Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School - National Council ...

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Action planningThe school may choose to respond to theneed to develop an intercultural schoolculture by beginning with an action planmodel as used in the School DevelopmentPlanning Support materials (detailsavailable on www.sdpi.ie). The action planis a working document that describes andsummarises what needs to be done toimplement and evaluate a priority. It servesas a guide to implementation and helps tomonitor progress and success. Theadvantages of using the action plan as atool for a whole school approach are thatrepresentatives of the whole schoolcommunity may be involved in differentelements of the process. The school canwork on a number of areas at the one timeas different groups can work on a varietyof tasks, and the plan can focus on makingsome things happen quickly. Some schoolsmay have had their own action plans inplace already and therefore may be readyfor a broader planning approach.Some of the key components of the actionplan are• outlining the roles and responsibilities ofthe various personnel in relation to theactions• identifying the resources needed• setting targets and success criteria• specifying a timeframe• putting in place procedures formonitoring and evaluation.Implementing the action planHaving developed an action plan, themembers of the school community willengage in the process of implementation.The identification of roles, targets, successcriteria and a timeframe, through theaction plan model, will facilitate the schoolin turning policies into practice. In theimplementation phase, not all actions willhappen simultaneously. Areas identified aspriority may be dealt with first, with theschool culture becoming increasinglyintercultural as work in these areasprogresses and other areas of interculturalwork are focused on. It may happen thatin the course of the implementation newissues arise and require attention.Implementation must, therefore, be flexibleto respond to changing circumstanceswhile remaining true to the mission andpolicies that incorporate the school’sintercultural perspective.Monitoring and evaluating the schoolaction planThe plan should include a procedure formonitoring, review and evaluation by agiven date. Successful implementationshould contribute towards• promoting greater awareness ofinterculturalism;• helping all students to achieve theirpotential;• promoting a supportive and inclusivelearning environment which will fosterthe development of the self-esteem of allstudents;• breaking down of stereotypes andcelebrating diversity.As the school planning process is cyclical,this evaluation will inform a further phaseof review, planning and implementation.Using a school development planning modelto develop a physical and social schoolenvironment inclusive of all learnersImportant messages are conveyed to allthose who enter the school, whether asteacher, visitor, parent or student, by thephysical and social environment of theschool. This environment includes thelearning experience in individualclassrooms (see Chapter 4), the visual28Intercultural Education in the Post-Primary School
SCHOOL PLANNING 3environment, the learning resourcesavailable in libraries, the extra-curricularactivities encouraged, the languageenvironment, school policies and how theyare implemented and how special eventsare celebrated. Intercultural education isnot confined to a single subject within thecurriculum, or indeed to the learningexperience within the classroom.It is embedded in the practices anddispositions that make up the classroomand school climate, and in all aspects ofschool life and the hidden curriculum.Planning the physical and socialenvironment of the school will be a keycomponent of school developmentplanning. In this example, the first twostages of the school development planningmodel are described in relation to this area.Stages three and four (implementation andevaluation) will evolve as the processmoves into practice.Planning an intercultural physical andsocial environmentThe messages that are communicatedthrough the physical environment of theschool are important. Inclusive schools arecharacterised by learning environmentsthat reflect and show pride in the language,ethnic and cultural diversity thatcharacterises Ireland. As such, they providea support for the positive self-image of allstudents irrespective of their ethnicity, aswell as reinforcing the normality ofdiversity for all children. The examplesquoted in Chapter 4 on planning thephysical environment in the classroom canbe adapted to the planning of the schoolenvironment also.The physical environmentSome of the key issues involved in planningthe physical environment include• representing diversity as a normal partof Irish life and human existence• ensuring that representations of minoritygroups do not focus on the spectacularor colourful events, as this may lead tostereotyping and may counteract thedesire to represent diversity as normal• ensuring that all students irrespective oftheir colour, ethnic group, religion orability can feel at home and representedwithin the school.The social environmentThe student’s social environment isimportant in making them feel welcomeand comfortable within the school. For allstudents, arriving in a new school has thepotential to be both a stressful and excitingexperience.For students from some minority ethnicgroups (Irish-Chinese or Travellers forexample), the dissonance between thesocial, linguistic and cultural environmentsof the home and school may be a source ofacute tension. For students who havenewly arrived in Ireland the unfamiliarityand stress of the situation may becompounded. Even in the case of olderstudents, the differences between theorganisation of education in Ireland and intheir country of origin may make their firstcontacts with Irish education a bewilderingexperience. Differences between educationsystems are commonly found in• the age at which children start school• the subjects and topics which arecovered• the age at which subjects are covered• the sequence in which they are covered• the approach to homework• the amount of noise or activity which isacceptable in the classroom• commonly used discipline strategies• commonly used teaching strategiesIntercultural Education in the Post-Primary School 29
Page 3 and 4: INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN THE POST
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GLOSSARYPositive profilingA form of
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BIBLIOGRAPHYIreland, Department of
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CLASSROOM RESOURCES FOR INTERCULTUR
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CLASSROOM RESOURCES FOR INTERCULTUR
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NCCANational Council for Curriculum
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