An maith leat an Ghaeilge? An analysis of variation in primary pupil attitudes to Irish in the growing up in Ireland study

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of primary schoolchildren's attitudes to the Irish language, Gaeilge, in the context of national policy in the Republic of Ireland. In particular, the study examines the factors (social, cultural, cognitive and organisational) that may be related to a pronounced excess in disengagement with Irish over and above general engagement with schooling. The data derives from the 9 year old child cohort of the national longitudinal study of children, the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) survey. Unlike previous findings in relation to general engagement with school, excess disengagement with Irish is not found to be related to socioeconomic or ethnic factors, factors related to teacher profile, training, self-efficacy or style or school ethos. As expected, children with less exposure to spoken Irish in school or at home are more likely to show excess disengagement with the language. Literacy activity, special education needs and school patronage are also found to be related to excess disengagement. Significant random effects indicate the importance of the individual teacher and school in the development of pupil engagement with Irish. The current study presents a timely perspective on attitudes to Irish among the younger population and possible implications for policy.

Widening the lens on technology-mediated Irish language learning policy and practice to enable Irish language, technology, and education policy alignment, integration, and enactment at school level

“…Children's attainment in the Irish language in primary EME has been in decline in recent deacdes (Harris, 2008), coupled with excess disengagement with the language in comparision to other subjects (e.g. Maths, Literacy) (Devitt et al, 2018). The most recent Inspectorate 1 report (Inspectorate, 2022) identified the teaching and learning of Irish language at primary level as an overarching key concern clearing stating that "pupils' learning outcomes, motivation, and engagement in Irish need to be improved" (Inspectorate, 2022, p.105).…”

Language teaching and learning in Ireland: 2012–2021

“…There is a general feeling among many teachers, parents and members of the public that schoolchildren are disengaged from the Irish language. An important study by Devitt et al (2018) provides analysis of primary schoolchildren's attitudes to the language in the context of national policy. They examined social, cultural, cognitive and organisational factors that may account for a pronounced disengagement from Irish vis-à-vis general engagement with schooling.…”

Can WordBricks Make Learning Irish More Engaging for Students?

“…In recent years, scholars have continued to research language learning motivation and pointed out that this intrinsic/extrinsic dichotomy is too simplistic and that the topic of motivation in language learning is more complex (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2013;Ushioda, 2013). Devitt et al, (2018) provide an interesting overview of primary pupils' attitudes to Irish.…”