Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 2004 > Committee on Education and Science > Report No. 02 - The Provision of Educational Services in a Multi-Ethnic/Multi-Cultural Society

Appendix IV

Presentation by LYNS: Learning for Young International Students,

LYNS — Learning for Young International Students.

Provision of Educational Services in a Multiethnic/Multicultural Society.

Presentation to the Joint Committee on Education and Science, Leinster House 11/03/04.

LYNS is a support network of second level school management personnel addressing the needs of all students within an intercultural school environment. The LYNS executive is a joint sub-committee of the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) and the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools (ACCS) which together represent the Boards of Management of all Voluntary Secondary schools and Community and Comprehensive schools nationwide.

The expansion of our second level education services to meet the needs of all children, whatever their background or particular circumstances, is regarded as a duty and a priority for JMB and ACCS. The increasing participation of indigenous ethnic minority students and of international students is now a common feature of both primary and post-primary schools nationally. While LYNS is concerned that adequate educational provision be made for all of these students at all levels, our primary concern is directed towards the day-to-day issues which occur in post-primary schools concerning the needs of international students.

International students fall into a number of different categories:

1.The children of work permit holders from outside of the EU (45,000 were admitted to the country in 2003 alone).

2.EU citizens and their children who will, after 1^st May, be joined by many of the current work permit holders from the 10 new accession member States.

3.Irish born children of non-national parents.

4.The children of asylum seekers and refugees (there were 7483 asylum applications in 2003- 1170 persons were recognised as refugees in 2003).

5.Separated children (unaccompanied minors) — the most vulnerable group of all. These are young people under the age of 18 who seek asylum in their own right but have no accompanying adult parent figure.

All of these international students present with a variety of different issues, in particular:

1.There are many who have no English at all or whose standard of English is inadequate to participate in normal class work.

(In 2002-2003 there were 2326 students in post primary schools who were deemed to have “significant English language deficits)

2.Many are financially dependant on State support.

3.Many have cultural or religious backgrounds which are unfamiliar in Irish society.

4.Many have suffered trauma and hardship which have caused them to seek refuge in this country.

5.Many have serious gaps in their education which must be identified and taken into account in meeting their needs.

6.In many cases parents of international students have little or no English. Communication with these parents is difficult without the services of a translator.

The Department of Education and Science does not differentiate between national and non-national children, whatever their status. All non-national children are, in common with their Irish counterparts, required to attend school on a fulltime basis from the age of 6 to 16 and are entitled to avail of fulltime secondary education up to the age of 18.

This is a commendable policy statement on the part of the Department of Education and Science. The challenge to the State and to school management is to provide a well-resourced and productive environment in which to fulfil their obligations in this regard. It is not sufficient merely to enrol these students in our schools. The political will to provide adequate education must be matched by a commitment to fund the additional demands on school management:

-Specialised language teaching.

-Provision of books and materials.

-Counselling and guidance.

-Teacher training.

-Support mechanisms to facilitate and support these students

School Organisation in a multi cultural society

Day to day school organisation encompasses a wide range of issues which impinge on the quality of life of all students — curriculum, teacher training, racism, cultural differences, school uniform, attitudes to authority, discipline, religious practices and beliefs, school attendance etc.

Dealing with these issues in a multicultural context requires the involvement of the whole school community. LYNS has attempted to address these issues in its “Intercultural Guidelines for Schools” (copy provided). But more is required.

To date development in this area has depended on the voluntary activity of school principals and teachers. A much more co-ordinated approach is required if schools are to fully implement the policy of the DES in this regard.

During the past 2/3 years the LYNS network, through its parent organisations, has called on the DES to establish a National Co-ordination Unit with a National Co-ordinator, two Assistant Co-ordinators, an office and fulltime administrative back-up.

The role of the unit would be to:

-Engage in research and development of appropriate educational materials and resources for the use of schools.

-Organise appropriate teacher training and retraining.

-Support & facilitate good practice in primary and second level schools

-Develop awareness of the issues involved

-Liase with schools and key agencies

-Promote networking between schools

-Develop links between schools, key agencies and the Department of Education & Science

We strongly recommend that this proposal be accepted and implemented without delay.

Assessment and Testing.

Assessment and testing is an essential part of the enrolment procedure for any student entering second level in order to make informed decisions on subject choice, assignment to class and any special educational disability or need which may require special attention. International students entering our schools do so from a variety of different backgrounds and from different levels of formal education. Many have suffered gaps in their schooling arising from situations beyond their control. Many have specific learning or language disabilities.

There is an urgent need for appropriate testing instruments to be used by schools to assess the needs of international students.

Language Development

Competence in the English language is an essential pre-requisite for social integration and for effective participation in the school curriculum by international students. In the U.K. an OFSTED report, “Inspecting English as an additional language” of 2001 (p.5) states that

It takes on average five to seven years to become competent in a second language, although this will vary in the spread with which they acquire this competence. Fluency in spoken English is usually achieved within two years, but the ability to read and understand more complex text containing unfamiliar cultural references and to write the academic English needed for success in examinations takes much longer.

This OFSTED finding matches the experiences of the membership of LYNS.

The Department of Education and Science currently provides an additional language teaching support of 1.5 hours per week over a period of two years for international students for whom English is not their first language. However, experience shows that this provision is entirely inadequate to allow for the effective participation of the student in the curriculum.

