of the school, than when dealt with ina piecemeal or ‘one-off’ fashion.

Although integration can be planned in anumber of ways, many teachers find that athematic approach to planning is useful.This provides them with the means ofensuring the acquisition of appropriateknowledge, understanding, skills,

capacities, values and attitudes throughclassroom planning and interaction thatare already a part of their teaching in theirsubject areas. To support integration andteaching of intercultural knowledge,understanding, skills, capacities, values andattitudes, the content of interculturaleducation is presented within the contextof five themes. These themes areoverlapping and interlocking: they are not separate bodies of knowledge. The themes are:

• Identity and belonging• Similarity and difference• Human rights and responsibilities• Discrimination and equality• Conflict and conflict resolution.

This content is relevant for all studentsirrespective of their ethnicity or culturalbackground. The ways in which it is dealtwith will differ from classroom toclassroom in order to ensure that it is ageand subject appropriate.


INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

5


INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION ACROSS THE CURRICULUM 5

• Identity and belonging

• Similarity and difference

• Human rights and responsibilities

• Discrimination and equality

• Conflict and conflict resolution

IDENTITY AND BELONGING

Children have a right to understand andparticipate in the diverse cultural,linguistic, social and artistic expressions ofIrishness. The recognition of thecontribution of different communities tothe richness of diversity in contemporaryIreland is identified as a key learning aimof the curriculum. This recognises thatdiversity is a characteristic of the groupswho can be regarded as ‘belonging’ inIreland. As was stated in Chapter 1, this istrue of both historic and contemporaryIreland. This recognition may mean, inpractice, the exploration of the broadspectrum of Irish culture in Irish, English,and, increasingly in other languages also.For junior-cycle students, becoming awareof the concepts on which our nationalpolitical culture is based (justice,democracy, equality, rights, etc.), will be animportant part of coming to make sense oftheir identity, historically and at thepresent time.

Similarly, the links with European cultureand a balanced and informed awareness ofthe diversity of peoples and environmentsin the world is also identified as a key issuein post-primary education. Such awarenesscontributes to young people’s personal andsocial development as citizens of anintercultural Ireland, Europe and the globalcommunity. Recognition of the linksbetween Irish cultures and languages andthe cultures and languages of otherEuropean countries (for example, the linksbetween Gaeilge, Welsh, Breton and ScotsGaelic) will enable the student to develop astrong positive sense of national identitywithout this being seen as hostile to otheridentities.

The development of a positive sense of selfis central to intercultural education, andindeed to education generally. Members ofminority ethnic groups who arediscriminated against, or whose cultureand way of life is not represented asnormal or typical in their environment,may be in danger of developing a lowsense of self-esteem or of wishing to denytheir cultural or physical heritage. Forexample, some Traveller children may wishnot be identified as Travellers due to thenegative images of Travellers to which theyhave been exposed while some blackchildren may develop negative attitudes totheir skin colour due to the preponderanceof white people in our culture’srepresentations of beauty. There is also adanger for members of the majority ethnicgroup that their sense of self-esteem maybecome tied to a sense of their culture’snormality or superiority. For youngchildren this sense of self-esteem will bedeveloped through a growing awareness oftheir physical and cultural attributes (theirhome culture, their skin colour, etc.), and asense that their own attributes and those ofothers are equally valuable. This positivesense of self as an individual, as a memberof a cultural or ethnic group, and as amember of an intercultural society will befurther developed in all childrenthroughout their schooling.


IDENTITY AND BELONGING

Skills and capacities

• Ability to engage in the democratic process

• Ability to critically analyse stereotypical representations of groups

• Ability to compare and contrast different opinions and perspectives

• Ability to listen with empathy and engage in dialogue with peoplefrom a variety of backgrounds.

Values and attitudes

• Respect for self: valuing one’s own group and individual identity

• Appreciation of and respect for the richness of cultures and traditions

• Commitment to democratic principles recognising the right of all to be heard and respected and acknowledging the responsibility to protect and promote this right

• Belief in the ability of the individual to make a difference.

Knowledge and understanding

• Understanding of the diversity of Irish heritage and the contributions of different groups to modern Irish society

• Knowledge about European and other cultures

• Understanding the contributions of generations of Irish people to societies around the world

• Awareness of the variety of ways in which identity is expressed

• Awareness of the interplay between identity and belonging

• Understanding the effects of prejudice, racism and stereotyping.



SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE

All education recognises the uniqueness ofindividuals, in terms of their own personalhistory, experiences, wants and needs. Partof our uniqueness is that we are allmembers of particular social groups, whichmeans that we share some experiences,wants and needs with other members ofthose groups. Different cultural, languageor ethnic groups often have diverseexperiences and needs. A fair society is onethat can cater for both people’sindividuality and their shared identities. As the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain (The Parekh Report)has noted:

Since citizens have different needs, equaltreatment requires full account to be takenof their differences. When equality ignoresrelevant differences and insists onuniformity of treatment, it leads toinjustice and inequality; when differencesignore the demands of equality, thatresults in discrimination. Equality must bedefined in a culturally sensitive way andapplied in a discriminating but notdiscriminatory manner.

Culture does not define us or determine us.Within the white Irish settled populationthere is a great deal of diversity of values,beliefs and ways of life. Other ethnic andnational groups also display a great deal ofdiversity. Recognising this is important inovercoming stereotyping.

A person is not simply defined by oneaspect of their lives. People’s identities arecomplex and made up of many layers. Aperson can be at the same time, a mother, aTraveller, a childcare worker, an artist, asister, an Irish person, a fan of ‘anyone butManchester United’. Usually we havesomething in common with members ofother groups and should therefore be ableto relate to and empathise with them. Suchfactors need to be explored, in order tobreak down the limiting and stereotypingof people that can take place.

For young children, an awareness thathumanity contains great diversity and thatthere is no one way of life that is ‘normal’will be developed through their explorationof the world around them, and throughtheir being exposed to a rich and diversemix of images and cultural artefacts. Aschildren progress through school they willbecome increasingly aware of the variouscultures that have contributed to Irishnessthrough their influence on our arts in bothIrish and English (and the interfacebetween the two), our values, ourmathematics, our technology and on theways in which we benefit from the inter-penetration of cultures.

It the early stages of primary schoolchildren can come to realise the ways inwhich images and accounts are framed.During their progress through post-primary school this awareness can bedeveloped by enabling them to develop acritical capacity, to recognise bias andstereotyping in text and images and growto understand its effects in shapingattitudes and behaviour.


SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE


• Ability to compare and contrast different opinions and perspectives

• Ability to engage in dialogue and search for mutual understanding

• Ability to be open to change based on dialogue, reflection and analysis

• Ability to listen with empathy and engage in dialogue with people from a variety of backgrounds.

• Ability to critically analyse stereotypical representations of groups

• Ability to negotiate differences peacefully with others.


• Respect for self and respect for others

• Respect for diversity-affirming the value that can be derived fromhaving different viewpoints and cultural expressions.

• Openness to dialogue and the search for mutual understanding

• Appreciation of the interdependence of all people

• Belief in the capacity of the individual to make a difference.


• Understanding the challenges and opportunities of democratic decision-making in diverse societies

• Understanding that culture does not determine us

• Understanding racism and how it functions at both an individual and institutional level

• Understanding how all people are interdependent.



HUMAN RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

We are all members of the human group. Asa consequence of our membership of thatgroup we all share certain rights as well asthe responsibility to protect those rights foreach other. It is important, when looking atthe things that we share with other people,to work for a better understanding ofhuman rights, what they are, and how wecan make them work in practice.

While the Universal Declaration of HumanRights is the most broad-based descriptionof people’s rights, the Convention on theRights of the Child (1989) is also a keystatement of rights relevant to pupils.

The responsibility for enforcing these rightslies with each of us, individually. ThePreamble of the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights states:

… every individual … keeping thisDeclaration constantly in mind, shall striveby teaching and education to promoterespect for these rights and freedoms andby progressive measures, national andinternational, to secure their universal andeffective recognition and observance.

• Rights are universal. They apply in everycountry. Something that is a humanright cannot be denied to a personsimply because they are in one place oranother.

• Rights are indivisible. All rights are tobe recognised equally. This means thatuniversal social and economic rights likethe right to medical care, choice of ajob, leisure time and necessary socialservices, are not more or less importantthat universal political rights, like theright to a fair trial.

• Rights are inalienable. They cannot bedenied or taken away from people.

There is a well-founded fear that developingan awareness of the needs of members somegroups in society may lead to a sense of the

superiority of the dominant culture over theculture of other groups. There is, forexample, some evidence that images ofAfrica used to raise funds in Ireland for aidwork may have played a role in developinga sense of superiority towards Africansamong Irish children. The concept of rightsseeks to prevent the development of thissense of superiority, focusing as it does onthe rights and responsibilities of each of us.In this respect, rights are not simply an issuefor the needy or those discriminated against:we each have rights and by virtue of havingthose rights we have a responsibility toprotect them for each other.

The recognition that responsibilities comewith rights is essential. If any group, themajority or an ethnic minority, is todemand of other people that their rightsare respected, members of that group have,in turn, a responsibility to protect and topromote the rights of other groups.Sometimes conflict can arise due to anapparent clash of rights. The ability to usesuch conflict constructively to producesolutions is related closely to the ability toapply the concept of rights andresponsibilities equally to everyone.

Those who framed the UniversalDeclaration recognised that not allcountries would protect these rights. Sincethey recognised that the responsibility toprotect rights did not have borders, theyidentified that everyone would have theright to seek asylum should their ownhome country refuse to protect their rights.

Human rights are one of the things thatbind us all together. As such they provide abasis for developing empathy betweenpeople. They also form a context withinwhich immigration and various forms ofdiscrimination can be understood withoutpromoting ideas of cultural superiority.

Younger children will begin to develop anunderstanding of fairness and unfairness


and will apply these ideas to a range ofpractical situations (having a say, takingpart in decisions, getting a fair share, etc.).They will also develop an understanding ofthe application of rules and the way inwhich adherence to rules makes life morepalatable for everyone. Theseunderstandings can be developedthroughout their time in primary school sothat when they leave primary school theywill have gained an understanding of the

development of the concept of rights andthe application of a rights framework toeveryday situations. These understandingswill be further built upon in post-primaryeducation when students will learn aboutthe role of international institutions,legislation for protecting human rights,issues of human rights and how they canbe addressed, the role and responsibility ofindividuals and groups in promoting andprotecting human rights, etc.



HUMAN RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES


• Ability to apply human rights concepts and standards to local and global situations

• Ability to integrate the key principles of Human Rights into everyday situations

• Ability to participate meaningfully in the promotion and protection of human rights.


• Sense of empathy with those whose rights are denied

• Commitment to the application of human rights principles

• Commitment to promote equality and justice

• Belief in the ability of individuals to make a difference.


• Knowledge about the UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights (1948) and other key instruments such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and other international human rights instruments

• Knowledge of national legislation and institutions aimed at protecting human rights

• Knowledge of historical and contemporary human rights struggles.

• Understanding the indivisibility of human rights

• Understanding racism as a violation of human rights.

DISCRIMINATION AND EQUALITY

In a literal sense, to discriminate simplymeans to recognise a difference or to makea judgement. People discriminate all thetime in deciding what food to eat, or whoto employ in a job. Where discriminationbecomes a problem is when the choice ordistinction is made unfairly.

In Ireland, it is against the law todiscriminate against a person in some areason the basis of

• gender• marital status• family status (having children or being a

carer)• age (between the ages of 18 and 65)• disability• race• sexual orientation• religious belief• membership of the Traveller

Community.

(Equal Status Act, 2000)

Two different types of discrimination arerecognised: direct discrimination andindirect discrimination. Both need to beunderstood if they are to be addressed.Direct discrimination is the most obviousand easiest to see. If someone is treateddifferently because they are a Traveller orbecause they are black (refused access to apub, called names, treated with suspicionetc.) then they have been directlydiscriminated against. In a 2001 survey ofethnic minority attitudes in Ireland, 78 percent of more than 600 respondents from avariety of ethnic minorities living all overIreland highlighted that they had been avictim of such racism, most often in publicplaces like the street or in shops or pubs.

Indirect discrimination means thatapplying the same policies or opportunitiesto different people may appear fair, butmay not be fair if they give rise to differentoutcomes. For example, if the same subjectis taught to both boys and girls, but all ofthe examples are chosen to interest theboys only, this may discriminate indirectlyagainst the girl. If entry to a school isdecided in part on whether or not a childhas siblings there, this may inadvertentlydiscriminate against nomadic people.Likewise, if accommodation provision doesnot cater for people who move from placeto place, then this may discriminateindirectly against Travellers. Treatingpeople the same is not the same as treatingthem equally.

As with the concept of rights, youngpeople will begin to develop anunderstanding of fairness and unfairnessand will apply these ideas to a range ofpractical situations (having a say, takingpart in decisions, getting a fair share, etc.).As they progress through post-primaryschool they will develop a deeperunderstanding of discrimination as theylearn to recognise discrimination ineveryday situations and as they gain anunderstanding of inequalities in theircommunity and in the wider world.Students can also be encouraged to takeaction in defence of those who sufferinequality and discrimination as they gaindeeper knowledge and understanding ofthe issues.


DISCRIMINATION AND EQUALITY


• Ability to recognise stereotyping and bias in print, in images, in interpersonal discussion and in themselves

• Ability to question sources of information and their agenda

• Ability to make informed and balanced judgements

• Ability to challenge discrimination.


• Empathy with those discriminated against

• Commitment to promote equality

• Healthy scepticism towards bias and stereotyping

• A belief in the capacity of the individual to make a difference.


• Understanding concepts such as ‘discrimination’, ‘equality’, ‘oppression’, ‘exclusion’, ‘power’, etc.

• Knowing about and understanding direct and indirect discrimination

• Understanding racism as a form of discrimination

• Understanding bias and stereotyping as a form of discrimination

• Understanding the role of anti-discrimination legislation in Ireland, the EU and internationally.



CONFLICT AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Sometimes the differences between peoplebecome a source of conflict. Differentcultural traditions, for example, may bringpeople into conflict with each other. Peoplemay come into conflict with each otherbecause of a perceived clash of rights andresponsibilities. Intercultural education canequip people with the skills to workthrough such conflicts and arrive at aresolution. These skills will be useful andnecessary to all students even if they donot regularly come into contact withmembers of different ethnic groups. Conflict should be seen as natural andnormal and can be viewed as anopportunity to arrive at solutions andbring about positive change. Certainprinciples should underlie approaches toconflict, whether the conflict isinterpersonal, inter-community or political.

These include the following:

• Conflict should not be avoided. Sinceconflict is normal it provides anopportunity to build something positive.We should focus on equipping peoplewith the ability to negotiate throughconflicts rather than avoiding them.

