Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress
International
Special Education Conference
Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity?
1st - 4th August 2005. Glasgow, Scotland
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Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress 1st - 4th August 2005. Glasgow, Scotland |
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Dr Linda Hagan, Carol Baraniuk & Hilary Avery
Stranmillis University College
Stranmillis Road
Belfast BT 9 5DY
l.hagan@stran.ac.uk
Northern Ireland Society, which is currently emerging painfully from over three decades of conflict, is perceived throughout the world as comprising two polarised communities, one Protestant, the other Catholic; the former loyal to a British identity, the latter perceiving itself as Irish. The truth about identity in Ulster (and elsewhere) is that it is actually highly complex. When, during the years of conflict did one hear of the Ulster-Scots? Yet both the Good Friday Agreement and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (1992) recognise within Northern Ireland the existence of an Ulster-Scots community with a language, history and culture of its own. It is also recognised that that community’s educational needs must be addressed.
We may ask, then, who are the Ulster-Scots? Where within Northern Ireland are they located? What is their history? And how have they fared in compulsory state education?
The close proximity of Northern Ireland to south-west Scotland has facilitated contact and co-operation since prehistoric times. The most significant migration from Scotland to Ulster, however, took place in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Several towns today still bear street names which indicate the nationalities of their original residents: Scotch Street, English Street, Irish Street. This awareness of difference survives into the present. Educationists must, therefore, take account of it when planning the new Northern Ireland curriculum if all traditions are to be accorded genuine parity of esteem.
Ulster-Scots history is rich in itself and has significantly enriched global development. Many migrant Ulster-Scots played a significant role in the creation of the United States, fighting in the vanguard of the American Revolutionary forces. Nearer home, the radical ideas of the Enlightenment were expounded by Ulster-Scot Francis Hutcheson from County Down, when he was Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University (Herman 2003: 60-81). Links between Ulster and Scotland in the field of higher education remain strong today.
Ulster-Scots is the term used not only for the ethnic community, but for that community’s language. Scots was transplanted to Ireland by the Scottish migrants. It developed into Ulster-Scots, influenced by the Gaelic of the native Irish and by the speech of Plantation colonists from England. The main areas in Northern Ireland where it is spoken are Counties Antrim, Down, north and west Derry, and east Donegal (the latter located within the Irish Republic). It is estimated that today there may be as many as 100,000 native speakers (Robinson 1997:2).Within these designated areas, a rich and distinctive Ulster-Scots culture still flourishes, evidenced in traditional music and instruments, dancing, song and verse.
Although a majority of Ulster-Scots are certainly Presbyterian, the community exhibits religious and political diversity, particularly in Derry and Donegal. Liam Logan, an Ulster-Scot, Catholic Nationalist politician has this to say about Ulster-Scots culture: Ulster-Scots, [...] is a non-sectarian, apolitical culture. […] it belongs to us all […]. Culture needs to be shared, not hoarded or corralled.” (March 2003).
Unfortunately politicians and other authorities have not always taken that view. As English became the language of government and of the law in the late seventeenth century, and as the state took greater control of education throughout the nineteenth century, Ulster-Scots was progressively stigmatised, debased and eroded. John Hewitt, the Ulster poet, commenting on this process, quotes the following remark made by an official in 1880: “Owing to the spread of well-managed schools the Scotch accent and the dialect words are passing away” (Hewitt 1974: 17). Success in eradicating Scots, then, was taken as evidence of good practice in schools. So much for the effects of “progress” through the provision of state education! The language was driven underground, considered only fit for the home or the farmyard, while Standard English speech was privileged as the language of the “real” or “important” world of business, the law and government.
Anecdotal evidence from Ulster-Scots speakers records a dismal and shocking experience of compulsory education: individuals were threatened and beaten if they did not consciously discard their vernacular speech. Indeed it can be difficult to identify an Ulster-Scots speaker today even in face-to face conversation, as he or she is likely to slip into the perceived higher status English speech when in contact with outsiders.
The world is changing, however. There are already signs that education systems in some cultures have accepted that they have a responsibility to promote diversity, both cultural and linguistic. Professor Marie McAndrew, University of Montreal, believes that schooling has a “cultural maintenance function”, that in education in Quebec at least, “diversity is part of the package.”
Clearly, reform of the Northern Ireland school system is seriously overdue. It is time to atone for the abuse and ridicule routinely meted out to so many in the recent past by enabling and encouraging the accommodation of Ulster-Scots culture within the classroom. As long ago as 1982 Ian Adamson explained why there must be significant changes: “Only an extension of the educational system with complete access to all information regarding our language, history and culture will allow the development of that sense of belonging to Ulster which will permit us to cross the religious divide” (Adamson 1982: 81).
Post-primary education in Northern Ireland is now undergoing a radical transformation which, we hope, will address the injustices of the past but which will have the additional effect of promoting effective learning for all. Schooling at post-primary level is to a large extent segregated. Firstly it is segregated on a religious basis. Most children attend either controlled schools which are predominantly, although not exclusively, Protestant, or Catholic maintained schools. It is further segregated on an academic basis. Approximately one third of post-primary pupils attend selective grammar schools There are also integrated schools which have come into existence as a direct response to “The Troubles” and a small but growing number of Irish-medium schools and some independent schools most of which are associated with the Free Presbyterian Church.
The 1989 Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order (ERO) was an earlier attempt to reform the structure of education in Northern Ireland. It introduced a “broad and balanced” common curriculum for all post-primary schools. It aimed to ensure a greater degree of consistency in the teaching of core subjects across all post-primary schools while at the same time allowing some flexibility in the way it was applied to subsidiary subjects. It applied to all pupils and in effect broadened the curriculum as previously some (lower ability) pupils had been ‘opted out’ of subjects such as the sciences and foreign languages.
