CA2

Current Trends in Education: Tutorial Papers: Template

Leader: Kevin Maye

Student Name
Oisin Nugent

Tutorial Paper Number (1 or 2)

2

Reading Article Reference

INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE POST-PRIMARY SCHOOL
Chapters 1,2

Article Summary (1 A4 page)

The article begins by defining what intercultural education at its very foundation. It
describes intercultural education in two ways. It shows how education at its core is about
being respectful to all aspects of diversity of humans, no matter what background, culture,
religion etc. It helps learners appreciate that there are people from all walks of life and
that people have different customs and worldviews. The other focal point to intercultural
education is that it helps promote equality and human rights, this document aims to
ensure that discrimination is not tolerated in education (Tormey, 2006). The document
states that education plays a major role in challenging racism by promoting intercultural
principles. Education also aids in developing intercultural skills and attitudes while keeping
with knowledge and values of the students. Ethnicity does not matter in intercultural
education. Since the mid- 1990’s the topic of cultural diversity has been on the top of
everyone’s tongue and has kick started discussion around inclusivity in the classroom.
Ireland’s population and culture has changed in recent years with immigration, it has
become mulita-cultural nation. This recent increase in immigration has begun to raise the
question: is the education system interculturally sound? Since the 1990s, immigrants
from many countries such as Nigeria, Romania, Moldova, Poland, Congo, Russian, Algeria,
and Ukraine have made Ireland their home. This means there are diverse nations
represented in classrooms across the country and there needs to be a focus on integrating
these cultures into Irish schools.
In Chapter 2 we are brought through Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School
and what the aims are. The objective of intercultural education, is to enable students to
develop as social beings through respect and cooperation, contributing to the good of
society as a whole.

Characteristics of intercultural education:

 It is for people of all ages and ethnicity.
 Intercultural education involves knowledge, understanding, skills, and values.
 In addition to enabling people to gain perspective on cultural practices, it also
develops critical thinking skills.

The document discusses how language plays a major role in education. It explores the
power of language. This power of language in education lies not only in its capacity to
express ideas and values, but also in its ability to shape them. Excellent communication
using appropriate language to explore cultural differences can help create a judgement-
free classroom, where all diversities are respected.

Chapter two also explores the fact that children have pre-determined views about
diversity before even going into school. When children become adolescents and arrive at a
post primary school, many of those initial “prejudiced” ideas have now become
established. These ideas are developed over a period of time and are deep rooted. This
means promoting interculturalism in the classroom can take time. Students are very
impressionable. Therefore, the education system can provide good practices for students
by teaching intercultural competence. Creating this environment will then intercultural
diversity. The acceptance of diversity in the classroom can be done by the promotion of
intercultural education in the classroom.

Critical Reflection on the Article (1 A4 Page)

I am going to critically reflect on Chapters 1 and 2 from the document “INTERCULTURAL
EDUCATION IN THE POST-PRIMARY SCHOOL.” This document is thought-provoking.

Intercultural education is now a greater topic of discussion in education due to the on-
going war in Ukraine. Recent immigration numbers have skyrocketed in Ireland as a result,
with over fifty five thousand Ukrainian refugees having arrived as of September 2022
(Central Statistics Office, 2022). This has now caused an influx in the students of various
ethnicities in the classroom, these include the recent Ukrainian refugees and refugees
who have had to flee from war in other countries such as Syria. Teachers now are
scrambling to try make lessons more inclusive for all ethnicities. As pre-service teacher I
now find myself also feeling the effects of the this in the classroom as I am about to head
out on my final year’s placement.

I think this document was very informative on the topic of interculturalism in education. I
am after gaining lots of knowledge that I have taken note of and will implement in the
classroom on placement. Now more than ever interculturalism has a big place in our
education system. I found myself in deep thought while reading the document, I
wondered if our educations system is interculturally sound?

My views are very mixed on it. In one way I think the education system tries to be
inclusive, but in practice I must say I’m not overconfident that what’s written in the
document, happens in the classroom on a day-to-day basis. I have worked in different
places around Ireland including at the Leopardstown Racecourse in Dublin. When I worked
there, despite being from Ireland, I felt out of place, like the expression goes “Little
country boy in the big smoke”. I felt so out of place in an environment I was not familiar
with, and I am a native English speaker. So, I can really empathise with students coming
into the country and having to learn a new language and make new friends. Therefore, I
believe more needs to be done to make our education system more intercultural friendly.

A strategy that can be used to promote intercultural education is universal design for
learning (UDL). UDL creates a learning environment where the needs of diverse learners
are supported (Story et al., 1998). UDL creates opportunities for inclusion in the classroom
(King-Sears, 2009). UDL can promote student engagement. This can lead to increased peer
interactions and inclusivity, all which promote the acceptance of diversity in the classroom
(Katz, 2013). I will aim to use UDL in my teaching while on SP4 to promote inclusion and
interculturalism in the classroom.

The recent conflict in the Ukraine means that real impactful changes must occur to
promote inclusivity in the classroom. This is something that I have personally thought
about as an educator. I have thought of some strategies I will use to promote intercultural
education for students of different ethnicities.
One method I previously used on placement to promote intercultural diversity in my
lessons was having a picture of the different hand tools on the wall with the English name
for the tool, and beside it for example Arabic as well. I will use this if I have any Ukrainian
students, using Ukrainian signs. I previously found that this worked a treat for the students
because even if they didn’t fully understand what I was on about I could just point at the
tool and then they understood.

Another strategy to promote interculturalism I have considered is making Christmas

decorations from different cultures that may be represented in the classroom. Everyone
could make their own decoration, and every background in the classroom could be
represented, therefore celebrating different cultures. Background research could be
conducted by students on different cultures and decorations that are made for different
occasions, then these different decorations could be made in class to explore diversity of
decoration traditions.
List of References
Central Statisics Office. (2022, October 3). Arrivals from Ukraine in Ireland Series 6.

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/fp/p-aui/arrivalsfromukraineinirel

andseries6/

Katz, J. (2013). The Three Block Model of Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Engaging
 students in inclusive education. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue

Canadienne de l’éducation, 36(1), 153–194.

King-Sears, M. (2009). Universal Design for Learning: Technology and Pedagogy. Learning

Disability Quarterly, 32(4), 199–201. https://doi.org/10.2307/27740372

Story, M. F., Mueller, J. L., & Mace, R. L. (1998). The Universal Design File: Designing for

People of All Ages and Abilities. Revised Edition. Center for Universal Design, NC

State University, Box 8613, Raleigh, NC 27695-8613 ($24). https://eric.ed.gov/?

id=ED460554

Tormey, R. (2006). INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE POST-PRIMARY SCHOOL. National

Council for Curriculum and Assessment.

https://developmenteducation.ie/media/documents/IntercEdPostPrimaryGuide.p

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