Cover not available
Article published In:
Issues and Perspectives on Student Diversity and Content-Based Language Education
Edited by Fred Genesee and Diane J. Tedick
[Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education 9:2] 2021
► pp. 279–309

Immersion in a minority language

The performance in English reading and mathematics of primary-level students in Irish-medium schools in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage

ORCID logo | University of Limerick | University of Limerick
 | Educational Research Centre | Educational Research Centre
 | Dublin City University | Dublin City University
When the earliest Irish language immersion schools outside Irish-speaking (Gaeltacht) areas were established, students were likely to come from relatively high socioeconomic backgrounds. While research has shown positive outcomes for these students, less is known about the outcomes of immersion education for students from areas of social disadvantage. Of 145 Irish immersion primary schools in the Republic of Ireland in 2016, 13 (8%) served low socioeconomic status (SES) communities. The current study examined the achievements of Grade 3 (n. = 283) and Grade 6 (n. = 235) students in these schools on nationally-standardised tests of English reading and mathematics. Their scores are compared to those of students attending schools in areas of disadvantage nationally. Immersion students in Grade 3 achieved lower mean scores on both English reading and mathematics when compared with their low-SES English-medium peers. However, Grade 6 students achieved at about the same level in mathematics and outperformed their low-SES peers nationally in English reading.
Keywords: low socioeconomic status, immersion education, Irish language, minoritised language, English reading, mathematics
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1The impact of SES on educational outcomes and early language development
    • 1.2Irish-medium education and its diversification
  • 2.Methodology and Assessment Frameworks
    • 2.1Research Questions
    • 2.2Participants
    • 2.3Assessment Instruments
    • 2.4Procedure
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Mathematics achievement
    • 3.2Performance in English reading by school and level of disadvantage
    • 3.3Relative differences in performance on English reading and mathematics
  • 4.Discussion of Results and Recommendations
    • 4.1Achievement in English reading
    • 4.2Achievement in mathematics
    • 4.3Achievement in individual schools
    • 4.4Differences in performance between English reading and mathematics
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 May 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.21003.nic
References (59)
References
Archer, P., & Sofroniou, N. (2008). The assessment of levels of disadvantage in primary schools for DEIS. Educational Research Centre. [URL]
Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2017). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (6th ed.). Multilingual Matters. [URL]
Barik, H. C., & Swain, M. (1976). A longitudinal study of bilingual and cognitive development. International Journal of Psychology, 11(4), 251–263. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Polity Press.Google Scholar
Bruck, M. (1982). Language impaired children’s performance in an additive bilingual education program. Applied Psycholinguistics, 3(1), 45–60. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bruck, M., Jakimik, J., & Tucker, G. R. (1975). Are French immersion programs suitable for working-class children? A follow-up investigation. Word, 271, 311–341. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Caldas, S., & Boudreaux, N. (1999). Poverty, race, and foreign language immersion: Predictors of math and English language arts performance. Learning Languages, 5(1), 4–14.Google Scholar
Cammarata, L., & Ó Ceallaigh, T. J. (Eds.). (2020). Teacher development for immersion and content-based instruction. John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cashion, M., & Eagan, R. (1990). Spontaneous reading and writing in English by students in total French immersion: Summary of final report. English Quarterly, 22(1), 30–44.Google Scholar
Chiu, M. M., & McBride-Chang, C. (2006). Gender, context, and reading: A comparison of students in 43 countries. Scientific Studies of Reading, 10(4), 331–362. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clifton, C., & Duffy, S. (2001). Sentence comprehension: Roles of linguistic structure. Annual Review of Psychology, 521, 167–196. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Coady, M. R., & Ó Laoire, M. (2002). Mismatches in language policy and practice in education: The case of Gaelscoileanna in the Republic of Ireland. Language Policy, 11, 143–158. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Routledge.Google Scholar