• Separate people from the problem. In aconflict situation there can be strongemotions, communication breakdownand differing perceptions of the facts orthe importance of facts. These issuesneed to be dealt with in themselves, andshould not be by-passed through oneside or both gaining concessions. Onedoes not need to like someone to cometo agreement with them, but one doesneed to be able to talk to and listen tothem, and to be able to see things fromtheir point of view.

• Focus on interests, not positions. Ratherthan focus on what people are lookingfor, explore why they want it. Behindopposing positions may lie a range ofshared and compatible interests onwhich a reso

• Invent options for mutual gain. Look ata range of possible solutions, withoutthe pressure of having to decide what ispractical or doable. Look for a varietyof possibilities rather than a singleanswer, and do not rush to judgement.

There are many models of conflictresolution based on these principles.Clearly, such approaches to negotiatingresolutions to conflict will only work ifboth partners are willing and able toengage in the process. When people are notskilled in the process of conflictnegotiation they may need a facilitator toaid the process of resolution. However thefocus should be on developing skills so thatpeople can manage their own conflicts. For children in the early years of primary,peace skills are built through thedevelopment of a capacity for co-operation, for sharing, for identifyingpotential consequences of their actions andthrough developing a language with whichto name and express their feelings.Building on this, middle and upper primaryclasses will develop a deeper capacity tocope with their feelings, as well as acapacity to compromise and accept groupdecisions.

At post-primary level, students should nowbe able to discuss and express emotions ina non-threatening way, listen actively toboth concepts and emotions, negotiatewith each other and begin the process ofpracticing peaceful resolution of conflicts.


CONFLICT AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION


• Ability to draw on a range of source materials before making judgements

• Ability to see the causes and consequences of conflict

• Ability to practice conflict resolution skills

• Ability to listen with empathy and engage with people from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.


• Commitment to peaceful processes as a means of resolving disputes

• Open-mindedness to the positions of others

• Commitment to learning from the positions of others

• Belief in the ability of the individual to make a difference.


• Understanding that conflict is a normal part of human life

• Understanding the factors that contribute to the development of conflict at an interpersonal, local and international level

• Understanding the principles and skills of conflict resolution

• Understanding the challenge of democratic decision-making

in diverse societies

• Understanding the effects of conflict at an interpersonal, local and international level.



5.2 Intercultural educationopportunities across thecurriculum

As an aid to classroom planning, thissection outlines some of the opportunitiesfor intercultural education work as theyarise across subject areas. It identifies, for arange of subjects, opportunities for dealingwith identity and belonging, similarity anddifference, human rights andresponsibilities, discrimination and equalityand conflict and peace. All subject areascontain opportunities for engaging inintercultural education. This is not anexhaustive list of such opportunities.Teachers will, in their planning, identifymany more such opportunities. It isintended to be a starting point for suchplanning.

Art, Craft and Design

Intercultural education seeks to encouragean appreciation of the value of diversity.The study of art is particularly well suited

to communicating the rich diversity of aglobal culture and to expressing commonuniversal human themes. It can helpstudents to develop positive attitudes to thediverse nature of cultures, peoples,traditions and lifestyles. This is consistentwith the aims of Art, Craft and Designsyllabus that includes the aim ‘to developin the students an understanding of art,craft and design in a variety of contexts –historical, cultural, economic, social andpersonal’ (Junior Certificate Syllabus, page2). Art, Craft and Design also aims todevelop a sense of personal identity andself-esteem in the student, both of whichare vitally important in embracing anintercultural world. It also plays a key rolein the development of the young person’simaginative capacity which is central totheir capacity to find alternative ways ofimagining the world. Many of theobjectives of the Junior Certificate ArtCraft Design syllabus support theprinciples of intercultural education.

This course develops the student’s ability to:


1. Give a personal response to an idea,experience or other stimulus.

• These may cover a broad range ofintercultural ideas and stimuli.

• The teacher can help create visualliteracy and understanding of art ascrossing cultural areas.

2. Work from imagination, memory anddirect observation.

• These may cover a broad range ofintercultural ideas and stimuli.

• Students can learn to make informed judgments about a range of visual stimuli.

• Students can develop awareness andunderstanding of the diverse nature ofworldwide cultures, peoples,traditions and lifestyles.

3. Use drawing for observation, recordingand analysis as a means of thinking andfor communication and expression.

• Students can explore and understandthe original meaning and function ofthe artefact.

• Look at people’s way of life in thecontext of the artefact.

4. Use the three-dimensional processes ofadditive, subtractive and constructionalform-making in expressive andfunctional mode.

• Different cultures exhibit differentpreferences for forms, colours andmaterials in their artefacts.

5. Use and understand the art and designelements.• Colour and pattern have different

associations in varying culturaltraditions.

• Need for sensitivity and awareness inthe choice of some materials e.g.leather or parchment and vegetarians.

6. Develop an awareness of the historical,social and economic role and value ofart, craft and design and aspects ofcontemporary culture and mass media.

• Students can learn to make informedjudgments about a range of visualstimuli.

• Students can develop awareness andunderstanding of the diverse nature ofworldwide cultures, peoples,traditions and lifestyles.

• Students can explore and understandthe original meaning and function ofthe artefact.

• Students can look at people’s way oflife in the context of the artefact.

• Students can develop anunderstanding of the necessity foreach culture to maintain its ownidentity, while building on thestrengths of all humanity.

In an inclusive Arts programme

• students learn to appreciate the artisticforms and traditions of many cultures,as well as their own

• the role of cultural interchange in thedevelopment and life of the arts isexplored

• students are encouraged to discover andtalk about variety in visual expressionfrom different times and cultures and itsrole in those cultures

• students are encouraged to explore andpractice styles of work that reflectscultural and ethnic diversity

• they see and are encouraged to producework that reflects cultural and racialdiversity

• students learn to appreciate the artisticforms and traditions associated with thediversity of cultures in Ireland



• visual arts are used as a stimulus forexploring stereotyping and ‘firstimpressions’

• arts are used as a basis for exploringrepresentations of conflict and peace,human rights and discrimination

• a wide variety of students’ own work isdisplayed around the school.

Sample lessons for Art can be found on theCD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

Civic Social and Political Education

Amongst the aims of CSPE is ‘to encouragepupils to apply positive attitudes,imagination and empathy in learningabout, and encountering, other people andcultures.’ Young people’s understandingand appreciation of their identity as local,national and global citizens is at the heartof CSPE. All the core concepts whichunderpin CSPE are compatible with andsupportive of intercultural education:stewardship, democracy, the law, humanrights, human dignity, development andinterdependence. Similarly, the four unitswhich constitute the content of the courseare hugely relevant to interculturaleducation: The Individual and Citizenship,the Community, The State-Ireland, and theWider World. Action Projects (whichrepresents 60 per cent of the totalexamination mark) provide students withan opportunity to take action on an issueof personal interest or concern. This mightinvolve exploring an issue ofdiscrimination and then taking actionlocally or globally to address the problemor it could involve organising a specialevent or awareness day to celebratediversity in the school. The Action Projectsalso offer great opportunities for thedevelopment of skills such as teamwork,critical thinking, analysis of differentopinions and perspectives and participationin active citizenship.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in CSPE aswell as sample lessons can be found on theCD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

English

The essential aim of teaching English inpost-primary junior cycle is to reinforceand continue the work of the primaryschool in nurturing the intellectual,imaginative and emotional growth of eachstudent by developing his or her personalproficiency in the arts and skills oflanguage. This involves the enhancement ofskills in three dynamically interrelatedelements: personal literacy, social literacyand cultural literacy. In the living contextof English teaching these three elementsform an organic wholeness of experience.The Junior Certificate English syllabus seeslanguage development as an integralelement of personal growth thoughEnglish, thereby recognising the centralityof language development in the learningand thinking processes. Growth inlanguage proficiency does not occur in aneutral or value-free context, so thefollowing aims are included in the syllabus:

• to achieve diversification and enrichmentof each student’s personal, social andcultural linguistic base

• to enable, through language development,full and effective participation in societyin a variety of roles

• to develop students’ critical consciousnessin respect of all language use.

Diversity of language experience is crucialto the realisation of these aims and, as thesyllabus promotes a holistic approach tocourse design and classroom methodology,students should engage with texts in avariety of ways and from a variety ofperspectives. Teachers are free to choosethe material they consider most suitable for


http://www.ncca.ie

http://www.ncca.ie

their students’ programme. In choosingmaterials for study the teacher’s choice willbe guided by his/her knowledge of thestudents’ general stage of development,linguistic abilities and cultural (inter-cultural) environment.

Teachers should aim to achieve a wide and varied language programme with their students. Diversity of texts, materialsand approaches is a necessary conditionfor achieving the desired variety oflinguistic experience. (Junior Certificate English Syllabus p.5)

In this sense, then, English can encouragethe development of attitudes that supportintercultural education, e.g. anappreciation of the value of difference,empathy for the experience andperspectives of other people includingthose who live with the effects ofdiscrimination or inequality. Theintercultural dimension of the Englishclassroom occurs as an integral part ofeach student’s language development in thepersonal, social and cultural domains andshould not be viewed as added-on orcompartmentalised learning.

The design of a programme in English injunior cycle may be viewed from a numberof interrelated angles:

• as the development of a range of skillsin listening, speaking, reading andwriting in the personal, social andcultural domains;

• as a series of encounters with a diverserange of texts giving rise to personal andshared understandings and languageexperiences;

• as a series of syllabus units (selections ofinterrelated literary texts, culturalmaterials and linguistic assignments)which provide the substance, purposeand direction to work in the Englishprogramme.

In an inclusive English programme:

• students are provided with opportunitiesto express and respond to differingopinions, interpretations and ideas,thereby broadening their social andcultural experiences while developingskills in listening, speaking, reading andwriting; students are helped to recogniseprejudice, bias and stereotyping in printand images, and thereby develop acritical consciousness with respect to alllanguage use

• students are enabled to empathise withthe experience and point of view ofothers by being encouraged to interprettexts orally and attempt performancesand productions

• students are exposed to literature fromdiverse cultures through coursesdesigned achieve a wide and variedlanguage programme

• syllabus units are planned aroundthemes that are of interest to youngpeople e.g. growing up, justice andequality, human rights, and so on

• the diversity of patterns of speech inEnglish are recognised and validated,showing respect for each student’slinguistic competence and thecommunity characteristics of his/herlanguage use

• in looking at the meaning or usage ofwords or phrases, teachers and studentsmight usefully reflect on their origins inlanguages such as Latin, French, Irish,Anglo-Saxon, Greek, and so on. Thiswill help to give students a sense of thecultural diversity in any one languageand the interrelated nature of differentlanguages.

English has historically been a secondlanguage in Gaeltacht communities inIreland. It is also now being taught as asecond language to an increasing numberof students in Irish post-primary schoolsand in this context cognisance should be



taken of the need for appropriate teachingstrategies for second-language learners.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in English aswell as sample lessons can be found on theCD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

Gaeilge

Irish can provide a useful vehicle forintercultural education. Since certain coreelements of traditional and contemporaryIrish culture are mediated through thelanguage (e.g. identity and belonging,difference and similarity), students throughlearning Irish can derive a deepunderstanding and appreciation of culture.Irish culture represents an importantthreshold in understanding other cultures.Many of the themes which dominate Irishliterature have a resonance today and canbe used to develop empathy andunderstanding among students. Themes ofemigration, identity, conflict, loss,oppression and freedom in particular canbe explored with a view to makingcontemporary links. Cross-cultural andintercultural awareness can be promotedand developed in a holistic approach to thecontext and nature of interactionallanguage (Feidhmeanna Teanga, pp 17-29of syllabus) and through the exploitationof the potential of texts (reading andliterary texts).

• Aesthetic: Texts associated with foreignmusic, film, or linked with customs of adifferent culture or different culturesfound in Ireland including Sheltaculture.

• Sociological: Texts linked to customsand institutions e.g. in the section on AnTeach (page 39) Bia agus Deoch (p.39)Caitheamh Aimsire (p.39) Éadaí agusFaisean (p.40).

• Semantic and Pragmatic: Different

conceptual systems where culture isembodied in the language (someexamples where appropriate fromdifferent languages), for example Dia duit - as-saláamu (Arabic) le cúnamh Dé - in shaa’ Al-aah (Arabic) etc.

In an inclusive Irish programme

• students are led to insight and increasedunderstanding not only of their ownsociety and culture but also of thesociety and culture of other languages

• language learning leads to affectivechange, i.e. the development of positiveand appreciative attitudes towardsspeakers of other languages

• by gaining a perspective on their ownculture, students are allowed to developa reassessment of what has hitherto beenall too familiar and to make acomparison between the Irishexperience, as mediated in its languageand literature, and the presentexperiences of other societies

• students through cognitive and affectiveengagement with similarities in Irish andothers societies’ experiences are helpedto arrive at an active understanding ofour common humanity.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in Gaeilge aswell as sample lessons can be found on theCD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

Geography

The concepts of diversity, interdependenceand human development are central to thestudy of Geography. By studying peopleand their environment locally and globally,students can come to value the richness ofpeople from a diversity of cultural, ethnic,social and religious backgrounds. TheGeography course at both junior and


http://www.ncca.ie

http://www.ncca.ie

senior cycle is built around a number ofkey concepts-the human habitat,population, settlement patterns andurbanisation, and patterns of economicactivity. All these concepts are relevant tointercultural education and provide ampleopportunities for exploring issues of equity,justice and interdependence. Amongst theaims of Geography at junior cycle are to

• encourage in students a sensitiveawareness of peoples, places andlandscapes, both in their own countryand elsewhere

• contribute to students’ understanding ofimportant issues and problems incontemporary society (Syllabus, p.4).

The development of empathy with peoplefrom diverse environments and thedevelopment of an understanding andappreciation of the variety of humanconditions on the earth are key outcomesof the geography curriculum. In this regardteachers have an important role to play inensuring that ‘third world’ countries arenot depicted as simply a basket ofproblems. A balanced perspective is vital inovercoming negative stereotypes of thedeveloping world and its people.Geography also affords the opportunity forstudents to explore the normality ofdiversity throughout the world - that manycountries are multilingual andmulticultural.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes inGeography as well as sample lessons canbe found on the CD-ROM and atwww.ncca.ie.

History

There is substantial correspondencebetween the aims and objectives of thehistory course and those of interculturaleducation. The introduction to the Junior

Certificate history syllabus notes, ‘it(history) helps young people to develop atolerance and respect for the values, beliefsand traditions of others, and to preparethemselves for the responsibilities ofcitizenship in a national, European andglobal context.’ In Junior Certificatehistory, students engage with humanexperience in all its multiplicity anddiversity. The syllabus ‘provides youngpeople with a wide tapestry of past events,issues, people and ways of life…’ and, in the study of this ‘wide tapestry’encourages ‘An acceptance that people and events must be studied in the contextof their time’. The awareness of diversityand context are also central to interculturaleducation.

