NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Language affects endorsement of misconceptions about bilingualism
No full textABSTRACT
Bilingualism is associated with a number of false beliefs, myths and
misconceptions, which carry implications for bilingual education and
policymaking. While the language used, often in the media, to express
such misconceptions may have become more subtle, a negative bias
remains and is arguably more difficult to detect and defend against.
The current study examined the endorsement of common
misconceptions by bilingual and monolingual participants as a function
of the phrasing used to construct the misconception statements.
Participants (N = 103; 47% bilingual) completed an online survey
comprising common misconceptions about bilingualism as well as filler
items, rating their agreement with the statements using a 7-point
Likert-type scale. The phrasing of the misconceptions was varied such
that participants read either a strongly worded or weakly worded
version of the statements. The results showed that participants gave
higher ratings of the statements in the weakly worded condition. While
overall the average endorsement of the misconceptions was low, 82%
of participants agreed with at least one misconception and 29% agreed
with half the statements or more. There was no significant difference
between monolinguals’ and bilinguals’ ratings. The findings suggest
that misconceptions about bilingualism remain prevalent and are
readily detectable when worded ambiguously
Facilitators and barriers to service provision for adolescent refugees and the impact on mental health and well-being: A service provider perspective
No full textBackground: Refugees may experience post-migration and acculturative stressors in their host country, including language and educational barriers and integration challenges, all of which may negatively affect their mental health. These may be particularly problematic for school-going refugees, and service providers (SPs) including school personnel play a critical role in supporting their mental health and well-being needs as well as their educational outcomes.
Aims: The principal aims of this study, which was conducted as part of a larger project called ‘SALaM Ireland’, were to: (1) undertake a review of the literature to explore services and interventions aimed at supporting the mental health and well-being of young, mainly Arabic-speaking, refugees in school and community settings; and (2) to explore the perspectives of stakeholders involved in supporting this population in Ireland, to better understand their psychosocial and wellbeing needs.
Method: A scoping review of relevant literature was undertaken (Stage One) alongside and a series of one-to-one interviews and a small focus group discussion with a range of stakeholders (n=21) involved in providing support for this population in Ireland (Stage Two).
Results: Several barriers to positive mental health and psychosocial well-being were identified from both the scoping review and the participant interviews, including stigma, cultural differences, poor or impoverished educational backgrounds and a lack of funding/resources. Facilitative factors included trauma-informed approaches, appropriate psychological interventions/therapies, adequate language and educational supports and other integrative supports and services.
Conclusion: This timely and topical research provides a valuable contribution to the international literature. The findings may also help to inform policy and practice both in Ireland and elsewhere, and especially in terms of identifying some potentially promising approaches which may be implemented (and evaluated) to help foster the successful integration and inclusion of young refugees in their host countries. Some directions for future research are also indicated
A critical edition of the poems and the Rosc in Airec Menman Uraird Maic Coisse
No full textThis thesis is a critical edition of the poems and the rosc found in the Middle Irish tale Airec Menman Uraird maic Coisse ‘The Strategem of Urard mac Coisse’. The tale tells of how the poet Urard mac Coisse seeks compensation from Domnall mac Muirchertaig, the tenth-century king of Tara, after the ransacking of his home by Domnall’s kinsmen. Since the poet does not want to directly accuse the king’s relatives of the crime, he invents an allegorical in-tale titled Orcain Cathrach Maíl Milscothaigh ‘The Plundering of Máel Milscothach’s Fort’. After the recounting of the tale which includes the reciting of four poems and a rosc, the king comes to understand, via an angel, that Máel Milscothach is actually Urard mac Coisse. The poet is then given full restitution. The tale is found in three manuscripts: Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Rawlinson B 512; Dublin, Royal Irish Academy MS 23 N 10; and London, British Library MS Harleian 5280. The tale has yet to be edited and translated in its entirety; consequently, this thesis partially fills this gap in knowledge via a critical edition of the poems and the rosc.
