Supporting languages: The socio‐educational integration of migrant and refugee children and young people

Abstract

Recent unprecedented levels of migration, while adding cultural and linguistic diversity, places increased pressure on host countries to develop strategies for effectively integrating new arrivals into society. This article draws on data from IMMERSE which uses participatory and co‐creation methodologies with children, parents, educators and policy‐makers to examine and develop key indicators of migrant children's socio‐educational integration. It discusses Irish findings related to language and migrant children's participation and belonging in school, highlighting children's concerns over the lack of a diverse language culture and low value placed on preserving heritage language in Ireland and across all six EU partner countries.

Children, childhoods and bilingualism: Exploring experiences, perspectives and policies

“…The collection contributes to theorising intersectional power dynamics between children, young people and adults. The theme is foregrounded in the discussion of children as language brokers and translators for parents/carers (Crafter & Iqbal, 2021; Phoenix & Faulstich Orellana, 2021; Romero‐Moreno & Vargas‐Urpí, 2021) but also arises in education debates around minority community languages (Cohen & Rønning, 2021; Horgan et al, 2021; Peace‐Hughes, 2021). Understandings of childhood and child agency are developed for bilingualism research by Smith‐Christmas (2021) on Family Language Policy and in the articles on Child Language Brokering (CLB).…”

“…Additionally, many of the authors share an interest in policy implications, entering into educational debates on how to support indigenous languages, the potential of place‐based and language‐awareness approaches (Cohen & Rønning, 2021), translanguaging (Peace‐Hughes, 2021), and on the impact of ineffective language policy on educational outcomes (Horgan et al, 2021; Kyereko & Faas, 2021).…”

“…community languages (Cohen & Rønning, 2021;Horgan et al, 2021;Peace-Hughes, 2021). Understandings of childhood and child agency are developed for bilingualism research by Smith-Christmas (2021) on Family Language Policy and in the articles on Child Language Brokering (CLB).…”

Perspectives on Transitions in Refugee Education

“…According to Darmody, Smyth and McCoy (2012) parents of migrant backgrounds are more likely to choose to enrol their children in multidenominational schools and they are more likely to be involved in parentteacher meetings and develop a relationship with teachers in these schools compared to Catholic schools. As in other contexts, language has been identified as a significant barrier in home-school partnerships in Ireland (Faas, Smith and Darmody, 2019;Horgan et al, 2021;McGinnity, Darmody and Murray, 2015). Support not only for 'host language' but also for 'home language' and 'linguistic diversity' have been recognised as important elements in "facilitating migrant children's integration" (Horgan et al, 2021, p. 12) and sense of belonging in school and wider society.…”

“…Reflecting the situation in other countries, students from migrant backgrounds have been found to obtain lower academic achievement than native and settled Irish students impacting their labour market opportunities (McGinnity, Darmody and Murray, 2015). There is a clear recognition that "the educational success of immigrant children is influenced by their experience in schools of the receiving countries" (McGinnity, Darmody and Murray, 2015, p. 1) and many researchers have called for schools to embrace the culturally diverse values of their students in order to create more inclusive learning environments for all (Biggart, O'Hare and Connolly, 2013;Horgan et al, 2021;McGinnity, Darmody and Murray, 2015). Considering the educational experiences of students from diverse backgrounds, the homogeneity of the teaching profession and the so-called teacher-student 'diversity-gap' have been identified as key issues of debate in research and policy circles in Ireland and internationally (Keane and Heinz, 2016;Heinz and Keane, 2018;Keane, Heinz and McDaid, 2023).…”