The underlying values and approach ofJunior Certificate history are alsocomplementary. Students are encouraged tostrive for objectivity and fair-mindednessand to develop an ability to detect bias andidentify propaganda. The recognition thathistory is always mediated through humanperspective and hence we can have manyaccounts of the same events providesstudents with a critical capacity to explorethe role of the historian in ‘creating’history. Students too can be helped to seethe relationship between history andidentity and the role of history in providingpeople with a shared story and collectivememory of the past. Such anunderstanding is critical in fostering anappreciation and understanding ofdiversity. The working atmosphere of thehistory classroom, therefore, is one inwhich the values of intercultural educationshould be readily assimilated.

In an inclusive History programme

• students encounter diverse aspects ofhuman experience in a variety ofcultural contexts



http://www.ncca.ie

• students learn that their own historicalinheritance has many strands and facets

• students learn that human society isnever static but constantly undergoingchange and that change is, therefore, aconstant dynamic in the on-goingdevelopment of human history

• students learn how human history iscreated by the interaction of differentindividuals, groups and institutions in avariety of contexts

• students are provided with opportunitiesfor reflective and critical work onhistorical evidence and biases andstereotypes are challenged

• students learn that our understanding of history is always enhanced by ourability to empathise with the perspectiveof ‘the other’.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in History aswell as sample lessons can be found on theCD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

Home Economics

The Junior Certificate home economicssyllabus provides students with theopportunity to attain the knowledge,understanding and skills necessary to liveas individuals and as members of thefamily and community. Emphasisthroughout the course is on management,creativity and living skills; to ensure thatthe student is prepared for personalindependence and with the ability topartake in shared responsibility in thehousehold and community in which he orshe lives. The home economics syllabuspromotes many skills and values –problem-solving, decision-making anddesign skills, personal responsibility, groupwork and co-operation – that are central tothe themes of intercultural education.

There are many opportunities for theteacher to select activities and lessons in

home economics that promote the themesof intercultural education and contribute tothe students’ value of diversity. Studentsselect and plan dishes and meals toprepare, cook and serve using a designprocess model. Teachers can exposestudents to a wide range of diverse foodsand meals from other cultures, impressingon students how the diversity of thesefoods add to the richness of meal choiceswe have access to. As much of thisplanning and practical work is donecollectively, students learn how to co-operate with others and have respect forthe needs of others.

In the Textile Studies section of the coreand in the Textile Skills elective, thefashion and design components lendthemselves to an exploration of thediversity of fashion and design that isavailable to us when we look to all thecultures of the world. Equally the richnessof opportunity in the Design andCraftwork elective can be expanded byexposing students to the opportunitiesafforded them by exploring the crafts ofmany cultures. In this way students can beencouraged to appreciate and respect therichness of cultures and traditions that theyhave in their own communities andavailable to them globally.

In the Social and Health Studies sectionstudents learn about their owndevelopment as individuals and thedevelopment of their roles within families.Students can be encouraged to valuethemselves and their place within theirfamily and community and also to respectthe place of others within their socialgroups, their school class, their clubs, theircommunity and their country. Issues ofdiscrimination can be discussed in terms ofstudents’ real-life experiences. Manystudents will experience discrimination dueto their gender or age, for example, andcan relate this to other forms of


http://www.ncca.ie

discrimination, such as racism. This cancreate an empathy for others who areexperiencing discrimination.

In Consumer Studies students learn tobecome aware of their rights andresponsibilities. In fact consumercompetence is a key concept of the course.Students can be encouraged to believe thatthey can make a difference by knowingtheir rights and responsibilities, to weighup the advantages and disadvantages of acourse of action and how to act on theirdecisions and have their voices heard. Anintercultural perspective can be introducedby encouraging students to consider theirresponsibilities as well as their rights andto recognise the right of all to be heard andrespected.

In an inclusive Home Economicsprogramme

• students learn to appreciate the value offoods, clothing, crafts and homes frommany cultures, as well as their own

• students of all cultures are encouragedto contribute their experience of food,clothing and crafts from their ownculture

• students learn the value of diversity inshaping the foods, clothing and craftsthat we have available to us

• various cultural practices, rules andtaboos about food are explored andchoices are sufficiently flexible to allowstudents to include their own culturalchoices, where appropriate

• students are encouraged to work in thetraditions of their own cultures as well asto explore and produce work that reflectscultural diversity and learn how onecultural tradition borrows from others,for example in the diet or in fashion.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in Home

Economics as well as sample lessons can befound on the CD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

Mathematics

Students should be aware of the history ofmathematics and hence of its past,present and future role as part of culture.(Syllabus, p. 4)

Curriculum bias may not seem relevant tothe mathematics teacher, who may oftenfeel their subject is neutral and value free.However, no education is neutral. TheMaths teacher is also presented withchoices and opportunities for promoting anintercultural perspective. Students spend alot of time solving problems in Maths. Bychoosing problems which present a real lifeissue (e.g. percentage of the world’sresources consumed by different parts ofthe world) teachers can play am importantrole in developing students’ innate sense ofjustice and equality. Mathematics can alsobe an important tool in interculturaleducation because of the skills it develops-problem-solving skills, skills in reasoningand logic and the ability to analyse dataand draw reasoned conclusions.

In an inclusive Mathematics programme

• students are presented withopportunities to examine information onlocal and global issues (e.g. populationflows, consumption patterns, militaryspending versus health spending as % ofGNP, etc.)

• students are given opportunities toengage in group activities andinvestigative learning

• students compare calendars, numbersystems and mathematical contributionsfrom around the world

• students use data from the socialsciences, (e.g. surveys, census reports) tostudy trends, projections, charts andgraphs



http://www.ncca.ie

• students can explore the contribution ofdiverse cultures to our mathematicalculture

• students can learn to value ‘the hiddenmathematics embedded in cultural-economic activity’. For example, themaths practiced by identifiable culturalgroups, by tribal societies, by thosewithout formal education, and so on.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes inMathematics as well as sample lessons canbe found on the CD-ROM and atwww.ncca.ie.

Modern Languages

The Junior Certificate modern languagessyllabus makes several specific referencesto the importance of culture under itsgeneral educational aims, including ‘to givepupils an awareness of another culture andthus a more objective perspective onaspects of their own culture’. Similarly, atsenior cycle, the general aims of thesyllabus include ‘to equip learners with abroad acquaintance with the cultural,social and political complexities of thecountries in which the target language is anormal medium of communication andthus to help raise their awareness ofcultural, social and political diversitygenerally.’

Culture infuses every area of languageteaching: for example, learning any verb inFrench involves learning the familiar tuform and the polite (or plural) vous form,with implications of register andappropriateness. Learning about howChristmas is celebrated in Spain willinvolve learning about los Reyes Magosand turrón. It is second nature to languageteachers to then make comparisons withthe students’ own language and culture,thereby inevitably raising their awarenessof other cultures and sensitising them to

similarities and differences.

There is scope for taking the interculturalbasis which already exists a step further: toconsider more consciously and deliberatelythe diverse cultures and ways of life in thecountry (or countries) of the targetlanguage; to consider the diverse culturesin Ireland; to consider specifically issues ofhuman rights and responsibilities andconflict and conflict resolution.

When students are discussing interculturalissues in the target language, they mayhave difficulty in expressing complicatedideas or responses. However, the verystruggle to express themselves will sensitisestudents to the difficulties which may beexperienced by non-native speakers ofEnglish now living in Ireland. If there arenon-native speakers of English in the class,a language class can also provide theproverbial level playing field, whereEnglish-speaking students are notautomatically at an advantage as they maybe in, say, a history or geography class.

In an inclusive modern languageprogramme

• students are sensitised to culturaldifferences with the country or countriesof the target language and elsewhere

• students are exposed to a range ofmaterials, including literature, whichpresents a variety of perspectives andallows them to explore values andattitudes

• materials touching on issues of humanrights and responsibilities,discrimination and equality, and conflictand conflict resolution are used assource material for practising bothreceptive and productive use of thetarget language

• language is not approached simply asthe study of language as a tool ofcommunication or even as the study of a


http://www.ncca.ie

body of literature: rather, it is seen as anexploration of a whole world.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in ModernLanguages as well as sample lessons can befound on the CD-ROM and atwww.ncca.ie.

Music

Music is pan-cultural by nature. The threestands of music study, (performing,composing, listening), offer richopportunities to highlight interculturalthemes and to celebrate diversity. Students’appreciation of other cultures andtraditions can be developed with guidedteaching and directed learningopportunities (Aims 3). Students’sensitivity to their own performance andthat of others can deepen and expand withinstruction and guidance (Aims 2).

Students’ sense of identity and belongingcan be enhanced through creativeinvolvement in music making activities(Aims 1).

The objectives of the Music syllabusinclude the following:

1. To facilitate the development ofperforming skills at an appropriate levelby providing opportunity for theregular practice of vocal and/orinstrumental music.

An inclusive Music programme will

• include performance items from othercultures

• incorporate a background study of thesecultures

• organise a concert programme on acultural theme, or musical journeythrough a number of cultures



http://www.ncca.ie

• incorporate performance contexts whichinclude costume, movement, scenery, etc.

• invite local musicians from othertraditions and cultures to perform to thestudents

• utilise talents within the schoolcommunity of staff, students and parentsto present items from other cultures

• identify and compare different types ofresponse to music performance

• develop a sense of integrity and respectfor group decisions concerning musicstyle and performance

• encourage participative roles in groupactivities which demonstrate initiativefor the good of the whole ensemble.

2. To develop aural perception in itsbroadest sense and to foster anawareness and an appreciation of themusic of the past and of the present,and of its role in our own as well asother environments.

An inclusive music programme will

• refer to background cultures in the studyof songs and works from other cultures(Set Songs and Set Works)

• select pieces (Choice Songs and ChoiceWorks) which offer opportunities toencounter unfamiliar cultures andtraditions

• discuss the significance of the role ofmusic in these cultures

• consider genres and styles whichhighlight diversity and difference whenselecting topics for the general study

• use video and live performance oftraditional Irish music to strengthen theunderstanding of the relationshipbetween music and culture

• explore differences and similaritiesbetween examples of music fromdifferent parts of Ireland and differentparts of Europe and the world

• observe the different roles music cantake in ceremony and social function,within Ireland and beyond

• identify and investigate characteristics ofmusic associated with particularcontexts, purposes and styles in past andpresent cultures

• explore music as an expression ofstruggle and hope, dealing with themesof conflict and peace, of liberation anddiscrimination.

3. To provide sufficient musical experienceand factual information to enable thestudents to develop and practiselistening and composing skills withgreater understanding and interest, andto support performing skills with amore informed awareness of the relatedand necessary underlying facts.

An inclusive Music programme will

• expose students to a variety of notationsystems (tonic solfa, numbering, non-western, tablature, graphic, etc.)

• investigate the dominance of the westernmajor/minor tonality

• explore the growth of popular music,the effect of technology of music styles,the influence of the guitar with itstonic/dominant tuning

• involve students in collaborativecompositional activities that demandrespect for the contributions of others.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in Music aswell as sample lessons can be found on theCD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

Physical Education

Amongst the aims of the Junior CertificatePhysical Education syllabus is ‘to promotepositive attitudes towards participation inphysical activity and towards co-operation


http://www.ncca.ie

with others in that participation’. This andmany of the other aims of the physicaleducation programme are compatible withand supportive of intercultural educatione.g. ‘develop in students an ability to makeinformed judgements…’; ‘to enablestudents to take responsibility for theorganisation and development of theirlearning…’. The P.E. curriculum embodiesmany values and skills central tointercultural education, e.g. awareness ofthe impact of many cultures on sport/danceand the similarities and diversity whichexists; the importance of fair play; theability to communicate and work in groups(co-operating, resolving disagreementpeacefully and demonstrating respect forthe opinions of others, etc). The underlyingprinciples and approaches to physicaleducation foster an acceptance of successand failure and provide challenges andachievement for all students throughpersonal goal setting, co-operative gamesand group work.

Within an inclusive Physical Educationprogramme:

• Students receive many opportunities todevelop self-esteem and confidence, as aresult of their experience within a broadwell-balanced programme, which catersfor the needs of all students.

• Students develop the ability to identifyand challenge unfairness within physicalactivities and learn to respect theplayers, officials and rules associatedwith each activity.

• Students should experience a balance ofcompetitive and non-competitiveactivities thus fostering a lifelong interestin sports/leisure.

• Students develop an awareness of theorigins and history of many games andthe modification of games over theyears. Students may also be exposed to arange of different dance formsrepresenting and celebrating a diversityof cultures/traditions (folk dance, linedance, salsa dance etc.).



• Students explore social issues throughmovement, where students respond tothemes/stimuli thus expressingemotions/feelings.

• Students develop an awareness of safepractice within all activities and adoptbehaviours, which ensure mutual respectfor the safety of peers and self.

• Students should demonstrate respect forothers’ viewpoint, listen to each otherand taking turns. In this environmentstudents feel confident to give theiropinion within group/whole classactivities.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in P.E. aswell as sample lessons can be found on theCD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

Religious Education

Religious education should ensure thatstudents are exposed to a broad range ofreligious traditions and to the non-religiousinterpretation of life. It has a particularpart to play in the curriculum in thepromotion of tolerance and mutualunderstanding. It seeks to develop instudents the skills to engage in meaningfuldialogue with those of other, or of no,religious traditions.(Syllabus, p 4)

The syllabus for Religious Education, atboth junior and senior cycle, places greatemphasis on the value of religious diversityand on mutual respect for people of allbeliefs. One of the primary aims ofReligious Education is ‘to provide studentswith a framework for encountering andengaging with a variety of religioustraditions in Ireland and elsewhere’.

Both its content and its aims arecompatible with the content and values ofintercultural education. ReligiousEducation aims to foster an awareness ofthe human search for meaning that iscommon to all peoples and encourages

students to recognize different responses tothat search in different cultures andcontexts. It also explores how religioustraditions have contributed to the culturewe live in and continue to have an impacton human behaviour and lifestyle. It seeksto develop in students the skills to engagein meaningful dialogue with those of other,or of no, religious traditions. As such, itcan play an important role in thecurriculum in the promotion of respect andmutual understanding.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in R.E. aswell as sample lessons can be found on theCD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

Science

Junior Certificate Science provides studentswith a means of understanding the naturaland physical world and the relevance andapplication of science to their personal andsocial lives. It provides knowledge aboutthe world and opportunities for scientificinvestigation. The learning experiencesenable students to develop positiveattitudes towards themselves, others, theenvironment and science and technology.An intercultural perspective enablesappreciation of individual and culturaldifferences. It considers multiple voices andmultiple perspectives ranging from thevoice of each student in the classroom tothe contributions from the many culturesof the world to different aspects of science.