There are a number of serious shortcomings:

1.The above mentioned allocation of 1.5 hours per student per week applies only to a maximum allocation of 44 hours (2 whole time teacher equivalents or 28 students). If the number of students enrolled in a school exceeds 28 no additional resources are made available.

2.Language support ceases after two years. This is not sufficient to allow students to master the technical language skills that are required to deal with particular subject areas.

3.If a student has received his/her allocation of additional language support in Primary school then no allocation is available to the Post Primary school.

4.If a school is in an over quota position then the allocation of additional language support must be absorbed by the existing staff who may not have either the desire or the training to carry out this work.

5.The arrival in Ireland of an international student does not always coincide with the beginning of the school year. No provision is made for language support teaching for pupils who are enrolled during the course of the year.

A system must be put in place to allow school management to access additional language support over and above the present allowance in order to ensure the fullest participation by international students in the full curriculum.

Examinations.

All International students who are in attendance at Second Level schools aspire to achieving success in the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate examinations. Whether these students remain in Ireland or return to their home countries, it is essential that their participation in the Irish education system be properly validated. We believe that examination results for international students are, under the present circumstances, distorted by the circumstances of their background.

The State Examinations Commission and NCCA should be required to examine ways and means of ensuring that examination results for International students truly reflect their ability. Such measures might include:

■Access to dictionaries at examination time

■An examination of syllabi to take account of the increasing participation of international students.

Teacher Training

Access to trained teaching personnel to provide language support for international students with a significant English language deficit is an issue for all schools. Language support teacher allocations are of their nature temporary. In these circumstances it is extremely difficult to recruit, train (or retrain) and retain teachers in this area on a long-term basis. School managements are forced in many instances to employ untrained teachers for this work. Steps must be taken to allow schools the opportunity to engage in long term planning.

Further training and guidance is required also for regular class teachers who must teach their particular subjects to multi-lingual class groups.

The training of teachers of English as a second language is no longer a peripheral issue. A very valuable and successful course is already in existence in Trinity College, but it can only accommodate a very limited number of teachers in the general Dublin area. Further expansion of this service is essential and should be a priority for the proposed National Co-ordinator.

Psychological and Health services

Many students, especially asylum seekers and refugees, arrive in our country having endured exceptional hardship and trauma. They have been separated from family and friends and come to, what to them is, an alien culture. There have been instances of particular health issues which have caused worry and concern to school personnel and to parents.

There is a need for ongoing Psychological and Health services to be made available to school management in order to help these students to integrate into school life.

Particular issues associated with unaccompanied minors (separated children)

Separated children between the ages of 15 and 18 years who enter this country as asylum seekers are referred in the first instance to the Local Area Health Boards. The majority are housed in hostels in the greater Dublin area. Each is assigned to a particular “Project Worker” who is expected to provide the necessary support and guidance for those who are in school. Given that each project worker is responsible for a very large number of such young people the task is an impossible one.

During the past few months Department of Justice policy has dictated that all unaccompanied minors are transferred immediately into “direct provision” on reaching the age of 18 years. Many of these young people have been accepted into the Senior Cycle of post-primary schools and, in accordance with their needs and abilities, are prepared for Leaving Certificate over the course of one, two or three years. The majority of these students, like their Irish counterparts, reach the age of 18 before completing the Leaving Certificate. It has always been the practice that these students would not be moved into adult services until such time as they have completed their course of studies.

The effects of these changes are many:

1.The withdrawal of the support afforded to the students by Health Board personnel has a significant effect on the school’s ability to ensure regular attendance, punctuality and the maintenance of normal school organisation and discipline.

2.The day-to-day timetables in direct provision hostels take no account of the needs of students attending school i.e. mealtimes, contact with Welfare Officers etc.

3.The sudden change in the financial support available from €124 per week to €19.30 per week has a very significant impact on the students ability to participate in day-to-day school life — purchase of books, stationery, bus fares, participation in school outings etc.

4.School indemnity and insurance requirements demand the signature of a responsible parent/guardian as a pre-requisite for participation in a variety of school activities. Heretofore the Health Boards have been willing to fulfil this role. Under the new arrangements the school cannot access such a signature and may be exposed to possible litigation.

The above named concerns are purely practical. Of far greater concern are the effects of the changes on the morale and the motivation of students at a crucial time in their studies. It is evident that the students’ ability to concentrate on their studies has been seriously undermined by:

-A sense of fear and anxiety in the weeks and months preceding their change of status.

-The disturbance caused by their change of residence.

-The demoralising effect which arises from their loss of independence both financial and personal.

-The sense of abandonment and isolation by those support personnel whom they have come to know and to trust.

We believe that it is in the best interest of the students themselves and of our local communities that these young people be given the opportunity, whether or not their applications for asylum are successful, to spend their time with us in a productive and constructive manner. For this reason we recommend that any change in the status and/or in the living accommodation of unaccompanied minors who are in attendance at school should await the completion of the course of studies in which they are engaged.

We are as a society inviting large numbers of immigrants to contribute to our economic development. We are to the fore in encouraging the expansion of the European Union. It is imperative that we plan constructively to meet the states obligations which arise from these changes.