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

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