Science education, like interculturaleducation, is concerned with fosteringskills of independent enquiry and creativeaction. The analytical thinking skills,which are learned through scientificinquiry, are transferable to the analysis ofthe social world, and contribute directly tointercultural competence. So too ‘an abilityto form opinions and judgements based onevidence and experiment’ (aim listed inJ.C. Science Syllabus, p.3) is vital in


http://www.ncca.ie

http://www.ncca.ie

overcoming prejudice and stereotyping.Many of the themes covered in Science,such as water, energy and ecology offergreat opportunity for cross-culturalcomparisons and learning.

The Junior Certificate Science Syllabusadvises that the historical impact of scienceand society should influence the teachingof the course. An appreciation of howscience has evolved is vital lest students areleft with an image of the scientist as awhite western male working in a high techlab. This image fails to recognise thecontribution of many people over thecenturies and in the developing world toscientific discoveries. The development ofscientific knowledge and the processes ofscientific exploration represent thecumulative work of many cultures andethnic groups over time, and it is on-goingin all parts of the world. Therefore it isimportant that care is taken in choosingscientific examples, to ensure that thecontributions of diverse peoples tocontemporary scientific practices andknowledge are reflected. The Scienceteacher can also show how low tech andenvironmentally friendly solutions areappropriate and cost effective in addressingmodern problems.

Because Science is a process ofinvestigation as well as a body ofknowledge the syllabus encourages theteacher to provide the student withopportunities to conduct investigative andexperimental work. Incorporating anintercultural perspective involves focusingon the methodologies as well as thetheoretical content of the class-work. Ininvestigative work, where possible, groupwork should be encouraged and changingof the group members over time canencourage collaboration by students ofdiverse abilities, ages, ethnic backgroundsand gender.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in Science aswell as sample lessons can be found on theCD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

Social, Personal and HealthEducation

The understanding, knowledge, attitudes,values, skills and capacities of interculturaleducation are integrated across a range ofmodules with the SPHE programme. These include

Belonging and integratingThrough investigating this theme studentscan move towards a deeper appreciation ofhow belonging and integrating can meandifferent things to different students andyet there are also many similarities. It isimportant to be aware that students maycome to these learning experiences withdifferent cultural perspectives which mayeffect how they participate, e.g. childrenfrom a Traveller background may have adifferent experience of ‘family’ than thesettled community. Travellers for the mostpart, live in close relationship with theirextended family. This would not be true ofmany students in the settled community.The influences on both sets of students willbe different. Children from a Muslimbackground may have a different outlookon alcohol to children brought up in aChristian tradition.

Differences and similaritiesThis module invites the students to explorehow we are different and how are wesimilar? How might this awareness effecthow we behave towards one another?How can we be respectful in ourinteractions with one another?

Physical healthThere are a number of culturally sensitiveareas that may arise in this module, for



http://www.ncca.ie

example, different perceptions of modestyand different practices at puberty. It wouldbe important for teachers to be aware ofand sensitive to how these differencesmight impact on the content andmethodologies chosen. The focus of theselessons would be to facilitate a positiveexperience for each student.

Emotional healthOnce again, different cultures adoptdifferent approaches to emotionaldevelopment. Appropriate expressions ofanger, affection or grief, for example, canbe particular to a culture. Gaining anappreciation and understanding ofdifferent ways of dealing with emotionscan enable students to realize that there aredifferent ways of dealing with similaremotions. The important consideration isthe extent to which these expressions arerespectful of the person themselves andothers.

FriendshipsEach class group will represent a widerange of values, attitudes and beliefs aboutwhat friendship means and what isappropriate in friendships between samesex and opposite sex. Learning in this areawill not only inform students about thesimilarities and differences but can alsohelp them to understand and respectdifference.

Relationships and sexuality educationThe recommended lessons for this modulecan be adapted to bring out theintercultural aspects. As with othermodules, the teacher can show sensitivityto the different expectations and valuesfound amongst different cultures in thearea of relationships and sexuality.Methodologies used in SPHE can greatlyfacilitate students in learning aboutthemselves and others. Empathetic listeningskills and skills of conflict resolution areparticularly important in SPHE. Active

learning methodologies can maximize thepotential for these skills to be developedamongst the students. When students shareappropriate personal information, discusstheir values, attitudes, thoughts and fearswith one another, they can become awarethat all people are different and yet sharesimilarities. They can come to appreciatethat every classroom includes a variety ofcultures, even if all present were born andreared in Ireland.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes in SPHE aswell as sample lessons can be found on theCD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie.

Technology subjects

Three of the technology subjects at JuniorCycle, Materials Technology (wood),Metalwork and Technology, have a similarfocus, not withstanding some differences ofemphasis, on the utilisation of a range ofmaterials and components in design andmanufacture. Common opportunities forintercultural education exist in each of thesubjects in this group. The fourth subject,Technical Graphics, focuses on theapplication of two and three-dimensionalreasoning to the solution of graphical andspatial problems of an abstract andpractical nature. Technical Graphicsprovides affords opportunities for adifferent range of intercultural experiencesthan the other group of subjects.

1. Design and manufacturing basedtechnology subjects

These subjects seek to foster skillsassociated with creative activity wherestudents interact with their environment,using appropriate materials and processesin response to needs, wants andopportunities. The fundamental problemsthat such a ‘design and make’


http://www.ncca.ie

technological experience presents tostudents are similar in any cultural contextbut its resolution will be dependent on theresources available in that community.Exploring ‘design and make’ situationswhere the availability of materials andprocesses is restricted to reflect a differentset of cultural circumstance is an approachthat has been used in these subjects andhas considerably more potential. These subjects seek to ‘contribute to thestudents appreciation of ecological andenvironmental factors and the use ofnatural resources’ (Materials Technology(wood) Syllabus, p.4) and ‘to develop thestudent’s knowledge and understanding ofhow technology impacts on society and anunderstanding of how it might be used tothe benefit or detriment of the social andphysical environment’ (TechnologySyllabus, p.2). The engagement required bythese aims leads to an appreciation of theoften conflicting needs of a variety ofcultures.

It is evident that these subjects can providefor the encouragement of curiosity aboutcultural differences. They can contribute tothe acquisition of perspectives by studentson their own practices and their impact onother societies which are all benefits of anintercultural education.

In an inclusive technology educationexperience

• students appreciate the origins of themain materials they work with in theclassroom and the impact theproduction of that material has on thecommunity they originated from

• students explore the solution they wouldpropose to a design and manufactureproblem, given a different set ofeconomic and cultural constraints tothose they are familiar with

• students will appreciate the contributionof other cultures to the advancement oftechnology

• students will have an appreciation ofalternative manufacturing techniquesand craft traditions from other parts ofthe world.

2. Technical Graphics

Technical Graphics develops the skills ofstudents in representing the physical world in a graphical format. Thisrepresentation conforms to internationallyagreed norms which are in use worldwideresulting in a common graphical ‘language’being used in most cultural contexts. This provides a unique opportunity forteachers to focus on the similarity thatexists in communication across variouscultures and to utilise graphic images thatoriginate in other cultures as a basis forclassroom activity.

In an inclusive Technical Graphicsprogramme

• students will be presented withopportunities to draw logograms andother objects that originate in othercultures;

• students will read product assemblyinstructions presented to them in anunfamiliar language with associatedgraphical illustration;

• students will be presented with asituation that requires them to generategraphical images that can form the basisof communication with people in otherparts of the world.

A detailed audit of the opportunities forincluding intercultural themes inTechnology subjects as well as samplelessons can be found on the CD-ROM andat www.ncca.ie.



http://www.ncca.ie

Approaches and Methodologies

6

79

As the characteristics of interculturaleducation outlined in chapter two makeclear, the approaches and methodologiesthat are particularly suitable for anintercultural approach are those that useactive learning strategies, in particular theuse of discussion. This chapter, and thesubsequent exemplars, identify how activelearning methodologies can be appliedacross a range of subject areas in the post-primary classroom.

ACTIVE LEARNING

The real voyage in discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but inhaving new eyes.(Marcel Proust)

Today, active learning approaches arefirmly rooted in post-primary teaching andare central to the successful delivery of amost subjects. Active learning is a process

in which students actively participate intheir learning in a variety of ways. Thisincreases the possibility that students willinternalise what they have learned and beable to apply it to their day-to-day livesand to everyday situations. This makesactive learning crucial to the developmentof responsible global citizenship.

Active learning

• engages students physically, cognitivelyand emotionally

• places students at the centre of thelearning process through ensuring thatthe content is relevant to their own livesand is engaging for them

• promotes responsibility, confidence andself-esteem as students becomeresponsible for their own learning

• acknowledges that students learn fromeach other and teachers learn fromstudents, as well as vice versa


APPROACHES AND METHODOLOGIES

Education shall be directed to the full development of the humanpersonality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights andfundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance andfriendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall furtherthe activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace…

(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26.)

6

• allows for flexibility of teachingmethodologies and so accommodatesdifferent kinds of intelligence anddifferent learning styles

• builds skills of problem-solving, criticalthinking and co-operation

• requires an atmosphere of trust andsupport in order to ensure that studentsdo engage and feel secure in expressingtheir own views or in trying out newskills

• promotes action, as students learn torecognise their own capacity and self-efficacy.

In approaching concepts like the value ofdiversity or rights and responsibilities, orin learning skills such as negotiatedsolutions to conflict it is often useful toutilise real-life situations within thelearning process. The active learningmethodologies outlined in the exemplarswhich support these guidelines (availableon the CD-ROM and at www.ncca.ie)offer a range of ideas for doing this.Clearly, there are times when fraughtemotions make this difficult. The sectionon dealing with controversial issues at theend of this chapter might be useful in suchsituations.

Active learning methods

Structured discussion

Discussion has a key role in interculturaleducation. It provides a chance forstudents to talk about their ideas andfeelings and can open up opportunities fordeveloping or changing their ideas orfeelings where appropriate. It can developa range of skills such as asking questions,active and positive listening, taking turns,summarising views, etc.

Crucial to engaging in open discussion isan atmosphere of trust and support.Students need to feel that they can speak

their mind. While students should beconfronted about inaccurate, hurtful orhostile statements, this should be done insuch a way that they are affirmed as aperson, while their view is challenged.

It is not a good idea to throw open adiscussion without first providing someguidance and ground rules for discussion.It is also the teacher’s role to provide asuitable stimulus for generating discussion,such as a poem, newspaper article, piece ofmusic, visual stimulus or physical activity.

A sample set of ground rules might include

• everyone is shown respect• everyone is given a chance to speak in

the group• everyone is listened to – no interruptions• no put-downs• everyone’s right to their opinion is

respected• everyone is expected to back up their

opinion• everyone has the freedom to change

their opinion based on reflectivediscussion

• no generalisations e.g. ‘all refugees are...all Muslims are...’.

Adapted from Changing Perspectives:Cultural Diversity and Equality in Irelandand the Wider World (A resource forCSPE) 2002, CDVEC CurriculumDevelopment Unit.

Simulation games and role-play

Simulation games and role-play are widelyused to provide students with a chance to‘live out’ a real life situation in a safeenvironment. For effective role-playingthere is need for careful preparation,including preparation of role-cards,reflection questions and any relevantbackground information. It is important tochoose a theme that is clearly focused and


APPROACHES AND METHODOLOGIES 6

http://www.ncca.ie

is likely to generate worthwhile reflection,analysis and debate. Allowing sufficienttime to bring students out of role and todiscuss their experience of role-play isvital. Finally, teachers should respectstudent’s choice not to participate in a role-play. In such cases they can play animportant role in actively listening andreporting on what they observed.

Debate

A debate works best is students are given achance to debate a topic that is of genuineinterest to them and if they are given timeand support to prepare for the debate(background information,newspaper/magazine articles, usefulwebsites, etc.) One of the pitfalls ofclassroom debates is the tendency amongststudents to rigidly take up a position andnot see the value of the alternative view.One approach which may help in thissituation is to invite students to researchand present a point of view on an issue,then switch sides and argue for theopposite point of view. Finally, the grouptries to come to a consensus on the issuesand writes a group report describing theissue and their combined thinking about it.The process requires students to make useof collaborative skills, and perspectivetaking and consensus are built into theprocedure.

A walking debate is another good way ofallowing students to debate an issue.According to this method, a statement isread out to the class and they are asked toposition themselves at one end of the classroom if they agree and at the other end ifthey disagree. Those who are uncertain canstand in the middle. According as the issueis debated students can move theirposition. The movement encouragesopinions to change and also allows foruncertainty and an acceptance that allissues are not black and white.

Issue tracking

Issue tracking is a method by whichstudents can follow and explore an issue ortopic that is currently in the news. In thecontext of intercultural education it mightbe interesting to track the depiction ofrefugees and asylum seekers in Ireland orthe issue of religious practice and religiousdiversity in Ireland. Issue tracking developsgroup work and cooperation skills asstudents must work in groups and decideon the best way to collect information. Theteacher can stimulate the search bybringing newspapers to class on the firstday or by showing a news report on thechosen issue. Students can compile a scrapbook, or wall chart or use the internet andcomputer to compile an electronic scrap-book. This methodology allows fordiscussion on the difference between factand opinion and the role of perspectiveand bias in the media.

Photos, artwork and images

An image or photo can be a useful way ofstimulating interest in a topic, especially ifthe image is slightly puzzling orchallenging. Students can be invited toquestion the photo. Who took it? Wherewas it taken? What was happening at thetime the photo was taken? What happenednext? etc. It is important to avoid usingimages that may reinforce students’prejudices or stereotypes.

Students can also be invited to depict theirown understanding of an issue throughartwork, cartoons, collage or sculpture. Itis important to reassure students thateveryone’s efforts are of value includingthose who are not ‘good at art’.

The use of freeze-frame can be anothereffective way of using images to exploredifferent experiences, perspectives andfeelings. To do this the teacher might read


a poem or a story and then ask thestudents in small groups to pick one linefrom the story and create a still imageshowing what is happening at thatmoment. When the teacher places his/herhand on a student’s shoulder they areencouraged to verbalise their thoughts incharacter. The range of attitudes andthoughts that emerge can be the subject forrich discussion.

Survey/questionnaire

A survey or questionnaire can developskills of communication, gathering andinterpreting information and cooperation.It enables action beyond the classroom andcan often involve the school or widercommunity.