Chapter 1 provides a literary background to the tale and discusses the following themes: the identity of Urard mac Coisse, the Tale-Lists, the role and skills of a fili ‘poet’, hospitality, allegory and etymology. Chapter 2 presents the critical edition of the poems and the rosc, completed with textual notes and translation. A discussion of the manuscripts, the language and dating of the text as well as editorial policies is included. This thesis provides a critically restored and normalised text based on the three extant manuscripts and discusses issues faced when editing a Middle Irish text
Perceptions of the ‘mainstream’ and the mainstreaming of the far right: from Ed Sheeran to Keir Starmer
No full textWhile people use the term ‘mainstream’ on a regular basis, there has been relatively little discussion about what it actually means. Within far-right studies, attempts to define the mainstream often center around party politics and the impact of mainstream party strategies on the far right. While a useful starting point, this focus has led to more rigid conceptions which encourage particular normative assumptions about its identity. Through poststructuralist discourse theory, supported by insights from music studies and critical discourse studies, this article proposes a definition which accounts for its contingency and construction, challenging dominant narratives about its nature. These issues are crucial when we consider the relationship between the mainstream and far right because they encourage us to question their perceived relative positioning. By introducing the concepts of talking ‘with’ and ‘about’ the far right, this piece establishes the need for us to take the role of the mainstream in the mainstreaming of the far right seriously
The role of teacher agency in using GIS to teach sustainability: an evaluation of a lower secondary school story mapping GIS initiative in Ireland
No full textThis paper investigates the role of teacher agency for those who were trained in using an innovative Geographic Information Systems (GIS) approach and incorporated GIS into their teaching. While national curricula increasingly emphasise STEM and sustain-ability approaches, there has been limited analysis of how teachers can bring new software, including GIS, and new approaches into the classroom. Through an evaluation of a teaching initiative “5*S: Space, Surveyors and Students – STEM and the Sustainable Development Goals” designed to bring GIS technology, satellite data, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into class-rooms as activities and resources for teachers and students in Ireland, we examine how teachers can introduce new teaching strategies and platforms into their classrooms. In interviews and a focus group, teachers expressed eagerness for GIS teaching resources for the classroom and identified effective ways they were able to draw on their own teaching philosophy in introducing new concepts around sustainability and STEM education in the classroom. We argue that teacher agency and autonomy play an important role in the ability and development of teachers, depart-ments, and schools to bring new approaches and GIS into the classroom, and we identify key learnings from teachers who were able to utilise the 5*S resources
Engaged Witnessing: An Ethical Framework for Teaching the Holocaust.
No full textThis study explores three Holocaust curriculums; Anne Frank’s diary, Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night, and Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus to determine how or to what extent engaged witnessing may be achieved. I define engaged witnessing as addressing the gap between empathy and action and signifying the inspiration of an empathetic response that requires responsibility and can motivate action. I also explore what possibilities and/or limitations the texts offer as curriculum. The study is taking place in the context of a near future where there will no longer be Holocaust survivors and eye-witnesses in the world to bear witness to its horrors. That testimonial voice therefore must be discovered in other forms and through other mediums. The concepts of alterity, responsibility, witnessing, and response are used to create an ethical framework guiding the reading of these texts. My method draws on William Pinar’s notion of currere, which is an understanding of curriculum as autobiography, and as both researcher and reader I carry out a self-reflective exploration of the texts, not only arguing for engaged witnessing in the classroom but simultaneously discovering my own witnessing voice in the process
“It’s Like a Baby Jail!” The impact of regimented daily routines on children’s participation in early childhood education.
No full textRoutines are the backbone of what is deemed a high-quality early years environment. When
routines are converted into an adult-regimented timetable that informs the day-to-day experiences
of children, a daily routine becomes a power structure that interferes with the self-rhythm of a
child, deciding when they can eat, play and go outside while demanding desired behaviours and
imbedding social norms. When a routine is designed for children and not by children, it presents a
practical dilemma where children’s participatory rights appear to be valued in theory but not
implemented in practice. By focusing on the daily routine of an early childhood environment
through a Foucauldian lens, this research explored the power dynamics that existed between adult
educators and children aged 2-4 years to understand how children’s forms of expression within an
adult-designed daily routine shaped their level of participation. Data collection was conducted by
children positioned as co-researchers equipped with head-mounted GoPro cameras to record their
daily routines that included outdoor play, art, snack and indoor free play, where video recall during
weekly focus groups provided opportunities for children to further express their views on the data
they recorded.
