Suchergebnisse

Once holding a prominent position on the island, social, economic and political factors throughout the centuries have resulted in decline of the Irish language. The current situation of the Irish language on the island differs markedly between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. While historically the Irish language was used also by the representatives of other religions, over time it became strongly associated with Catholic identity. This paper explores the attitudes towards the use of the Irish language of adult non-Catholic population in Northern Ireland. It explores the link between language and national and religious identities, and seeks to identify factors associated with positive attitude towards the Irish language. The paper draws on 2013 Language Survey.

COVID-19 has resulted in a global public health crisis. Measures adopted by governments across the world to reduce transmission have resulted in the closure of educational institutions and workplaces and reduced social interaction. The aim of the article is to reflect on the consequences of the COVID-19 global pandemic for the lives of young people from different social groups, with a special focus on education. It is a desk-based review of empirical research that has emerged in the wake of COVID-19 that has explored the impact of the control measures adopted, resulting in 'learning loss' and the widening of the 'learning gap' among students. The review shows that rather than utilizing the current situation to tackle pre-existing social inequalities in education, current debates often narrowly focus on immediate rather than long-term measures. The article calls for a broader research agenda on the short- and long-term compensatory measures needed to re-engage students, especially those from more disadvantaged backgrounds.

Acquisition and enhancement of social capital is a continuous process of negotiation and interaction between self and social context. While the concept of social capital has been dealt with extensively in international research, relatively few studies have explored social capital among young people, particularly in the school context. This paper considers access of first-year students (age twelve to thirteen years) to school-based social capital in secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Drawing on several theories dealing with social capital, the paper describes factors that are likely to have an impact on the acquisition process. It is argued in the paper that access to teacher- and peer-based social capital may provide valuable resources that ease the transition process for students as they move from primary schools to secondary level.