DEALING WITH CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES

All educators can find themselves dealingwith controversial issues in the classroom.Issues of justice and morality, of humanrights and responsibility, of belief andpractice, of life and its meaning, are at theheart of all education. Therefore,controversial issues are encountered almostdaily in the classroom. These issues arecontroversial because there is no one fixedor universally held point of view. Acontroversial issue is defined as an area ofinquiry about which people can holdsincere conflicting points of view. There areoften diverse religious as well as secularperspectives on such issues.

Because issues are controversial they arelikely to challenge students' values, beliefs,and world views. This can be verythreatening and may even cause distress tosome students. Therefore whencontroversial issues are addressed in theclassroom teachers need special skills toensure a positive outcome.

An important outcome in teaching aboutsuch controversial material would be toachieve a classroom atmosphere in whichstudents engage in interesting and informeddialogues, free to express their opinionsand relate their experiences, yet remainingrespectful of both other students and otheropinions.

Achieving a balance of ‘freedom withinstructure’ is not easy, and discomfort canresult if the balance between the two islost. This can arise from a too-tightly-controlled classroom in which students areafraid to speak or a too-loosely-controlledclassroom in which unchecked oruninformed personal opinion monopoliseclass time. This section offers someguidelines for facilitating discussion toachieve this balance.

Some tips for teaching controversial issues

The following tips are aimed at helpingteachers keep control of the situation whilemaintaining open enquiry and dialogue.

Make your classroom a safe place in whichto ask questions and discuss ideasBefore students can ask questions ordiscuss controversial issues, they need tofeel that the classroom is a safe place inwhich to ask questions or disagree withclassmates without being put down for it.Ground rules for discussion should beestablished early in the year and reinforcedregularly - not just for discussions aboutcontroversial issues, but for all discussions.

Appeal to students’ better nature In introducing an issue that has thepotential to become controversial, teacherscan remind students of the importance ofrespect and tolerance. They might alsomake a humanitarian appeal to students toremember that prejudiced remarks made inclass may offend or embarrass theirclassmates.



Most students do not want intentionally tohurt others, and, with this reminder, theymay strive to couch their comments in lessinflammatory language.

Find out what students know and thinkabout an issue before beginning an inquiryFind out what they know about an issue,what they think they know but aren't sureabout, where their information comesfrom, and what questions they have. Theirresponses can come from directquestioning, brainstorming, groupdiscussions, and journal-writing.

Expose students to multiple perspectivesAvoid classroom discussions on issues untilstudents have had an opportunity toresearch and explore the issue from avariety of perspectives. But remember,exposure to different points of view on acontroversial issue is necessary butinsufficient. Students may listen, view, orread only to support what they alreadythink or to find flaws, omissions,misinformation.

A key habit of mind the teacher seeks todevelop through these processes is ‘criticalopenness’–both a disposition to be open-minded to others' views and the ability tosubject them to critical study, both thewillingness to suspend judgment and theability ultimately to reach reasonedconclusions that are open to change.

Promote dialogue and active listeningStudents usually need help inunderstanding the differences betweendialogue and debate. Dialogue aims forunderstanding, enlargement of view,complicating one's thinking, an opennessto change. Dialogue requires real listening.It also requires humility.

How can I dialogue if I always projectignorance onto others and never perceivemy own? How can I dialogue if I am closedto, and even offended by, the contributionof others?(Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.)

An excellent way to promote listening is by asking students to re-state theperspective of others. Have themparaphrase what they hear another student saying to gain this skill.

Use active learning methodologiesStudents learn best when actively engagedin the learning. In teaching controversialissues it is important to provideopportunities for various kinds of groupdiscussions: pairs, conversation circles,panels, fishbowls. In addition activelearning methodologies can be useful inbuilding empathy (e.g. role-play) and inchallenging strongly held prejudices (e.g. asimulation game).

Promote critical thinking Promote skills of critical evaluation andencourage students to interrogateinformation, its origins and possible biases.Ask critical question to help students tounderstand the origins of their ideas andattitudes.

Some examples of critical questioning

• What is your current understanding of(state issue)?

• Why do you think/feel that way?• Where have your perceptions and

understanding come from?• How reliable is this information?• Where have your images come from?• What might be the role of the media in

influencing how you see this situation?• What about other influences – friends,

family, religion?• Can you imagine an alternative way of

seeing this issue? What might it be like?


When dealing with controversial issues,teachers should adopt strategies that teachstudents how to recognise bias, how toevaluate evidence put before them andhow to look for alternative interpretations,viewpoints and sources of evidence, aboveall to give good reasons for everything theysay and do, and to expect good reasons tobe given by others. (Bailey, 1998)

The teacher’s role in dealing withcontroversial issues

1. Examine yourself

What do you, the teacher, think and feelabout an issue? Why? Would you tellstudents at the outset what your viewsare so that they can allow for possiblebiases? Or should you not tell them, butguard against any inclinations tomanipulate and propagandise?

2. Be responsive to students' feelings and values

Through such techniques as thoseoutlined above, students' feelings and

values are likely to be revealed, forexamining a controversial issue is not abloodless exercise. Just as the teacher'srole is not to tell students what to thinkbut to help them learn how to think, sothat role is not to tell students whatfeelings and values to have but topromote an atmosphere in which theycan express them without fear, makethem explicit to themselves, andconsider their validity.

3. Model respect and fairness

Show respect for all students and theirright to express their views. Showbalance in representing opposingpositions accurately and fairly.

The teacher cannot pretend to beneutral and has a right to express anopinion too. But it is important to stateone’s own opinion in a way thatrespects others and does not serve toclose down the discussion.



4. Correct misinformation

One important role for the teacherduring a discussion on a controversialissue is to gently correctmisinformation. Keep this informationsimple and to the point. Avoid enteringinto confrontation or adopting anargumentative stance with a student orgroup of students.

5. Emphasise that conflicts areopportunities

Most controversial issues can generateconflict, and a discussion aboutcontroversial issues is a good time toremind children that conflicts areopportunities for learning and growth.

6. Show your humanity

Admit doubts, difficulties, andweaknesses in your own position. Allow the students to question yourposition too.

7. Establish a means of closure

Ensure that the discussion is brought toclosure with due sensitivity to thefeelings that may have been aroused.

EMPATHETIC LISTENING

Listening lies at the heart of education for respect and mutual understanding.Without listening it is not possible to enteranother person’s world and hear theirstory. Empathetic listening means listeningwith the intent to understand. This is askill that can be fostered amongst students(see exemplars on the web at www.ncca.ie)and also one that can be modelled by the teacher.

CHECK LIST TO SEE IF I AM A GOODLISTENING ROLE MODEL

Do I really care about each student in my class?

Can I find something good to say about each student?

Do I speak respectfully to eachindividual?

Do I let students finish what they aretrying to say, and if they hesitate, do I encourage them to go on?

Do I withhold judgement until the person has finished speaking?

Am I able to avoid confrontation?

Do I express understanding and empathy,as appropriate?

Do I regularly give positive feedback toeach pupil?

Do I assume certain pupils are guiltybefore listening to the facts?

Am I able to apologise when I treat astudent unfairly?

Is my body language consistent with my words?

For example, do I ask them how they aregetting on and look poised to rush off?

Adapted from Quality Circle Time in the Secondary School – A Handbook ofGood Practice by Jenny Mosley andMarilyn Tew, David Fulton Publishers,London, 1999.


http://www.ncca.ie

CLASSROOM EXERCISE: LISTENING FORFACTS, LISTENING FOR FEELINGS.

The aim of this exercise is to give practiceto the art of listening and create awarenessthat listening is not only about listening tofacts but also to the feelings of a person.

Steps

1. Divide into groups of 3. Each groupletters themselves A, B, C.

2. A is asked to speak for 2-3 minutes ona topic that they have strong feelingsabout, e.g. something they feel angryabout or excited about. While A isspeaking, B listens to the facts of whatA is saying and C listens to the feelingsA is expressing.

3. B gives feedback to A on the factsheard: C gives feedback on the feelingsheard. A responds saying whether ornot the feedback is accurate.

4. The exercise is then repeated with eachperson in thegroup assuming adifferent role.

5. When each person has had a turn beingA, B, and C then the whole groupcomes together to share their thoughtson the exercise. The teacher might ask- Which did you find easier to listen to,facts or feelings? What did you noticeabout the body language of eachspeaker? Did it match the feelingsbeing expressed? Are there times whenwe speak and try to conceal our truefeelings? Why is it important to listento both the facts being spoken and thefeelings behind them?

Adapted from Partners Companion toTraining for Transformation, compiled andwritten by Maureen Sheehy, Published byPartners, Training for Transformation,Dublin, 2000.



Assessment and Cultural Diversity

7

89

PURPOSES OF ASSESSMENT

Assessment takes different forms and canbe used in a variety of ways, such as toprovide feedback to students on theirprogress, to test and certify achievement(e.g. Junior and Leaving Certificate), todetermine the appropriate route forstudents to take through a differentiatedcurriculum or to identify specific areas ofdifficulty (or strength) for a given student.

As with other elements of the teaching andlearning process, assessment also plays akey role in the building of a relationshipbetween teacher and student. If theassessment process is positive then studentsdevelop a sense that the teacher isinterested in them and they will beaffirmed and motivated through theprocess. Dealing with assessment requiresboth the ability to build relationships thatmakes the assessment experience positiveand formative for students, and an

understanding of the purposes andmethods of assessment necessary to ensurethat accurate and useful conclusions can bedrawn to assist in future learning.

Post-primary teachers are presented withthe additional challenge of preparingstudents for formal state examinations.Students for whom the language ofinstruction and assessment is not their firstlanguage require considerable supportfrom their subject teachers and from thelanguage support teacher in familiarisngthem with the various assessment methodsthat they will encounter and theexamination vocabulary commonly used.While students may now use dictionaries inthe Junior and Leaving CertificateExaminations (S23/05, Use of BilingualDictionaries in the CertificateExaminations), it is important that they arefamiliar with the use of dictionaries in theirclasswork and school assessments.


ASSESSMENT AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Assessment is an essential element of the teaching and learningprocess. Its purposes include fostering learning, improving teachingand providing information about what has been done or achieved.

7

In the past, the main purpose of assessmentthroughout post-primary schooling was tomeasure and rank what students hadlearned, and indeed this model is stillwidely used, particularly in formal stateexaminations. This model relies mainly onsummative assessement which givesstudents marks or grades based on howmuch they have learned or the knowledgeand skills they can demonstrate in anexamination at specific points during theirschooling. The emphasis is on products(the presentation of the ideas, facts, etc.)rather than on the process (how thestudents set about collecting, organisingand interpretating the information).Elizabeth Coelho, points to the limitationsof such a narrow approach:

The measurement and ranking model isbased on an implicit belief that not allstudents have ‘what it takes’ to besuccessful, and the job of the school is tofind those who do, and to nurture them.Closer examination often shows that ‘whatit takes’ consists of proficiency in the

language of instruction, congruencebetween the cultural values andexperiences of the home and thosepromoted in the school, educated parents,and higher socioeconomic status. (Teaching and Learning in MulticulturalSchools - An Integrated Approach, 1998)

While schools and teachers are now moreaware of the need to help all studentsattain high standards of academicachievement and they recognise thatstudents’ understanding, skills andachievements cannot be easily categorisedinto one box or summed up in a singlegrade, the predominance of writtenexaminations that are heavily weightedtowards knowledge recall make it difficultto measure students’ performance over aperiod of time.

There is a growing awareness of the specialdifficulties associated with assessingstudents from minority and immigrantpopulations.


ASSESSMENT AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 7

The validity of relying solely on traditionaltesting methods has been questioned asresearch shows that students fromculturally diverse backgrounds typicallyscore lower than students from thedominant culture on traditionalstandardized measures and aredisproportionately identified ashandicapped or in need of special services.(Lidz, C. Handbook for MulticulturalAssessment p. 533.)

All this points to the need for teachers andthe formal examination system to besensitive to the rich cultural, linguistic andacademic diversity that is the fabric of Irishstudent life while at the same timebroadening their assessment tools toaccommodate this diversity.


Assessment can have a number of differentroles in the post-primary school.

• Used in a formative role, assessmentinvolves appraising or evaluating thework or performance of the students andusing this to shape and improve theirlearning. The Assessment for Learningmodel identifies that making available tostudents the criteria of judgement, thejudgements which are made and positivedirections in how to take learningforward, provides opportunities topositively reinforce and support studentsin future learning.

• Used in a diagnostic role, assessmentenables the teacher and the school toidentify specific areas of learning difficulty

for a student and to use this informationin planning for the student’s learning.

• Used in an evaluative role, assessmentprovides teachers with an opportunity toidentify how effectively the teachingstrategies and curriculum content beingused are working with the students theirclass and provides information on whicha modification of approach can be based.

• Used in a summative role, assessmentallows the teacher to identify outcomesof learning following the completion of aunit of work or when reporting toteachers, parents and others asappropriate. Formal examinations suchas end of year school examinations orstate examinations are also summative.

A number of assessment tools are used inpost-primary education, including:

• teacher observation• teacher-designed tasks and tests• work samples, portfolios and projects• curriculum profiles• externally prepared tasks and

examinations• diagnostic tests• standardised tests.

The qualitative and quantitativeinformation provided by these tools isalways subject to certain assumptions andqualifications. Any assessment tool does nomore than provide information, which thenmust be interpreted by the teacher.

As all assessment tools contain a potentialfor bias, an awareness of the variety ofassessment methods available and theirstrengths and weaknesses, is crucial toenabling teachers to arrive at balanced andinformed judgements.

POTENTIAL BIAS IN ASSESSMENT

There is a longstanding debate regardingthe appropriate strategies for use withminority populations and students withspecial needs. In Ireland, there is ampleevidence to show that the system ofassessment and certification in post-primary schools benefits certain groupsmore than others (Breen 1986, Hannan etal, 1996). In many studies, significantsocial-class differences have been foundshowing that those from poorerbackgrounds do significantly less well thanthose from middle-class backgrounds atLeaving Certificate. The reasons for thisare complex and while the system ofassessment and certification plays acontributory role it is not the only reasonfor inequalities in the performance ofstudents in state exams.

Many argue that the present stateexaminations assessment system reinforcesand accentuates the strong academic biasin second level schooling (CORI, 1998).Others point out that not only are themodes of assessment strongly academic,they are also heavily orientated tolinguistic and to logico-mathematical skills.Thus many human intelligences are notgiven recognition or respect, most notablypersonal intelligences (Lynch, 1999).

