Abstract:

Irish-medium education (IME) is a form of bilingual education in which students receive subject matter instruction through the medium of a minority language, which they are learning at school. This type of education has grown significantly since the 1970s and now caters for 66,979 students (i.e. 7%) in Ireland (www.gaeloideachas.ie). Notwithstanding their increased popularity and relative success, IME programmes remain complex to implement and are not always as successful as what we would hope them to be (Ó Ceallaigh and Ní Shéaghdha, 2017, Ó Duibhir, 2018). Scholars agree that immersion teaching – distinct from traditional content or language teaching – is driven by professional values and requires a particular knowledge base and pedagogical skill set (e.g., Cammarata & Ó Ceallaigh, 2020; Mac Corraidh, 2008, 2021; Ó Ceallaigh & Ní Shéaghdha, 2017; Ó Duibhir, 2018). Yet, to date, few studies identify the immersion-specific competences demanded by the IME setting. The aims of this study were to firstly identify this ideal knowledge base, i.e. distinctive professional competences that are considered essential to teachers in immersion education in Ireland, and secondly to provide examples of these distinctive professional competences in practice. Utilising a variety of sources (i.e. individual semi-structured interviews, a student teacher symposium, focus group interviews, an extensive online questionnaire), data were collected from key stakeholders across the continuum of IME in NI and in the RoI e.g. student teachers, practising teachers and principals, initial teacher education providers. This paper recounts the process of engagement with the sector to arrive at an agreed set of immersion-specific descriptors, descriptors which demand a reconceptualization of immersion teacher education and development. The paper will firstly present a critical review of the relevant literature base and synthesise findings in an attempt to ascertain what is known from extant studies. Following on from this, the study will be outlined and key findings in relation to cultural and ideological values, professional capacity, pedagogical knowledge for immersion and pedagogical skills and practices will be presented. The paper will conclude with a discussion on re-imagining immersion teacher education and development driven through new imperatives and creative responses.

Keywords:

Immersion, teacher professional learning, knowledge base, immersion pedagogy.