This paper presents Irish-medium immersion (IMI) teachers' perceptions of their development of content knowledge of language (CK-L) and pedagogical content knowledge of language (PCK-L) as a result of engaging in form-focused professional development (PD) which combined both content knowledge and pedagogical learning outcomes. An intervention,…

The participation of multilingual children in minority language immersion programmes is under-researched internationally. The Republic of Ireland (RoI) has become a linguistically and culturally diverse society. In the RoI, parents have the opportunity to educate their child in English-medium or Irish-medium (IM) schools. However, the cohort of…

This is a time of great change, vulnerability and possibility for the Irish language and for Irish-medium education. Research shows the language in serious decline in the Gaeltacht; areas of Ireland designated as being predominantly Irish speaking. There are also inconsistent approaches at the policy level in addition to an ambiguous attitude to…

This paper examines the construct of bilingual phonemic awareness in Irish-English bilinguals. Though traditionally viewed as a skill or ability which transfers across languages, recent accounts have considered whether phonemic awareness has a language-specific component. This study used a cross-sectional design to examine this question. A total…

The aim of this study is to examine which predictor variables are related to literacy attainment in Irish (Gaelic)-English bilinguals. The participants were in their second (n = 115) and third (n = 125) year of schooling in Ireland and were drawn from both native speaker and new speaker backgrounds. The constructs of phonemic awareness, verbal…

Additive bilingualism has long been reported as a benefit of immersion education. Nevertheless, the suitability of this form of education and bilingualism for children with special educational needs (SEN) has been much debated. Recent studies show that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), specific speech and language disorder (SSLD), and…

This study investigated the reasons Irish parents chose to send their children to Irish-medium preschools settings over other forms of early childhood education. The international literature on parental decision making regarding childcare and relevant studies on immersion education in Celtic countries were reviewed. A parental questionnaire,…

Colonialism and displacement have not only led to the migration of millions of Irish people and the endangerment of the Irish language, but also to a subjectivity in which it is possible to struggle against the risk of language loss. This paper explores the importance of sharing stories and information about family at second-language Irish…

Assessing vocabulary knowledge is an important part of establishing language proficiency in bilingual children. The crosslinguistic lexical tasks (CLTs) provide a framework for testing vocabulary development in three-to-six year-olds using a standard procedure and comparable items for multiple languages. This study describes the development of the…

Research has shown immersion to be effective, yet our understanding about the integration of language and content in Irish-medium immersion (IMI) pedagogy remains incomplete. This article reports on how the teaching of mathematics in the IMI elementary setting, supported pre-service teachers in bridging the language and content gap. The study…

Sparse attention in the educational leadership literature is given to those leading immersion schools, despite the established connection between educational leadership and context, including cultural context. By eliciting principals' accounts of practices in leading Irish language-medium immersion education in secondary schools, this study begins…

There have been many instances when parents have been advised by educational professionals against bilingualism or immersion education for their child with special educational needs (SEN). Some parents follow the advice given and decide to use only one language with their child, mainly the majority language of the community. This study…

While research on Irish-medium immersion education (IME) has heralded benefits such as cognitive skills, academic achievement and language and literacy development, many studies have also identified challenges to its successful implementation. Immersion-specific research-validated tools can help school leaders navigate the school self-evaluation…

Little research exists in relation to the prevalence of special educational needs (SEN) in immersion education throughout the world. Parents are often dissuaded by educational professionals against this form of education and bilingualism for their child if they present with SEN. Nevertheless, some parents still choose to educate their child with…

Over the last decades, migration across Europe has continued to increase. Consequently, offering educational support for migrant students in the schools of host countries has been an extensively debated issue across Europe and further afield, especially in countries with a history of immigration. However, less is known about how education systems…