During recent decades new developmentsin education-such as the introduction ofTransition Year, the Leaving CertificateApplied, the Leaving Certificate VocationalProgramme, and new courses such as CSPEand SPHE, have provided opportunities fordeveloping different abilities and forpioneering different models of assessment.Even within the established LeavingCertificate we see a growing move towardsmore than one point of assessment. Thereare 31 Leaving Certificate subjects atpresent, of which fifteen involve onewritten terminal examination paper, eleveninvolve both a written exam and aproject/practical, and five involve a writtenand oral exam. The recent review of seniorcycle education in Ireland resulted inproposals for two assessment componentsfor all Leaving Certificate subjects, with anemphasis on broadening the range of skillsassessed (Proposals for the FutureDevelopment of Senior Cycle Education inIreland NCCA 2005).

Identifying potential for bias in assessment

There are a number of ways that teacherscan be vigilant to the potential for bias inassessment. The following section outlinessome of the ways that assessments can giverise to erroneous judgements aboutstudents, their learning or progress. Thiscan happen when assessment tools arethemselves biased, or when judgements are



based on data without sufficientconsideration being given to the potentialfor bias. There are two types of error thatcan arise in this context with anyassessment tool. These are (a) a ‘falsepositive’ result–falsely seeing somethingthat is not there and (b) a ‘false negative’result–failing to see something that is there.

(a) A ‘false positive’ result occurs when theassessment identifies a phenomenonthat is not in fact present. For example:

• Standardised tests in English whichare normed on a majority English-speaking population may lead to astudent being characterised ashaving language difficulties if thetest is used on a student from anethnic group which uses a differentEnglish dialect.

(b) A ‘false negative’ result occurs when anassessment fails to identify a student’scharacteristics, competencies, orproblems because the criteria used arenot sufficiently sensitive. For example:

• Written assessments which aredesigned to identify the extent of astudent’s learning or skills in aparticular curriculum area may failto identify these in a student forwhom the language of assessment isa second language. Such studentsmay experience greater difficulties informal communication of complexideas than those for whom thelanguage of assessment is their firstlanguage, even when the studentappears fluent in the language ofassessment in everyday life.

What the teacher/examiner should lookout for

There are three major ways in whichcultural or language factors may give riseto these sorts of errors in assessment.

(i) The content or construction of theassessment may be biased, giving unfairadvantage to one group over another.For example,

• an assessment of English oral languagewhich regards particular pronunciationsas correct is likely to be biased againstmany fluent English speakers whospeak in, for example, one of theAfrican English dialects

• a standardised word recognition testwhich has been normed on onepopulation group may well be biasedagainst members of minority ethnicgroups

• an assessment of a student’s socialengagement in class may conclude thata student who does not make eyecontact with a teacher is shy or un-engaged, whereas in some cultures it isinappropriate for young people to makeeye contact with adults

• there is evidence that the success rate ofdifferent ethnic groups in answeringmathematical problems is dependent inpart on how the problem is phrased.

(ii) The formatting, mode of testadministration or the examinerpersonality may favour one group ofexaminees over another. For example,

• tests that have to be completed within alimited time may well penalise testtakers who are not proficient in Englishbut who are proficient in the materialbeing tested

• students who are familiar withnegatively marked objective tests maywell have learned answering strategies


that maximise test scores, which willplace students who are unfamiliar withsuch tests at a disadvantage.

(iii) Assessment results may be used to basedecisions on inappropriate criteria. Forexample,

• a student may be allocated to an ability-based group based on social or othernon-ability related criteria. Forexample, research in the US has shownthe overrepresentation of MexicanAmerican children in special educationclasses. (Handbook of MulticulturalAssessment, p.18).

TOWARDS A MORE INCLUSIVE APPROACH TOASSESSMENT

Teachers are becoming more familiar withthe variety of assessment tools that are

available to gather information aboutstudents' learning. Asking questions,setting and correcting homeworkassignments, giving tests at the end of unitsof study, are all forms of assessment withwhich teachers are familiar.

Teachers use the results of this assessmentto inform students on their progress, toreport to parents and to plan futureclassroom activities. Difficulties arise whenassessment methods are used that areclearly inappropriate for the situation.Teachers as assessors need an expandingrepertory of assessment tools to ensure thatassessment procedures are fair andresponsive to the needs of all students,including students who are disadvantaged,coming to the system from another cultureor those for whom the language ofinstruction and assessment is not their firstlanguage. There are many alternatives to



formal tests that can be employed inclassroom-based assessment, such as one-to-one interviews, student journals,students making a presentation/demonstration, or observation of studentscompleting tasks and showing certainskills. For example, in one-to-oneinterviews a teacher can ask a student toshow comprehension or knowledge usingconcrete or visual stimuli, e.g. point to….,show me…. etc. Assessment throughobservation can be a useful way of seeing avariety of skills or aptitudes in action, e.g.interpersonal skills, team-work andcooperation skills, listening skills, problem-solving skills, technical skills etc. However,care should be taken not to misunderstandcultural traits. For example, if a student isnot actively involved in group-work thismight simply be due to the fact that activelearning is not a familiar method oflearning in the student’s country of origin.

Assessment for learning

Recent advances in our knowledge of howlearning takes place and how learnersmake their way through classroomactivities have led to new understandingsof the importance of assessment in thepromotion of learning. Some of thisresearch is of particular interest forintercultural education as the focus inassessment activity begins to move from anemphasis on the assessment of learning toinclude assessment for learning; providingfeedback to learners on how to improvetheir learning and familiarising them witha range of assessment methods andassessment vocabulary in a positive way.

Assessment for learning and assessment oflearning are not opposing or contradictorypractices. While the assessment of learningwill always have a place in education andin classroom and school practice, thedevelopment of assessment for learningoffers new opportunities for teachers.

This approach has been particularlysuccessful in improving the motivation andperformance of students, includingexamination performance (William andBlack), who were not achieving to theirpotential. It is an approach that may alsobenefit students coming from diversecultural and linguistic backgroundsbecause of its emphasis on theteacher/student reviewing learning together,the belief that every pupil can improve, thebuilding of self-esteem, and the provisionof ongoing feedback and encouragement.Furthermore, assessment for learningenables teachers to assess and recognise adiverse range of achievements so that alllearners can have efforts recognised.

This approach is also useful in assessingthe prior skills and learning of newcomersto a class. It enables teachers to establishprior learning in a way that is positive andnon-judgmental and the focus is on movingthe new student forward to develop newskills and learning.

For more on assessment for learning seewww.ncca.ie/junior cycle review.

The main features of assessment oflearning and assessment for learning are setout opposite.


http://www.ncca.ie/junior

Performance-based assessment

The use of performance-based assessmentinvolves the following:

• Showing the learners a variety ofexamples of good performance - samplework reports, student journals, projects,essays, practical work, videotapes oforal presentations, etc.

• Encouraging students to discuss whythese samples show good performanceand so agree the criteria for goodperformance.

• Providing opportunities for students tomodel good performance themselveswith teacher guidance and support.

• Providing positive feedback on theprocess of learning as well as theproduct.

• Allowing students to assess their ownwork and submit the best examples aspart of summative assessment.

Self-assessment

One of the most important components ofassessment for learning is the use ofstudent self-assessment. Self-assessment,with clearly defined aims and criteria canenable students to identify their ownstrengths and weaknesses as learners, toevaluate progress they have made, and tosuggest steps for improvement. Moststudents enjoy well-planned and carefullystructured self-assessment activities. Theycan be a motivation for students and canencourage self-directed learning.Suggestions for improvement are integralto the self-assessment process, but it isimportant that students make their ownsuggestions as to how they might improve.This involvement of the student in theassessment strategy will by its nature be alearning process for teachers and studentsalike. It will involve a new way of lookingat assessment to facilitate learning and toengage parents/guardians and the studentin achieving their own goals and targets.



Assessment of learning

• happens after the learning takes place

• information is gathered by the teacher

• information is usually transformed into marks or grades

• compares performance with theperformance of others

• looks back on past learning

• focuses on the individual

• often plays a significant role on selection.

Assessment for learning

• is an integral part of the learning process

• information is shared with the learner

• information is available on the quality of learning

• compares performance with aims andobjectives is important

• looks forward to the next stage oflearning

• focuses on the individual and on groups

• outcomes are focused on progressing learning.

Portfolio assessment

Many writers on the education oflinguistically and culturally diversestudents recommend portfolio assessmentas a more equitable way of gatheringinformation about students’ learning.(Trumbull and Farr, 1996; Genesee andHamayan, 1994: Freeman and Freeman,1991).

What is a portfolio?A portfolio is a collection of work thatshows an individual’s efforts, progress orachievements over an extended period oftime. The development of a portfolioinvolves documentation of achievements,self-evaluations and reflections on learningcollected over a period of time. The use ofportfolios is an effective method ofassessment that can provide newcomerstudents with a positive record ofachievement and progress made.

The portfolio is not simply a collection ofsamples of work; it is a record of progressand achievement. It is important that theportfolio includes more than one indicatorof achievement and can enable a widerange of knowledge, skills and attitudes tobe recorded. Several entries should reflect

different learning styles and key learningexperiences, for example, key experiments,worksheets, essay answers, researchprojects, video recordings or audiopresentations /interviews, reflective writing/journal work, etc. It should also includethe use of a learning log, recording thestudent’s own observations and those ofthe teacher. Student’s choice in the selectionof work is also important. Themanagement of the portfolio can besupported by the language support teacher,where appropriate.

The teacher’s role is to

• explain the purpose of the portfolio• focus the student’s learning on the

process of making the portfolio ratherthan on the mechanics

• agree the criteria for the selection andcollection of materials

• advise students regarding self-evaluationand reflective statement

• agree expectations and criteria to beused in the assessment of the portfolios

• keep the portfolios simple to begin withand allow them to become moresophisticated

• help develop a management system.


Guidelines for setting homework andassessment questions

• Keep questions as short and simple aspossible.

• Avoid the unnecessary use of metaphorsor colloquialisms.

• Where possible provide visual clues toshow students what to do.

• Provide support to students whose firstlanguage is not English. For example,teachers can set questions and then canprovide a set of words and phrases tochoose from. Multiple choice questionscan also be useful in this regard, althoughcare should be taken as students fromanother education system may not befamiliar with this method of assessment.

• Familiarise students with the structureand vocabulary of the tests andexaminations. Explain commonly usedwords such as ‘identify’, ‘describe’, ‘list’,‘discuss’.

• Teach the students how to take the test byproviding practice questions that are notscored. Give feedback on the practicequestions.

• Do not ask the students to attempt thewhole test paper at once. Break it up intomanageable bites. It is less intimidating ifstudents are faced with one section at atime.

• Avoid references to culturally specific andcontextual knowledge that some studentsmay not share.

• Encourage second-language learners touse dictionaries.

• Allow sufficient time for students tocomplete the examination.

THE ROLE OF SCHOOLS IN PROMOTINGPOSITIVE ASSESSMENT METHODS

Schools have a role to play in reducinginequality and bias in assessment andpromoting the use of more inclusivemodels of assessment.

• As part of its overall school plan,schools can set out clearly its policy andprovision for redressing problems ofdisadvantage and inequality throughschool-based assessment. This mightinclude provision of dictionaries forschool examination purposes, allowingextra time for students for whomEnglish is not their first language.

• Secondly, they can broaden the range ofassessment tools to facilitate differentcultures, backgrounds and intelligencesand to assist students to demonstrate adiversity of skills, aptitudes andachievements.

• Thirdly, they can have a clear policy forthe regular assessment of pupils with aview to identifying at the earliestpossible point, those pupils in need ofextra help.

• Finally, they can work closely withparents to develop a real partnershipand so enhance each student’s potentialfor success.

ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS UPON ENTRY TO SCHOOL

In order to gain sufficient information tosupport the student’s learning, it may beappropriate to assess some students uponentry into the school. For example,students who have recently arrived fromanother country, or students for whomEnglish is not a first language, may benefitfrom the tailoring of education experiencesthat might stem from such assessment. Indeciding which students to assess on entryto school, it is important that teacherjudgement be used in consultation with theparents, and having regard to:

• the inappropriateness and potentiallabelling of students that might resultfrom assessing all children fromminority ethnic groups who attend theschool;



• the manageability of assessing numbersof students upon entry.

The purpose of such an assessment is oftento develop a positive profile of the student,that is, a profile that outlines the range ofthe student’s capabilities. Given its holisticnature, the process of building a positiveprofile may be more intrusive than morelimited styles of initial assessment. It isessential that the relationship between theassessment and the student’s education ismade clear to both the student and theirparents or guardians. At the same time,such an assessment has the potential tobuild a positive relationship between thestudent and the school, and can build thestudent’s self-esteem and enhance theircapacity to engage in a constructive waywith the life of the school.

Positive profiles are distinguished fromother forms of assessment by threefeatures.

• Positive profiles are holistic, exploringthe full range of the student’s capacitiesand behaviours. Positive profiles mayinclude, among other things, a personsacademic attainments, their learningstyles, their communication skills, theirinterests and talents, their perceptualand motor skills, their social skills andtheir inter-personal and intra-personalawareness.

• Positive profiles are built up through a range of different forms of data-gathering including observation,standardised and teacher-designedtesting, and consultation with otherpeople who know the student such asparents or guardians.

Such profiles have a positive focus insofaras they record only what a student can do.This enables the development of a learningprogramme, which identifies what can betaught next. The student’s knowledge,strengths and interests can be drawn uponin the development of such a programme.


STANDARDISED TESTS

These tests may be used in post-primaryschools to either give an idea of thestudent’s performance when compared to abroader population (norm-referencedtests), or to provide data on a student’smastery of a body of material (criterion-referenced tests). Such tests have usuallybeen developed by assessment specialists or by subject-area specialists and haveoften been developed through large-scalestudies of populations. Tests may assume alevel of culturally specific knowledge orcapacity, and may therefore give a basis forfalse judgements for those whose culturediffers from the population used indesigning the test.

It is important that teachers and schoolmanagement consider the student’s culturaland linguistic background wheninterpreting the results of such tests.Student’s for whom the language ofassessment is not their first language arelikely to be disadvantaged by such tests. It is advisable to consider the results ofstandardised tests for culturally orlinguistically diverse students inconjunction with other assessment methodsthat help to build up a positive profile ofthe student.



Language and Interculturalism

8

103

Ireland has two official languages, Irishand English, and is also the home of anumber of other native languages,including Ulster Scots, Irish Sign languageand Gammon or Cant (a languagehistorically known to and used by IrishTravellers). Both English and Irish play animportant role in Irish identity and society.It is a particular feature of the Irisheducation system that children andteachers have an experience of learningand teaching in two languages, from thebeginning of school.

