Project
The Access Office in UL is developing an academy for primary school children in areas of Limerick experiencing socio-economic disadvantage and has partnered with Our Lady Queen of Peace in Janesboro as a pilot school. The Access Academy offers a French language programme, co-designed with the school to meet their identified needs. The programme was delivered by School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics in UL. COVID-19 restrictions meant that the programme was delivered online accompanied by an activity workbook book to support and track their learning. In addition to language learning the children will also increase their cultural and language awareness and be exposed to the concept of global citizenship.
The objective is to foster closer collaboration and stronger links with communities and to enhance children's opportunities to access further education. Through a number of collaborative meetings with the school they identified their needs, one of which was the introduction of a modern foreign language to assist the children in the crucial transition to second level. Following as series of discussions with parents and school teachers, the French language was chosen because it is most commonly taught in all of the local secondary schools.
Sixth class teachers in Our Lady Queen of Peace National School, Limerick Pupils and Parents, Our Lady Queen of Peace National School, Limerick. School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics, UL- Catherine Jeanneau and Amelie Brunet, UL Access Office UL Engage K4C Learning Hub, Niamh Anne O’Sullivan
This project is a joint initiative between the UL Access Office and UL Engage and will be audited by both offices as part of their annual audit procedures. In addition, the project is also part of the UL Knowledge for Change (K4C) initiative. K4C is a UNESCO sponsored initiative to promote promote community-based participatory research and social responsibility in higher education. Through involvement in this project, UL aims to train the next generation of CBPR researchers in Ireland. A project report will be submitted to the UNESCO K4C training consortium (Cohort 6, 2021) as part of the requirements of the Mentor Training Programme (MTP).
Research
The primary aim of this project is to support primary children’s transition to second level and enhance children's opportunities to access further education. A secondery intention is to foster closer collaboration and stronger links between UL and local communities. This research will examine how this project is received from a community perspective and identify learnings to ensure the success of future educational interventions. The research will form part of the programme evaluation of the wider plans for the Academy for Children in UL Access Office.
The purpose of this research is to explore and document the lived experience of Our Lady Queen of Peace pupils as they begin to take on the challenge of learning a new language and investigate if this experience has any impact on their educational aspirations and confidence in moving into secondary school. The project is intended to expand the practice of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) in UL, working with community partners to address community identified needs.
The research is sponsored by UL Engage Knowledge for Change (K4C) initiative. K4C is a UNESCO sponsored initiative to promote promote community-based participatory research and social responsibility in higher education. Through involvement in this project, UL aims to train the next generation of CBPR researchers in Ireland. A project report will be submitted to the UNESCO K4C training consortium (Cohort 6, 2021) as part of the requirements of the Mentor Training Programme (MTP).