Department of Education and Science Accessing Intercultural Materials (AIM) Information Repository - Further and higher education resources

Adult Guidance and Information Service- CoDubVEC

This is a free and confidential service offered by local Vocational Education Committees (VECs), located throughout the country. The target groups are participants on Adult Literacy, the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme, Adult and Community Education programmes and those referred by the Education Finance Board within local areas. The link above is to the website of Co. Dublin VEC, which contains useful information on the Service.


Adult Refugee Programme- Home

The Programme operates nationwide, to assist refugees with their integration into Irish society. The Programme offers assistance in 3 ways: up-skilling English language ability, assistance in accessing the work/study place and, through social activities, an increase in the understanding of both the culture and the general characteristics of Ireland. Further information is available on the Programme's website.


Dublin City Libraries- Libraries

Many libraries offer training opportunities, either in languages or other subjects. They may also have stocks of multilingual books and foreign language newspapers and journals to facilitate mother tongue learning and foreign language acquisition. Several of the Dublin City Libraries offer conversation exchange sessions, at which participants can practise another language, and learn more about the culture and society of another country.


Education in Employment Project- EINE

This Project offers relevant education and progression opportunities to those already employed, and aims to provide access routes for the non-traditional student. The Project published a report, “Migrants and Higher Education in Ireland”, which is available on its website.

Occasional exhibits are also hosted in the libraries which may have a multicultural theme, such as animated stories for children, as part of the "Crossing Cultures: Dublin City Dialogue" initiative.


Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA)- IVEA

The IVEA represents the interests of the Vocational Education Committees throughout the country. It conducted a survey of ESOL provision within the VEC sector, and provided a report on the survey. This is available on the organisation’s website. The website also contains a number of other reports on the education needs of newcomers, as well as links to the websites of the various local VECs. Many of these VECs have produced work looking at newcomers and education, for example, County Dublin VEC has a list of resources from a 2008 conference examining the topic of ESOL.


Marino Institute of Education- MIE

The Lóchrann Centre for Intercultural Education- Lóchrann

The Centre contains links to resources for teachers and parents, including information in several languages.

This website also contains information on the Education Inclusion Initiative, which is a Christian Brother funded two year pilot project aimed at supporting schools to develop more inclusion of families, particularly those from diverse ethnic, cultural and linguistic minority communities. Schools and families in Portlaoise and Dublin are taking part , with numerous different nationalities represented by the participants. The project receives professional advice and support from the Lóchrann Centre.


Migrant ICT Project- Migrant ICT

This aims to integrate migrants into a new culture and help them to develop IT skills and secure a relevant job or go on to further education. The products and results of this project will be of particular interest to educators working in the area of adult education, as well as guidance counsellors throughout the country. The project's training programme, START, uses bilingual learner materials in English/Polish and English/Lithuanian.



National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA)- NALA

NALA is concerned with developing policy, advocacy, research and offering advisory services in adult literacy. It operates the literacy.ie website, which contains all of NALA's websites, and has split key information into three categories:

1. those who want help with their own literacy and language;
2. those who want to help people with literacy and language difficulties; and
3. those with a general interest in literacy and language.

Literacy.ie

It has produced resources for students (from beginners to higher-level). The programme provides opportunities for using listening, speaking, reading and writing and building vocabulary. Mixed literacy levels are taken into account and a number of exercises require very little written ability, focusing on pictorial prompts and speaking. In addition, some exercises may be appropriate for learners with some spoken English, but low literacy levels.

These are available here:

The Big Picture
The Big Picture 2


National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG)-Galway

School of Education- Education

The School of Education at NUIG offers a range of programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, most of which include a significant focus on equality, diversity and social justice-related issues, usually within Sociology of Education modules. Information about programmes and staff research interests can be found at the link to the school above.

The School also offers unique service learning components within the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (as a Specialist Teaching Methodology, entitled ‘Learning to Teach for Social Justice’, see Social Justice) and the Bachelor of Arts (Mathematics and Education). Student teachers engage in experiential learning in community partner organisations (including the Galway Traveller Movement, the Galway Refugee Support Group, and the St. Vincent de Paul) whilst earning academic credits.



National University of Ireland Maynooth- Maynooth

Education Department-Education

The University’s Education Department offers a range of courses at post-graduate level, such as a Master of Education (with a diversity and equality module) and a Master of Education in School Leadership. The Department’s research topics cover a wide range of areas, such as examining admissions policies in post- primary schools.


National University of Ireland University College Cork (UCC)-Cork

Irish Centre for Migration Studies- Centre

This is a joint initiative of the Geography and Law Departments. It lists resources concerning migration, asylum, integration and diaspora issues, from both Irish and international perspectives, as well as information about research in the area.



National University of Ireland University College Dublin (UCD)- UCD

School of Education- Education

The School’s webpage provides details of current research projects (of both staff and students), recent staff presentations, and contact details for members of staff there. Examples of research projects and presentations include:

Mainstreaming an Ethical Global Perspective in Teacher Education and Implementing a Development Education Unit on the Higher Diploma in Education (Initial Teacher Education for Post-primary Teachers): a cross-curricular approach (2006) by S. Drudy and M. Clarke, which was funded by the National Committee for Development Education.

"People just think 'coz you look different that you are different": The discourses of identity, belonging and diversity 'management' in intercultural Ireland by A. Bryan. This was presented at the Children and Migration Conference, University College Cork, 11/04/08.

Geary Institute- Youth inequalities

The focus of this project is on educational inequality, and it aims to understand why some individuals have lower educational attainments, why educational inequalities are greater in some European countries than in others and to explore the policy implications.


Trinity College Dublin (TCD)- TCD

Trinity Immigration Initiative- TII
The Trinity Immigration Initiative (TII) is a research programme on diversity, integration and policy. It works to give the College an influential role in developing a more inclusive, multicultural society in Ireland. The website provides information on its activities, research programmes, and contact details.

In 2010, it published a report on young migrants and their experiences in Ireland. The report "In the front line of Integration" is available here.

English Language Support Programme- ELSP
The TII also operates the English Language Support Programme, which is designed for post-primary English Language Support, mainstream subject teachers and students. It contains a range of activities to help access all subject areas of the Junior Certificate curriculum. These activities can be downloaded and printed and can be used for both classroom activity and self-study. Although it is primarily designed for newcomer learners of English, the Language Support Activity Units and other activities can be used by all students to encourage both subject and language learning.

Childrens Research Centre (with Integrating Ireland)- News
In conjunction with Integrating Ireland (please see separate entry in “NGO/ Community Groups” section), the Children’s Research Centre at TCD is conducting the “Immigrant Youth Research Project”. The Project, which was launched in July 2008, aims to gain an understanding of what are the key experiences and issues for young migrants. It will explore how they find life in Ireland, looking at issues such as school, friendship, recreation, relations with 'local' young people and other topics.


University of Limerick (UL)- UL

Teacher education programmes with English Language Teaching:
Graduate Diploma in Education (Languages)
BA in Education (Languages)
MA in English Language Teaching

Other programmes with English Language Teaching:
BA in Applied Languages
BA in Languages, Literature and Film

Research Centre:
Centre for Applied Language Studies





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