Most children acquire a first language aspart of their natural development. Inhomes where two language are used indaily communication children usually

acquire both as first language. Languagelearning that takes place after a firstlanguage has been acquired tends to be aconscious and intentional process; that is,learners are aware of their learning andhave (or are given) specific learning goals.This is the normal condition of learninglanguages other than the mother tongue atschool, though for very young children inimmersion situations learning a secondlanguage is likely to be more intuitive andunconscious than analytical and conscious.One of the main challenges facing teachersand schools supporting learners from awide range of diverse backgrounds is howto support those learners whose firstlanguage is not the language of instruction(Irish or English).


LANGUAGE AND INTERCULTURALISM

Language is the principal means of human communication. It is thevehicle through which information, ideas, aspirations, attitudes andemotions are articulated and imaginative possibilities are predicted.Ireland has long been a linguistically diverse society.

8

LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE

Most children learn to speak their firstlanguage, the language of theirenvironment, as part of a natural processthat combines their language learning withtheir general cognitive development andtheir gradual socialisation. Depending onthe environment in which they live,children will differ from one another intheir early experiences and this will affecttheir language acquisition, for example inrelation to the words they know, how theyform sentences and how they use grammar.Second language acquisition on the otherhand, is quite different.

• Unless it begins in early childhood,second language acquisition is not partof the learner’s primary cognitivedevelopment.

• In most cases learners have much lesstime for second language acquisitionthan they had for first languageacquisition.

• The later second language acquisitionbegins the more it is necessarily aconscious and intentional process.

• The later second language acquisitionbegins the more it is influenced byconscious motivational factors.

• All learners of second languagessubconsciously transfer grammatical(lexical, syntactical, phonological)properties of their first language to theirsecond language.

• Compared with native speakers, secondlanguage learners’ internalisedgrammatical knowledge is incomplete,particularly at the early stages oflanguage learning. (Adapted fromIntegrate Ireland Language and Training,Language Training Manual.)

Experience of a second language is thoughtto have a number of benefits for pupils,including enhancing cognitive developmentand increasing the capacity for learning

subsequent languages (Baker, C. and PrysJones, S. 1998).

In post-primary schools in Ireland, Irish istaught both as a first and as a secondlanguage. There are many similaritiesbetween the teaching of English and Irishas second languages. The key featuresoutlined for the teaching of Irish as asecond language can also be applied to theteaching of English as a second language.These include

• ensuring that learners are sufficientlycompetent to participate in the bilingualsociety

• developing self-confidence through aguided understanding of Irish cultureand heritage and developing culturalawareness to inspire creativity, enterpriseand innovation

• enhancing cognitive development withgrowing bilingual competence

• developing understanding of the natureof language and language learning

• furthering learners’ personal and socialdevelopment;

• imbuing learners with an understandingof the nature of communication

• developing learners’ abilities ofimagination and creativity throughresponding to a variety of literary andcultural texts, materials and activities

• developing learners’ understanding ofculture and native songs.

(Translated from Junior Certificate Gaeilgesyllabus 66-67.)

Gaeilge

Through the interaction of language andexperience students learn how to nameevents and ideas, and in doing so, learnhow to make sense of the world aroundthem. The recognition of the normality andvalue of diversity will be dependent on thelanguage the student learns to apply to


LANGUAGE AND INTERCULTURALISM 8

situations through his/her learning of Irish.This becomes particularly important in thecontext of Gaelcholáistí or Gaeltachtschools. Students in such schools willdevelop intercultural perspectives andcapacities through their learning oflanguage and other aspects of thecurriculum. In this context, care can betaken in the selection of poems, stories,literature, case studies, role-plays andconversation topics in order to reflect thethemes and concerns of interculturaleducation.

In schools where English is the medium ofinstruction, students learn Irish as a secondlanguage. A knowledge and experience inIrish as well as a positive attitude to theIrish language are important in enablingthe student to define and express her or hiscultural identity. It is crucial, therefore,that the learning of Irish be a positive and

rewarding experience for all students inIrish schools. Developing a positive senseof his or her own cultural identity is anintegral part of the process of coming torespect and engage positively with othercultures and, as such, has a central role inintercultural education. This, in turn, is akey component in enabling the student toengage positively and in an interculturalway with other cultures.

Learning Irish also provides an opportunityfor the student to recognise the value of,gain an understanding of, and engage inthe practice of multilingualism, a practicethat is common in many countries andcultures throughout the world. As studentswork to develop their language capacity inIrish, they are also given an opportunity tounderstand and empathise with thedifficulties and challenge faced by thosewho find themselves working through a


language that is not their first language. As such, students experience of learningIrish provides a basis for developingempathy with and an appreciation for,those students who are required to learnthrough a language that is not their firstlanguage. Learning another language canalso contribute to the recognition andvalue of diversity.

Some students may be exempt fromlearning Irish in accordance with theDepartment of Education and Science’scircular 10/94. At the same time, it is theright of every student within the Irisheducation system to learn Irish. As the Irishlanguage is a key feature of Irish identityand culture, it can provide an enrichinginsight into and experience of Irish identity.Combined with this the student may berequired in later life to have a qualificationor attain a particular standard in Irish. Asa result the student’s parents or guardiansshould be supported in undertaking a fulland careful consideration of all of theissues involved before a decision onwhether or not to apply for such anexemption is availed of.

English as a second language

Students from a range of differentbackgrounds are learning English as asecond language in Irish schools, including

• students for whom Irish is a firstlanguage and who have grown up in aGaeltacht area

• students whose family’s first language isnot English but who have grown up inan area in which English is the firstlanguage

• students who have recently arrived froma non-English speaking country.

The student’s level of proficiency in Englishupon entering post-primary school may

vary considerably, depending on thecontext. Care must be taken to gaugeaccurately the student’s capacity in Englishas a second language, recognising thatalthough a student may appear reasonablyfluent in a second language in everydayinteraction this does not necessarily meanthat they will have the capacity to workfluently through that language in technicalcontexts, (for example in subjects such asScience or in the technology subjects,) or inattempting complex tasks, unlessappropriately supported.

When students enter post-primary schoolwith little or no proficiency in the Englishlanguage, they are at a disadvantage for anumber of reasons. Newly arrived studentsare faced with a very new situation wherenot only the language is a challenge, butthe school’s structures, policies andpractices may be very different to whatthey have been used to. As well as thelanguage obstacles with which they arefaced there are also many cultural nuancesthat provide new challenges. The challengeof learning a new language in anenvironment where everything is differentmay lead to difficulties with motivation.

The most critical stage of languagelearning for these students coincides withtheir arrival in school. They need supportin developing confidence in the schoolenvironment and the language support theyare given must allow them opportunities toevaluate their own progress and develop asense of achievement in their learning.

While newly arrived students may havevery little English, and even though theireducation may have been interrupted dueto the circumstances surrounding theirimmigration, it is important that they areplaced with students of their own agewhen they arrive in school. In general,students are more motivated to learn the



new language when they want and need tocommunicate, when they are learning withtheir peers, when they are engaged in age-appropriate activities and when learningnew information and new skills stimulatesthem. In some instances placing a newstudent with his/her peers may not suit the student’s needs at this time, forexample when his/her peers are in anexamination class.

SUPPORTING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING INTHE MAINSTREAM CLASSROOM

Introducing the newcomer student on entryinto the class

It is important when the student enters theclass for the first time that reference ismade to her or his language ability in apositive way. For example, he/she might beintroduced as Thierry who speaks Frenchfluently, has a little English and is learningIrish, rather than saying this that is Thierryand he doesn’t speak English or Irish.Many students who don’t speak thelanguage of instruction (i.e. Irish orEnglish) may speak a number of languagesfluently, and it is important that the factthat they do not speak the language ofinstruction is not seen as having languagedifficulties. Empathy for the student’ssituation can be developed through makingreference to the fact that most students arelearning either Irish or English as a secondlanguage and that it is not always easy toparticipate in a class that is not conductedthrough our first language. Other studentsshould be encouraged to be supportive oflanguage learners and to allow them timeto develop their second language skills,without making fun of them when theymake mistakes.

Students can also be encouraged to activelysupport language learners, by being madeaware that they can help language learnersunderstand the language of the classroom.

Students themselves may come up withsome great ideas as to how they cansupport their language-learning classmates,particularly if it is put in the context ofwhat would help them if they had to takepart in a geography class or maths classthrough a second language (for example,either English or Irish, as appropriate).

The classroom as a language classroom

Teachers are not only teachers ofgeography or maths, but they are alsolanguage teachers and their classrooms arelanguage classrooms.

The most important thing the classroomteacher can do for the learner of a secondlanguage is to demonstrate a positiveattitude towards language and linguisticdiversity and communicate this to theother students in their class. Teachers whofind themselves in this situation for thefirst time, may find it very daunting and alittle overwhelming, but there are somesimple steps that the classroom teacher cantake to create a classroom environmentthat is supportive of the second languagelearner.

Planned programme of support

Students learning through a secondlanguage need a planned programme ofsupport on entry into the post-primaryschool. This will involve co-operativeplanning between subject teachers, thelanguage support teacher and the parents.The effectiveness of this language supportcan be maximised by giving priority tolanguage that will allow learners to accessthe curriculum. It is also important to notethat newly-arrived students for whom thelanguage of instruction is not their firstlanguage may go through a silent periodwhile they are adjusting to the newenvironment.


Opportunities for greater engagement withthe curriculum

As language support teachers have limitedtime with their pupils, students need to beengaged with the spontaneous use of theirtarget language in realistic situations.

Learners of a second language may be ableto function very well in some areas of thecurriculum if teachers are aware of theirneeds and provide an appropriate learningenvironment in which they can learn newcontent and skills while developing theirknowledge of the language of instructionat the same time. Consequently, it isimportant that teachers would presentmaterial that is not only cognitivelydemanding but also context embedded.This includes ensuring that lessons andinstructions are accompanied by actionsand visual aids that provide a context forunderstanding what is taught.

Recognition of the importance of thestudents’ first languages

Students’ first languages continue to beimportant in their linguistic, social andcognitive development. Therefore it isimportant that the school would use everyopportunity to respect the students’ nativelanguages and encourage continueddevelopment of these languages, wherepossible.

This can be done in a number of ways:

• Parents should be encouraged tocontinue conversing with their childrenin their first language at home.Sometimes parents may try to negate thenative language in their anxiety toimmerse their children in the languageof instruction.

• Every effort should be made to includethe languages of the school communityin signs and notices around the school.For example, a welcome sign and signsfor the school office/reception could bedisplayed in all the languages of theschool community. Special effort couldbe made at major events like parent/teacher meetings, open evenings,prizegivings, etc.

• The school should involve students,parents and other community membersin helping with translations, whereappropriate.

• In cultural events such as schoolconcerts, graduations, etc. the use of alllanguages should be encouraged.

• Students should be encouraged to takepride in using words from their ownlanguage, for example, asking a studentto share with the class how a particularphrase might be expressed in thestudent’s own language. (Note: Somestudents may not be comfortable to dothis. The teacher will be able toascertain if and when the student ishappy to become involved in this way.)



Some simple guidelines for establishing a multilingual climate in the classroom

• It is important that the teacher is very aware of his or her own use of language:

- Use fewer words than you might normally use. - Repeat and rephrase. - Use hand and face expressions.- Emphasise key words. - Model or demonstrate.

• Make sure instructions are clear and logical.

• Use pictorial or multilingual signs (as opposed to those written in one language) in theclassroom.

• Communicate positive attitudes towards second language learning.

• Encourage students to share some words and phrases from their native language, and ifpossible learn and use some simple expressions in that language.

• Liaise with the language support teacher to collaborate on activities that the secondlanguage learner may engage in to access the curriculum. It is also useful to discusswhat is due to come up in your class with the language support teacher, so that thestudent can be prepared for the new areas.

• Make a point of making regular direct contact with the student.

• Be flexible in your grouping arrangements. Sometimes it may be useful to groupstudents to work in mixed groups in order to reflect the diversity of the classroom, whileat other times it may be more useful to group students peers who speak the samelanguage.

• Make sure the student is always actively engaged. While this may be difficult in theearly stages, it is very important for the new student to feel she or he is participating inthe class.

• Provide multilingual reading materials.

• Involve all students in actively supporting second language learning.

• Encourage students in the use of internet sites which will support second languagelearning.


Supports availableThe Department of Community, Rural andGaeltacht Affairs provides languagesupport for students in Gaeltacht schools,whose first language is not Irish, throughScéim na gCúntóiri Teanga. TheDepartment of Education and Scienceoperates a system of language support inprimary and post-primary schools for non-English speaking students. Training isprovided to English language supportteachers through Integrate IrelandLanguage and Training (IILT).

The supports available from IILT areaimed at Principals and Language SupportTeachers and include

• English Language ProficiencyBenchmarks - primary and post-primary

• European Language Portfolio – primaryand post-primary

• In-service seminars for language supportteachers - primary and post-primary

• Teacher support materials (mediatedthrough the in-service programme),including:

- English language teaching materialswhich can be photocopied

- subject-based materials- information sheets on a variety of

topics related to teaching English as asecond language in Irish schools

- special guides, for example on usingmainstream school texts for Englishlanguage support in primary andpost-primary schools

- assessment and record-keeping tools.



Glossary and Resources

113

Anti-racist education

Education that questions and opposes anyopinions and/or actions that serve todisadvantage groups on the grounds ofperceived difference, within which there isan assumption of inferiority.

Asylum seekers

A person awaiting the processing of theirapplication to seek asylum, having fled asituation of persecution and/or war.

Culture

The beliefs, behaviour, language, and entireway of life of a particular group of peopleat a particular time.

Diagnostic tests

Tests that enable the teacher and the schoolto identify specific areas of learningdifficulty for a child and to use thisinformation in planning for the child’slearning.

Discrimination

Exercising judgement or choice.

Unfair discrimination

Treating an individual or groupunfavourably.

Ethnic minority/ethnicity

A system of defining people who considerthemselves or are considered by others assharing a set of common characteristicsthat are different from other people livingin a society.

Hidden curriculum

As opposed to formal curriculum.

Immigration

The migration of people into a country.

Integrated thematic planning

Integrating various themes, interculturalthemes in the context of this document,into all of the subject areas being taught inschool.

Intercultural competence

The ability to put the values ofintercultural education into practice in ourdaily lives.

Intercultural education

Education that respects, celebrates, andrecognises the normality of diversity in allaspects of human life, promotes equalityand human rights, challenges unfairdiscrimination, and provides the valuesupon which equality is built.

Migrant workers

People who travel to other countries withthe intention of taking up employment.

Multicultural education

In the context of this document, educationthat acknowledges and celebrates thecultural diversity of contemporary society,based on an assumption that, by exposingall children to the social and culturalcustoms of ethnic minority communities,they will have a greater understanding andtolerance of people from differentbackgrounds.

Newcomer students

Students who arrive into a classroom froma country or background that is differentfrom that of the majority of children in theclassroom.


