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,…

This article presents findings from an exploratory research project entitled "Gaelscoileanna and Multicultural classrooms: the potential for transfer to enhance L2 learning experiences". The project focussed on two language immersion contexts in Ireland which, despite obvious differences, share a range of significant commonalities. One…

There is now consensus among researchers and educators that parental involvement in education is related to children's academic and social success at school. However, less is known about the reasons why some parents choose to become involved and others do not. In recent years, there has been a move towards developing theoretical models which can…

Although the vast majority of people in Ireland have at least some knowledge of Irish, only a small minority speak it as a community language (in Gaeltacht areas in the west) or in the more widely dispersed Irish-speaking households in the large English speaking area. Primary schools have had a central role in language revitalisation since the…

This paper examines the evidence on negative effects associated with Irish immersion programs and concludes that even in earlier immersion schools, which frequently lacked parental support, there is little evidence of detrimental academic effects. Many Irish immersion teachers emphasized the importance of parental commitment to immersion…

A study addressed educational and psychological issues raised by the phenomenal growth of Irish-medium pre-schools ("naionrai"). Data were gathered in surveys of almost 2,000 parents, over 170 teachers and advisors, and 225 children in 25 Irish-medium pre-schools in both "Gaeltacht" (Irish-speaking districts) and…