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 941, S95–S120. [URL]. DOI logo
Cummins, J. (2016). Teaching for transfer in multilingual school contexts. In O. Garcia, A. M. Y. Lin, & S. May (Eds.), Bilingual and multilingual education (pp. 103–115). Springer International Publishing. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Department of Education and Skills. (2005). DEIS (Delivering equality of opportunity in schools): An action plan for educational inclusion. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
. (2017a). DEIS plan 2017. Social Inclusion Unit, Department of Education and Skills. [URL]
. (2017b). Report on the review of DEIS. Social Inclusion Unit, Department of Education and Skills. [URL]
. (2019). Primary language curriculum: Irish-medium schools. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. [URL]
Dunphy, E., Dooley, T., Shiel, G., Butler, D., Corcoran, D., Ryan, M., & Travers, J. (2014). Mathematics in early childhood and primary education (children aged 3–8 years). Research Report No.17: Definitions, theories, stages of development and progression. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. [URL]
Early, E., Miller, S., Dunne, L., Thurston, A., & Filiz, M. (2020). Context and implications document for: The influence of socio-economic background and gender on PISA attainment in the United Kingdom: A systematic review. Review of Education, 8(1), 153–155. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Educational Research Centre. (2005). Drumcondra Sentence Reading Test. Manual. Author.Google Scholar
. (2007). Drumcondra Primary Mathematics Test – Revised (Levels 3–6). Technical and administration manual. Author.Google Scholar
Genesee, F. (1976). The suitability of immersion programs for all children. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 32(5), 494–515. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1992). Second/foreign language immersion and at-risk English-speaking children. Foreign Language Annals, 25(3), 199–213. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2004). What we know about bilingual education for majority-language students. In T. K. Bhatia & W. C. Ritchie (Eds.), The handbook of bilingualism (pp. 547–576). Blackwell.Google Scholar
(2007). French immersion and at-risk students: A review of research evidence. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 63(5), 655–687. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F., & Fortune, T. W. (2014). Bilingual education and at-risk students. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 2(2), 196–209. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F., & Jared, D. (2008). Literacy development in early French immersion programs. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 49(2), 140–147. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gilleece, L., Shiel, G., Clerkin, A., & Millar, D. (2012). Measúnachtaí Náisiúnta 2010 ar léitheoireacht Bhéarla agus ar mhatamaitic i scoileanna a bhíonn ag teagasc trí mheán na Gaeilge. Príomhthuarascáil [The 2010 National Assessments of English reading and mathematics in Irish-medium schools. Main report]. Educational Research Centre.Google Scholar
Harris, J., Forde, P., Archer, P., Nic Fhearaile, S., & O’Gorman, M. (2006). Irish in primary schools: Long-term national trends in achievement. Department of Education and Science.Google Scholar
Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (2003). The early catastrophe: The 30 million word gap by age 3. American Educator, 27(1), 4–9.Google Scholar
Hills, J., Brewer, M., Jenkins, S. P., Lister, R., Lupton, R., Machin, S., Mills, C., Modood, T., Rees, T., & Riddell, S. (2010). An anatomy of economic inequality in the UK: Report of the National Equality Panel. Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion. [URL]
Hoff, E. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. Developmental Review, 261, 55–88. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hoff, E., Laursen, B., & Tardif, T. (2002). Socioeconomic status and parenting. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Ecology and biology of parenting (Vol. II1, pp. 161–188). Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Holobow, N. E., Genesee, F., & Lambert, W. E. (1991). The effectiveness of a foreign language immersion program for children from different ethnic and social class backgrounds: Report 2. Applied Psycholinguistics, 12(2), 179–198. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kavanagh, L., & Hickey, T. M. (2013). ‘You’re looking at this different language and it freezes you out straight away’: identifying challenges to parental involvement among immersion parents. Language and Education, 27(5), 432–450. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kavanagh, L., & Weir, S. (2018). The evaluation of DEIS: The lives and learning of urban primary school pupils, 2007–2016. Educational Research Centre.Google Scholar