The ERO (1989) enshrined the Northern Ireland curriculum in legislation. Beginning in September 1990 teachers were required to follow clearly defined ‘Programmes of Study’ and pupils were to be assessed at ages 8,11,14, and 16. The emphasis seemed to have moved from children at the centre of the education process to subjects to be studied (Nolan; 1993) in response to the government’s expectation of raised standards. Assessment became a central strand of the education experience and the government set up two bodies to deal specifically with the curriculum – the Northern Ireland Curriculum Council (NICC) and the Northern Ireland Schools Examination and Assessment Council (NISEAC, later CCEA).
Within Key Stages 3 and 4 the curriculum consisted of Religious Studies along with six ‘areas of study’. In addition there were six cross-curricular themes –Careers Education., Health Education, Information Technology, Economic Awareness, Education for Mutual Understanding, and Cultural Heritage, the last two being unique to Northern Ireland.
However concern with standards has further increased. The popular perception has been that Northern Ireland has a high quality education system. For high-achieving students this may be true but for students further down the ability spectrum this is less so. The Northern Ireland system is less successful than that of its counterparts in England and even less successful again than others in Western Europe. Figures from the Department of Education state that in 2001/2002 the numbers of pupils leaving school with 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C (or equivalent) had increased by 2.1 percentage points from 56.6% in 1997/8 to 58.4% in 2001/2. On the other side of the picture however the number of pupils leaving school with no GCSEs had also increased from 5.3% in 1997/8 to 5.8% in 2001/2.
This has been a matter of concern to many interested parties not least local employers. In his foreword to the Strategic Plan for Education 1996-2000, Michael Ancram wrote “ Our curricula are still geared to a society in which the majority would be engaged in manual work, knowledge once acquired had a permanent value, the age of puberty was seventeen, life was over at forty, and Father never bathed the baby.”
CCEA completed two wide-ranging consultations – one on the framework of the curriculum in 2000 and a discussion paper on Key Stages 3 & 4 in 2002. The findings led on to the publication of ‘Pathways towards a more coherent, enjoyable, motivating and relevant curriculum for young people aged 11-14’ in 2003 which will begin to be implemented in schools from September 2006. The proposals acknowledge “the importance of skills that are vital for success in the rapidly changing world of the 21 st century” (5). CCEA envisages a curriculum “where flexibility and relevance will lead to real choices for parents and pupils” (21).
Pathways replaces the Programmes of Study with a minimum statutory curriculum and common framework. Its stated objectives are to “provide relevant learning experiences which help each young person to develop as an individual, a contributor to society and a contributor to the economy and environment”.
What does this mean for the pupil and teacher in the classroom? The current Areas of Study are being replaced by eight Learning Areas. In addition pupils will now have access to a strand entitled Learning for Life and Work comprising Education for Employability, Local and Global Citizenship and Personal Development. Through both the General Learning Areas and Learning for Life and Work a number of skills and capabilities will be explicitly developed. These are:
Major curricular change has implications for teaching methods and styles. Alongside the Pathways document CCEA published Discussion Papers and Case Studies to “offer insights into alternative ways of organising and timetabling the curriculum at Key Stage 3” (v) An emphasis is now being placed on collaboration across traditional subjects and between individual teachers All these changes permit greater flexibility in the classsroom and offer the opportunity for teachers to ensure all their pupils achieve their full potential.
In September 2002 an Ulster-Scots Curriculum Development Unit was established in Stranmillis University College, Belfast. Initial work focused on the Primary sector, but in September 2003 the Project was extended with staff appointed to create materials for Post-Primary schools and an Adult Language Course. As the extension of the Project coincided with the publication of the “Pathways” document, the proposed new curriculum for Key Stage 3, it seemed logical to begin work on Ulster-Scots curriculum materials for students at this stage of education. The removal of much of the subject content offers teachers the freedom to develop the key skills and capabilities using varied and stimulating resources.
The materials being developed in the Unit offer attractive, stimulating, pupil –friendly learning experiences. Activities encourage the use of ICT and communication skills. Assessment opportunities are identified and detailed background information and assessment criteria are provided for teachers. Resources provided include CD-Roms, video clips and interactive web pages. The topics covered include defining moments in history, literature past and present, and the revival of Ulster-Scots culture through song, dance and traditional music.
The work is still on-going but at the present time some thirty booklets or units of work have been produced. Today we want to look at two of the booklets to illustrate how we have addressed inclusion, diversity and skills development.
At this point in the paper the presenters will look at specific examples of materials in a PowerPoint presentation.
Thus, Ulster-Scots issues have deliberately been given prominence within materials produced for the new curriculum. The curriculum itself is inherently positive in its promotion of skills, and its employment of assessment as part of the learning process. Therefore, when children from Ulster-Scots communities meet these materials in the classroom the effect will be an affirmation of their background, history and culture and as a consequence their self-esteem and educational achievement will be significantly raised.
However, the materials are not only targeted at the Ulster-Scots community. They are designed to be inclusive, not exclusive and to be affirming of the cultural diversity which enriches all. By raising awareness of an important but neglected aspect of culture on the island of Ireland, we believe these materials can encourage mutual understanding and promote a sense of identity which threatens no-one and can enrich all.
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Linda Hagan, Carol Baraniuk & Hilary Avery
Stranmillis University College
A College of Queen’s University, Belfast
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