A recent Irish Times article highlights that 80% of immigrant children are being taught in 23% of Irish schools, leading to fears of a new cultural divide, similar to that in the UK, emerging. For the most part, the fear seems unfounded, as the Irish system is comprehensive, and most arrivals will naturally be concentrated in urban areas, meaning that rural schools will largely be unaffected. Two issues remain of concern, however: firstly, the policy of giving priority to siblings of previous attendees risks forming a perpetual vicious circle. Secondly, as mentioned about Wales in the election thread, the growing popularity of Gaelscoileanna does risk unintentionally creating latent racism, even if parents are motivated by the promotion of Irish. Whether the circles can be squared to general benefit remains moot.
-
-
De facto school segregation?
I wonder what the proportion is in England. It would seem logical that most immigrants - and, therefore, their children - would be concentrated in urban areas. I doubt whether it would be as high as 80%/23% however.
Perhaps interestingly, I am in a Catholic school that was, of course, historically Irish but now sees a very high - perhaps much higher - percentage of Polish kids, for obvious reasons, along with a reasonably high BME percentage from it being in Bristol. Nothing like it in Bath at all. -
De facto school segregation?
Isn't Ireland already subject to a series of massive "cultural divides"?Comment
-
De facto school segregation?
The stats are just for the Republic, ursus, so bar Travellers, you're looking at 90% homogeneity.Comment
-
De facto school segregation?
But there's rural/urban.
And Manchester United/Liverpool.
To name just two.Comment
-
De facto school segregation?
And Dublin/rest of Irelandursus arctos wrote: But there's rural/urban.
And Manchester United/Liverpool.
To name just two.
And upper-middle class/working classComment
-
De facto school segregation?
Yes, it's basically the whole point of the GAA, isn't it?Comment
-
De facto school segregation?
I was at a birthday party where a teacher said that it wasn't fair on white girls being in the same class as black girls, as all their messing around put the white girls off. A teacher. I ended up storming out of that party, getting lost in a Bromley housing estate, and having to meekly phone up to get picked up. Textbook Taylor.Comment
-
De facto school segregation?
Encyclopedia Brown's less popular cousin.Comment
-
De facto school segregation?
two things about that article need to be borne in mind.
Dr Karl Kitching, a lecturer in the school of education in UCC and a former primary school teacher, said the statistics must be viewed in the context of migrant and minority ethnic students being more likely to be located in urban areas and larger schools.
and
This means that, this information is not recorded uniformly: while some principals may record a child’s nationality as being the same as that of their parents, other schools may categorise any child born here as Irish regardless of their background or first language.
The first one is very important, as say for instance, my home town has doubled in size and is now a town of 6,000 people, with several new housing estates but it has a primary school 3 miles away in ballydrehid, 5 miles away in grange, 6 miles away in ardfinnan, 5 miles away in ballylooby, 8 miles away in clogheen, 10 miles away in burncourt, six miles away in New Inn. Some of these schools are very small, and not a whole lot of people will have moved to their catchment area in the last couple of years, be they Irish or Polish. (there might be one or two kids in some of these schools, but cahir was the one with the easy access to new housing and greater employment opportunities.
The second one renders the whole proceedure entirely meaningless, and I think that a major cause for it is that the largest group of immigrants to Ireland, were the english born children of Irish Emigrants to england in the 50's, 60's and 70's. If their children are going to be born in ireland, they're going to be put down as Irish, every time.Comment
-
De facto school segregation?
These place names have all been lifted from Father Ted.but it has a primary school 3 miles away in ballydrehid, 5 miles away in grange, 6 miles away in ardfinnan, 5 miles away in ballylooby, 8 miles away in clogheen, 10 miles away in burncourt, six miles away in New InnComment
Comment