On September 15^th 2010 The Irish Department of Education and Skills launched its first Intercultural Education Strategy 2010-2015.

The strategy has two key aims ensuring:
1. That all students experience an education that respects the diversity of values, beliefs, languages and traditions in Irish society and is conducted in a spirit of partnership
2.  That all education providers are assisted with ensuring that inclusion and integration within an intercultural learning environment become the norm

Speaking at the launch of the Strategy, the Minister of State stressed its importance not just for our migrant but also for the host communities.
'Integration is a dynamic two way process and diversity is an asset that will enhance all our lives. Through building on existing good practice and the experience and professionalism of our educators, I am confident that the aims of the Strategy can be achieved. The Strategy and its implementation are about thinking, planning and doing things somewhat differently, evolving best practice, conscious of diversity and the need to create intercultural learning environments.' 

Demographic Context

During the economic boom years Ireland, for the first time in its history experienced significant inward migration. The 2006 National Census showed that of the 4,172,013 people resident in the State, 420,000 (10%) were classified as non-Irish nationals from 188 countries. Compared with the 2002 census this was an increase of 87%.   Migrants in Ireland, are a very heterogeneous group. They have different cultures, languages and levels of education. A minority may not have received a basic education prior to arriving in Ireland, while the majority are highly educated, many to post- graduate level . Many are working in jobs which are not commensurate with their qualifications and experience. They have arrived in the country at different times, for different lengths of stay, and their status may be one of many different types, such as asylum seeker, refugee, EU citizen, economic migrant or international student. While some are struggling to adapt to life here, others are very well integrated and settled into Irish society. Since 2006 demographic and economic circumstances have changed again. Because of the economic crash, Ireland is now perceived as a less attractive destination and the next census due in 2011 should provide data on our evolving population profile. However while there is evidence to show that some migrants are leaving Ireland and the number of newcomers has declined, none the less there is still a significant inward flow, and the recent profile of the migrant population is changing with an increasing proportion on the 0-15 year old age category. This trend has implications for primary and secondary education in particular as well as adult education.

Practical Responses

The adult and community education service was one of the first of the educational services to take up the challenge of catering for the many and varied needs of immigrants and it proved to be responsive and flexible in its actions. One of the first demands was for language classes and in the absence of any planned and resourced provision these have been largely supplied through the adult literacy service provided by local Vocational Education Committees (VECs). Over one third of the 50,000 adult literacy learners are people learning English as a second language. Other volunteer services such as Failte Isteach ( Welcome Inside, in English) uses third age volunteers to provide everyday language support to adult immigrants. The project started with 6 learners in 2006 and now has 25 centres throughout Ireland catering for 500 adult learners each week. Several VECs have collaborated with a Dublin based Community Radio Station to produce a community radio documentary series entitled "How to Learn English in Ireland". This four part series highlights practical steps which people can take to learn English as a second language in Ireland. It also provides guidance on the practical advice, support and encouragement Irish people can offer someone who is learning English or struggling to communicate in the English language.

Looking Forward

As we all know language is not the only thing newcomers need. The White Paper on Adult Education, 2000 stated the need to frame educational policy and practice in the context of serving a diverse population thus having implications for the development of curricula, materials, training , modes of assessment and delivery methods. This takes into account not only combating racism and encouraging participation by newcomers in education, but also recognition that many minority groups may have distinct needs and cultural contexts which must be respected and reflected in an educational context. The new Intercultural Education Strategy seeks to address these needs and has elaborated a number of high level goals as follows:

- Enable the adoption of a whole institution approach to creating an intercultural learning environment

- Build the capacity of education providers to develop an intercultural learning environment

- Support students to become proficient in the language of instruction

- Encourage and promote active partnership, engagement and effective communication between education providers, students, parents and communities

- Promote and evaluate data gathering and monitoring so that policy and decision making is evidence based

Because of the current economic climate, the strategy will have to be implemented within available resources. A monitoring strategy has been put in place so we will await the outcomes with great interest. A copy of the full strategy can be accessed at the following website. http://www.education.ie/home/home.jsp?pcategory=10856&ecategory=51881&language=EN