Kavanagh, L., Weir, S., & Moran, E. (Eds.). (2017). The evaluation of DEIS: Monitoring achievement and attitudes among urban primary school pupils from 2007 to 2016. Educational Research Centre. [URL]
Lambert, W. E., & Tucker, G. R. (1972). Bilingual education of children: The St. Lambert experiment. Newbury House.Google Scholar
Neuman, S. B., Kaefer, T., & Pinkham, A. M. (2018). A double dose of disadvantage: Language experiences for low-income children in home and school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(1), 102–118. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nic Aindriú, S., Ó Duibhir, P., & Travers, J. (2020). The prevalence and types of special educational needs in Irish immersion primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 1–17. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ní Chlochasaigh, K., Shiel, G., & Ó Duibhir, P. (2020). Iniúchadh ar an tumoideachas do dhaltaí i scoileanna lán-Ghaeilge i gceantair mhíbhuntáiste [An investigation of immersion education for students in Irish-medium schools in areas of disadvantage]. An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta. [URL]
Ó Duibhir, P. (2018). Immersion education: Lessons from a minority language context. Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ó Duibhir, P., Ó Cathalláin, S., NigUidhir, G., Ní Thuairisg, L., & Cosgrove, J. (2017). An analysis of models of provision for Irish-medium education. An Coiste Seasta Thuaidh Theas ar an nGaeloideachas. [URL]
Ó Riagáin, P., & Ó Gliasáin, M. (1979). All-Irish primary schools in the Dublin area. Institiúid Teangeolaíochta Éireann.Google Scholar
Shiel, G., Gilleece, L., Clerkin, A., & Millar, D. (2011). The 2010 National Assessments of English reading and mathematics in Irish-medium schools: Summary Report. Educational Research Centre.Google Scholar
Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 417–453. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stanovich, K. E. (1988). Explaining the differences between the dyslexic and the Garden-variety poor reader: The phonological-core variable-difference model. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21(10), 590–604. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1982). Evaluating bilingual education: A Canadian case study. Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Tedick, D. J., & Lyster, R. (2020). Scaffolding language development in immersion and dual language classrooms. Routledge.Google Scholar
Tucker, G. R., Lambert, W. E., & d’Anglejan, A. (1972). Are French immersion programs suitable for working class children? A pilot investigation. McGill University.Google Scholar
Turnbull, M., Lapkin, S., & Hart, D. (2001). Grade 3 immersion students’ performance in literacy and mathematics: Province-wide results from Ontario (1998–99). The Canadian Modern Language Review, 58(1), 9–26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
van Druten-Frietman, L., Denessen, E., Gijsel, M., & Verhoeven, L. (2015). Child, home and institutional predictors of preschool vocabulary growth. Learning and Individual Differences, 431, 92–99. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Weir, S., & Denner, S. (2013). The evaluation of the school support programme under DEIS: Changes in pupil achievement in urban primary schools between 2007 and 2013. Educational Research Centre. [URL]
Wilson, W. H., & Kamanā, K. (2011). Insights from indigenous language immersion in Hawai’i. In D. J. Tedick, D. Christian, & T. W. Fortune (Eds.), Immersion education: Practices, policies, possibilities (pp. 36–57). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (3)

Cited by three other publications

Batardière, Marie-Thérèse, Sarah Berthaud, Bronagh Ćatibušić & Colin J. Flynn
2023. Language teaching and learning in Ireland: 2012–2021. Language Teaching 56:1 ► pp. 41 ff. DOI logo
Uí Shuibhne, Michelle, Karen Ní Chlochasaigh & T.J. Ó Ceallaigh
2023. Tionchar an tumoideachais ar an ngnóthachtáil sa mhatamaitic in iarbhunscoil lán-Ghaeilge DEIS. COMHARTaighde :9 DOI logo
Trebits, Anna, Martin J. Koch, Katharina Ponto, Ann-Christin Bruhn, Marie Adler & Kristin Kersten
2022. Cognitive gains and socioeconomic status in early second language acquisition in immersion and EFL learning settings. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 25:7 ► pp. 2668 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 21 november 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.