GLOSSARY

Positive profiling

A form of assessment that

• explores the full range of the child’scapacities and behaviours

• includes a range of different forms ofdata gathering

• records what a child can do.

Pluralism

The celebration of difference in society,allowing all ethnic and other minoritygroups to proclaim their identities withoutcoming into conflict with the majoritypopulation.

Prejudice

Unsubstantiated, unfavourable treatmentof an individual or group, which isdesigned to marginalize or disadvantagethat individual or group (often based ontheir membership of another social orethnic group but also often on sex, sexualorientation, religion, socio-economicstatus, age, and disability).

Race

A word widely used to describe groups ofpeople who are thought of as biologicallyseparate, without any genetic or biologicalbasis.

Racism/Racial discrimination

Any distinction, exclusion, restriction, orpreference based on race, colour, descent,or national or ethnic origin, which has thepurpose or effect of nullifying or impairingthe recognition, enjoyment, or exercise, onan equal footing, of human rights andfundamental freedoms in the political,economic, social, cultural, or otherdimension of public life.

Institutional racism

The application of general rules and/orpractices that do not make allowances forcultural differences, including indirectdiscrimination, a lack of proactivemeasures to prevent discrimination, a lackof professional expertise or training indealing with diversity, and a lack ofworkable facilities for consulting andlistening to minority groups.

Indirect racism

Practices and/or policies that do not on thesurface appear to disadvantage any groupmore than another but actually have adiscriminatory impact.

Individual racism

Treating another less favourably on thegrounds of their cultural origin.

Refugee

A person who has fled from his/hercountry of origin often as a result ofnatural disasters, war, military occupation,or fear of religious, racial, or politicalpersecution.

Standardised tests

Tests (predominantly in the areas ofEnglish and mathematics) that are normedacross a particular population and are usedmost regularly to determine children’sattainment in the context of the attainmentlevels of the wider population.

Stereotyping

Presenting an image of a person, a group,or a culture based on an assumed range ofactivities, characteristics, or behaviours.


GLOSSARY

American Educational Research Association

Standards for educational andpsychological testingAmerican Educational ResearchAssociation, 1999

Bailey

Teaching Values and Citizenship across theCurriculum Dept. of Education andEmployment, UK1998

Baker, C. and Prys Jones, S.

Encyclopaedia of bilingualism andbilingual educationClevedon, Multilingual Matters, 1998

Central Statistics Office

Census 2002, Principal Demographic ResultsDublin, The Stationery Office, 2003

Coelho, E.

Teaching and Learning in MulticulturalSchools – An Integrated ApproachPhiladelphia, Multicultural Matters Ltd.,1998

Cohen, E.G.

Designing Group work – Strategies for theHeterogeneous Classroom (Second Edition)New York, Teacher College Press, 1994.

Commission on the Future of Multi-EthnicBritain

The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain (The Parekh Report)London, Profile Books, 2000

Committee of Inquiry into the Education ofChildren from Ethnic Minority Groups

West Indian children in our schools:interim report of the Committee of Inquiryinto the Education of Children fromEthnic Minority Groups: The RamptonReportLondon, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office,1981

CORI

Inequality in Education - The Role ofAssessment and CertificationDublin, CORI, 1998

Covey, S

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective PeopleLondon, Simon and Schusler, 1998

Crosscare

Celebrating Difference: An InterculturalResource for Senior Primary ClassesBlackrock Teachers’ Centre and Crosscare,1996

Deman-Sparks, L. and the A.B.C. Task Force

Anti-Bias Curriculum Tools forEmpowering Young ChildrenWashington D.C., NAEYC, 1989

ESRI/NCCA

Moving Up – The experience of first yearstudents in post-primary education.Dublin, Liffey Press, 2004

Finders, M. and Lewis, C.

‘Why Some Parents Don’t Come toSchool’, Educational Leadership, 51

Integrate Ireland Language and Training

Language Training ManualDublin, IILT

Ireland, Department of Education and Science

Charting Our Education Future – The White Paper on EducationDublin, The Stationery Office, 1995

Ireland, Department of Education and ScienceSchool Planning: Developing a School Plan- Guidelines for Post Primary SchoolsBookfield Printing Company, 1999


Guidelines on Traveller Education inSecond Level SchoolsDublin, The Stationery Office, 2002


BIBLIOGRAPHY


Information Booklet for Schools onAsylum SeekersDepartment of Education and Science

Ireland, Department of Enterprise andEmployment

Employment and migration figureswww.entemp.ie

Johnson, D. and Johnson, R.

Teaching Children to Be PeacemakersMinnesota, Interaction Book Company,1995

The Joint Committee on Standards forEducational Evaluation

The Student Evaluation Standards – How to Improve Evaluations of StudentsLondon, Corwin Press, Sage Publications,2003

Lidz, C.S.

Handbook for Multicultural Assessment

Loyal, S. and Mulcahy, A.

Racism in Ireland: The Views of Black andEthnic MinoritiesDublin, Amnesty International IrishSection, 2001

Lynch, Kathleen Equality in Education

Dublin, Gill and Macmillan, 1999

Mac Gréil, M.

Prejudice in Ireland RevisitedMaynooth: Survey and Research Unit. St. Patrick’s College, 1996

MacLachlan, M. and

Cultivating PluralismDublin, Oak Tree Press, 2000

Liz Morris and Susanna Coghlan (Editors)

Cross-Currents A guide to multiculturalbooks for young peopleDublin, IBBY Ireland, 2005

O’Connor, N.

Bringing it all Back Home, The Influenceof Irish Music (2nd Edition).Dublin, Merlin Publishing, 2001

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Convention on the Rights of the Childhttp://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm Office of the High Commissioner forHuman RightsDeclaration on Race and Racial Prejudicehttp://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_prejud.htm

Office of the High Commissioner for HumanRights

International Convention on theElimination of All Forms of RacialDiscriminationhttp://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_icerd.htm

Parekh, B.

‘The Concept of Multicultural Education’in Mogdil, S. et al. (eds.) MulticulturalEducation, the Interminable DebateLewes and Philadelphia, Falmer Press,1986

Regan, C. and Tormey, R.

‘Migration and Development: No Papers,No Voice, No Rights’ in Regan, C. (ed.)80:20 Development in an Unequal WorldBray, 80:20 Educating and Acting for aBetter World, 2002

Sheehy, Maureen

Partners Companion to Training forTransformationDublin, Partners, Training forTransformation, 2001

Sizuki, L. et al. (eds.)

Handbook of Multicultural Assessment,Second Edition. Clinical, Psychological andEducational ApplicationsSan Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2001


BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.entemp.ie

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_prejud.htm

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_icerd.htm

Task Force on the Travelling Community

Report of the Task Force on the TravellingCommunityDublin, The Stationery Office, 1995

Thalhammer, E. et al.

Attitudes towards Minority Groups in theEuropean UnionVienna. SORAhttp://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/eb/ebs_138_analysis.pdf

Tomalin, B and Stempleski, S

Cultural AwarenessOxford University Press, 1993

Tormey, R (ed.)

Teaching Social JusticeCentre for Educational DisadvantageResearch/Ireland Aid, 2003

United Nations

Universal Declaration of Human Rightshttp://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

Zaslavsky, C.

The Multicultural Math Classroom –Bringing in the WorldNew Hampshire, Hinemann, 1996


BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/eb/ebs_138_analysis.pdf

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

CSPE

CSPE on the webA special site for teachers and students ofCSPE www.trocaire.orgEducation materials from the Council ofEurope www.coe.int/Education materials linking local andglobal issues www.globaldimension.org.uk/

Counted Out - Poverty Awareness Resource forCivic, Social and Political Education(2001) CDVEC CDU/Combat Poverty AgencyThis pack includes useful classroomactivities on stereotyping and bias, humanrights and issues of poverty today.Available from the CurriculumDevelopment Unit, Sundrive Rd. Crumlin,D 12. Email: [email protected]

Changing Perspectives – Cultural Values, Diversity and Equality inIreland and the Wider World (2002) CDVEC CDUThrough a range of activities studentsexamine their images and vision of Irishidentity, society, stereotypes, andworldviews. Available from the CurriculumDevelopment Unit, Sundrive Rd. Crumlin, D 12. Email: [email protected]

The Pavee Pack – Ireland, Cultural Diversity and Travellers (2001) Pavee PublicationsA useful resource for exploring issues ofidentity, labelling, stereotyping and humanrights with particular reference to thesituation of Travellers in Ireland today.Available from Trócaire Resource Centresor email: [email protected]

Wananchi (2001) NCDE/Ireland AidA key focus of the pack is the linksbetween Ireland and the developing world.The themes of interdependence and humandevelopment are explored through avariety of activities and studentworksheets. Available from 80:20 Email: [email protected]

What? Me a Racist (1998) European Commission.A humorous cartoon book for youngpeople to help explore issues of racism andprejudiceAvailable from the European Commissionoffice in Dublin (www.euireland.ie)

A Journey Through Europe – A Citizenship Education Pack (2005) European Studies and CSPESupport Service. The pack invites students to explorequestions such as what does it mean to beIrish and what does it mean to beEuropean?Available from CSPE support service.

GEOGRAPHY

80:20 Development in an Unequal World(2002) A useful resource full of facts andinformation on the world we live in.Available from 80:20 Email: [email protected]

Exploring our World - An active learninggeography resource (2001) One World Centre, NorthernIreland.An activity based resource exploring topicsof inequality, interdependence, trade, aid,women, refuges and asylum seekers.Available from One World Centre, Belfast.Email: [email protected]

The World Guide 2005/2006. New InternationalistThis annual guide provides up-to-dateinformation on 217 countries withsupporting charts, maps and statistics.Available from Oxfam. Email:[email protected]

Geography: The Global Dimension (2004) Development Education Association(DEA), London. Can be downloaded fromwww.geography.org.uk/global


CLASSROOM RESOURCES FOR INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION

http://www.trocaire.org

http://www.coe.int/

http://www.globaldimension.org.uk/

mailto:[email protected]




http://www.euireland.ie




http://www.geography.org.uk/global

LEAVING CERTIFICATE APPLIED ANDTRANSITION YEAR

Compass – A manual on human rightseducation with young people (2002) Council of Europe Publishing.This comprehensive resource containsactivities for young people on a broadrange of themes including, gender equality,the media, health and sport.Available from Amnesty International, IrishSection. Email: [email protected]

The Rights Stuff – an educational resource onthe UN Convention on the Rights of the Child(1998) DEFY/Trócaire/AmnestyInternationalAn active learning resource, which exploresthe rights of children in different parts ofthe world.Available from Trócaire Resource Centresor email: [email protected]

Rising to the Challenge – A resource file forteaching contemporary issues (2002) CDVEC/LCA Support ServiceThis file contains a wealth of materials tohelp teachers bring LCA students to adeeper understanding of human rights andresponsibilities and how they can act onissues of social justice.Available from the CurriculumDevelopment Unit, Sundrive Rd. Crumlin,D 12. Email: [email protected]

Peace by Piece (2003) National Youth Council of IrelandThis pack uses games, role-play and storiesto explore issues of conflict, conflictresolution and peace building at local andglobal level. Available from NYCI. Email: [email protected]

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Faith and Commitment Series Religious and Moral Education Press, UKEach book offers facts and information ondifferent world religions through the livedexperience of different individuals.Available from Religious and MoralEducation Press. Email: [email protected]

In Words and Pictures Religious and Moral Education Press, UKA colourful introduction to major worldfaiths written in simple languageAvailable from Religious and MoralEducation Press. Email: [email protected]

Painting Life, Painting HopeA teachers booklet and set of beautifulposters designed by young people inNicaragua on the themes of disability,human rights, a better world,interdependence and the environment. Available from Trócaire Resource Centresor email: [email protected]

SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

Global Perspectives in Science (1999)Oxfam UKThe activities in this pack are designed toshow how science and technology hasdeveloped from a variety of sourcesaround the world e.g Chinese biogastechnology, the value of the Need andBeech trees, etc.Available from Oxfam via email [email protected]

Maths and Human Rights Resource Book (1999) Amnesty International, UKThe activities in this book encouragestudents to explore human rights issueswhilst at the same time developingproblem-solving and investigative skills inmathematics.Available from Oxfam via email [email protected]

Summing up the World – Mathematicsactivities with a global perspective (1994) Dorset DECContains a wide range of classroomactivities which show how mathematicscan be used to explore issues such as theenvironment, economic development,cultural diversity and equality.Available from Oxfam via email [email protected]

Science: The Global Dimension (2003) Development Education Association(DEA), London www.dea.org.uk













http://www.dea.org.uk

SPHE

All different – all equal – An anti-racism and equality education pack. National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI)

Contains worksheets and activities to helpyoung people explore issues of belongingand difference, racism and prejudice, andhow to young people can bring aboutgreater acceptance of difference in Ireland.

Available from NYCI, 3 Montague St,Dublin 2, 01-4784122, www.youth.ie

Life Stories – Exploring Identity with Young People.

National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI)

Contains stories of young people fromaround the world and activities to helpyoung people explore issues of identity,difference and belonging.

Available from NYCI, 3 Montague St,Dublin 2, 01-4784122, www.youth.ie



http://www.youth.ie

http://www.youth.ie

The Steering Committee for Interculturalismand the Curriculum

The NCCA wishes to acknowledge thework and guidance of the SteeringCommittee for Interculturalism and theCurriculum in the preparation of theseguidelines for schools.

The following bodies are represented onthe Steering Committee:

African Women’s Network

Association of Community andComprehensive Schools

Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland

Catholic Primary School Managers’ Association

Church of Ireland Board of Education

Department of Education and Science

Development Education Unit ofDevelopment Co-operation Ireland

Integrate Ireland Language and Training

Irish Congress of Trade Unions

Irish Federation of University Teachers

Irish National Teachers’ Organisation

Irish Vocational Education Association

Joint Managerial Body

National Consultative Committee onRacism and Interculturalism

National Parents Council-Primary

National Parents Council-Post-Primary

Pavee Point

Reception and Integration Agency,Department of Justice and Law Reform

State Examinations Commission

Teachers’ Union of Ireland

Consultation

As well as undertaking this work in closepartnership with the stakeholders ineducation, the NCCA consulted with manyrelevant organisations and individuals inthe preparation of these guidelines.

Photographs

The NCCA would like to thank theschools, teachers and students who kindlyconsented to having their photographstaken and used in this document.

The NCCA was granted parental/guardianpermission for the participation of theirchildren in this process.

Photography by Paul Kelly.


NCCA

National Council for Curriculum and Assessment24 Merrion Square, Dublin 2

T + 353 1 661 7177 F + 353 1 661 7180

[email protected]

NCCA 2006


http://www.ncca.ie