The findings highlighted the rawness of being a young child in education today and the
way in which children used acts of obedience and resistance to feel heard, valued and to participate,
but oftentimes were ignored or silenced by educators. These moments led to the research’s
development of the Ject Framework which highlights the various ways children experience power
and seek out ways to express themselves through the satisfaction of their self-rhythm. The Ject
Framework forms the basis of the Six Participation Personas of Power that highlights the
implications for participation when children’s self-rhythm is either satisfied or skewed in favour
of the adult’s self-rhythm. The conformist and revolutionary personas of Active Conformist,
Passive Conformist, Active Revolutionary, Passive Revolutionary, Secure Selective and Insecure
Selective were generated to highlight how children’s level of participation is shaped based on the
way a daily routine is enforced on them in early childhood environments.
This research generates further insight into the implementation issues relating to children's
participation rights, the role educational power structures play in silencing children and contributes
further thinking and rethinking about the daily power being enforced on children and the impact
this has on their ability to actively participate in their own lives
Identities of Confinement: Understanding the Intersectional Experiences of Incarcerated Women in Ireland and Beyond
No full textThis research aims to inform the current penal landscape in Ireland for women intersecting across various identities. The intersectional basis for this study looks beyond just the singular axis views of women in prison through the context of Kimberlé Crenshaw’s explorations (1989) and considers other important factors that could shape their experiences, such as race, socioeconomic status, motherhood, age and the overarching factor of being a women, as they present as minorities within penal landscapes.
Through Secondary Qualitative analysis from Irish and UK sources, this research evaluated the elements that shape women’s experiences interacting with healthcare and education inside prisons. The findings suggest that women are aware of their disparities and minority status’ as the acts of storytelling and information sharing within the prison system gives insights and evaluations that shape their experience. Foreign National Prisoners and particularly the Travelling Community experience oppression in mesa to macro levels and this encourages more diversity in staff approaches so that dehumanising forms of negative behaviour affecting women in the form of labelling for example, could reduce. Foreign National Prisoner’s also experience more concern about their family abroad at home and there is usually a desperation for money that leads to their incarceration. Women who are pregnant can also thrive in environments that support their wellbeing and needs. Comparisons between UK and Ireland showed that women can benefit more than others by being in prison but if there is an environment of hostility or improper facilities, this is not the case. Recommendations for future research could be explored both qualitatively as popularly recommended, or quantitatively through specialised cohorts of women in prison. Ireland’s newest prison in Limerick is also a positive opportunity to expand research in this area.
Overall, this research contributes to Irish penology by combining sociological frameworks and applying them to existing resources, aiming to promote the various identities of women in prison and to encourage more qualitative, intersectional research in Ireland, particularly in the areas of education and upskilling
Concerns and barriers surrounding the farm succession process – perception versus reality for beef farmers in Ireland
No full textGenerational renewal is widely acknowledged as key to the survival and sustainability of the European agricultural industry. In Ireland and many other European countries an aging farming population, and the lack of succession planning by farmers, are significant concerns regarding the future of the industry. Farm succession is a complex and multifaceted process with the literature highlighting one of its main barriers as a reluctance of older farmers to retire and effectively step-a-side to pass their farm onto the next generation. Such resistance of older farmers is undoubtedly a huge issue in terms of generational renewal of the Irish agricultural industry, however, it is important to understand that there are many sources of concern for farmers that can act as barriers to developing a succession plan. In this context, the objective of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of the concerns and barriers surrounding the farm succession process. Discussions on the topic of farm succession, which took place during semi-structured interviews and consultation meetings with 30 beef farmers in Ireland as part of an intervention programme to support farmers in succession planning, reveal that the source of such concerns appear to stem from two broad areas: successor identification concerns and financial and legal concerns. While acknowledging that such issues cause genuine concern for farmers, we argue that overcoming them may not be as difficult as some farmers may imagine. Hence a distinction between what constitutes real concerns versus what constitutes perceived concerns in the farm succession process emerges. The evidence gathered suggests that where farmers engage the services of professional advisors to discuss farm succession, many of those concerns can be alleviated. Consequently, by reflecting on the findings emerging and by highlighting the case of Irelands Succession Planning Advice Grant as a policy framework solution, we recommend for similar policy development in other countries facing the generational renewal challenge in agriculture. The novel findings emerging from this study provide a valuable contribution to the literature, to practice, and to policy development
