Benefits of All-Irish Education
This article outlines some of the advantages of Irish-medium education.
When raised through the medium of Irish, valuable advantages can be seen in the fields of:
- The speed at which writing and reading is learned
- The ability to comprehend and learn more complex languages
- The development of communication and social skills
- Future employability and willingness to learn
- Creative thinking development
- Being central to the modern revival of the Irish language
- Economic and socio-economic success
There are many reasons parents chose Irish-medium schools for their children, including the following:
- It’s very important to them that their children can speak Irish well
- They see that it gives their children and insight into their own culture and other cultures
- It instils pride in their children in their culture, their language and in themselves
- It gives their children competencies in speaking, writing and reading in two languages, with all the associated benefits of bilingualism
- They receive an excellent standard of education
- Contributes to the development of their children’s self-confidence and identity
According to research on bilingual education published by An Foras Pátrúnachta, the following are some of the benefits to students:
- Higher academic performance (Gallagher & Hanna, 2002).
- A greater ability to learn a third and fourth language (Cenoz & Valencia 1994).
- Understanding and openness towards other cultures (Gallagher & Hanna, 2002).
- An improvement in cognitive functioning in creativeness and communication (Bialystok et al. 2005).
- Higher grades in English and in Mathematics (Ionad Taighde Oideachais, 2011)
- A higher awareness of identity, culture and understanding of community (Baker, 2003)
- An increase in self-confidence (Baker, 2003)
- Improved communication and social skills (Cummins, 2000)
Visit Gaeloideachas for more information on the advantages of Irish-medium education.
Further Reading
- Irish medium schools continue to outperform on Feeder lists (Irish Times)
- Irish Medium Education: Cognitive Skills, Linguistic Skills and Attitudes towards Irish (COGG)
- I would encourage anyone to study through Irish (Irish Times)
- A Vision for the Irish Language: Transforming the teaching of Irish and other languages (Education Matters)
- Irish and Key Skills in the Junior Cycle (Curriculum Online)
Date updated: September 2023