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Parental Involvement: Irish Travellers and early years education

Boyle, Anne, Hanafin, Joan orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-8016-2266 and Flynn, Marie (2018) Parental Involvement: Irish Travellers and early years education. Encounters in Theory and History of Education, 19 . pp. 186-204. ISSN 2560-8371

Abstract
This paper explores Traveller parents’ involvement in Traveller preschools in Ireland. Travellers are a distinct cultural group who have experienced educational disadvantage. Against a backdrop of changing policy paradigms, Traveller preschools were established in the 1970s as a compensatory educational intervention. The study methodology was mainly qualitative, drawing on interpretivism, social constructivism and critical theory. Methods included document analysis, focus group and individual interviews, and a questionnaire survey. From a thematic analysis of the data, three overlapping themes emerged about Traveller parents' involvement in schools: how school culture facilitates parental involvement; parents’ direct involvement in preschools; and parents' home-based activities supporting children's education and development. Travellers were extensively involved in various ways except formal decisionmaking. Traveller preschools were experienced as protected enclaves where parents felt welcome and accepted, and involved on an individual and familial level. This research highlights the importance of engaging in respectful ways with Traveller parents and acknowledging their educational involvement.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Travellers, Ireland; Parents; Early Years Education; Qualitative Research; Ethnicity
Subjects:Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Ethnicity
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of Human Development
Publisher:Journal of the Theory and History of Education International Research Group
Official URL:https://doi.org/10.24908/eoe-ese-rse.v19i0.10773
Copyright Information:© 2018 The Author. Open Access
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:24707
Deposited On:25 Jun 2020 11:14 by Vidatum Academic . Last Modified 25 Jun 2020 11:26
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