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:

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.