study of Irish teachers
Raymonde Sneddon
Dear colleagues,
I’d be grateful if colleagues would pass this on to any newly arrived Irish teachers they know.
Regards
Raymonde
A study of recently arrived Irish teachers in Britain
A new research project on recently arrived Irish teachers in Britain (funded through the Third Sector Research Centre) will be carried by the Social Policy Research Centre, at Middlesex University, in partnership with the Federation of the Irish Societies.
In the years since the collapse of the Celtic Tiger economy there has been a significant increase in Irish migration to Britain. However, little is known about the experiences of these 'post-Celtic tiger', 'post-Peace Agreement' migrants. How might their experiences differ from earlier waves of Irish migrants to Britain? There is some anecdotal evidence that more Irish people are arriving in Britain to take up professional occupations.
In an attempt to gain a deeper insight into the experiences of migrants who have arrived since the economic downturn” we are carrying out a study of teachers. Irish teachers in Britain are an under-researched group but there is some anecdotal evidence that their numbers are increasing. In an article in the Irish Post newspaper (26.02.13) Niall O'Sullivan reported that hundreds of young Irish graduates are arriving to work as teachers in Britain. Inspired by this observation we have decided to develop this new research.
Through an on-line survey, in-depth interviews and a focus group this project aims:
To examine the needs, attitudes and experiences of this group – in particular their sense of Irishness, connections to Ireland, involvement in Irish networks and/ or organisations in Britain including cultural engagement, their migration trajectories, career aspiration, family strategies and future plans for settlement or return
The findings of the study will be published in a report and other academic papers and will be used to inform the policy initiatives and funding applications of the Federation of Irish Societies.
The project has been given ethical approval by the Middlesex University Ethics Committee. All participants will be anonymized and all materials will be stored on a password protected computer to safeguard confidentiality.
We are hoping to have several hundreds of questionnaires completed by the end of June 2013. If you are an Irish teacher (who has trained in Ireland or Britain) and you are interested in participating in the study, please follow this link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KZSZS6X) to the questionnaire.
The research project will be managed by Prof Louise Ryan working along with her colleague, Edina Kurdi. If you would like any further information on this project please contact: l.r...@mdx.ac.uk
Notes
The Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at Middlesex University, set up 1990, is a dynamic research centre with a proven track record of delivering projects on time and on budget. The centre draws together a range of staff with expertise in social policy, migration, health, care, welfare and service provision, education, the needs of families, women, children, religion, culture and identity. To view reports from our recent research projects visit our web page: www.sprc.info
The Federation of Irish Societies (FIS) is the representative body for the Irish voluntary and community sectors in Britain. For more information about FIS please visit our website: www.irishinbritain.org