Educational psychological provision in Irish-medium primary schools in indigenous Irish language speaking communities (Gaeltacht): Views of teachers and educational psychologists.

BACKGROUND: Schools located in indigenous Irish-speaking areas collectively known as the Gaeltacht are unique in terms of their sociocultural and linguistic identity and important in the key role they play in the preservation of the language. Those situated in Category A Gaeltacht districts are Irish-medium schools in communities with the strongest use of Irish and are the focus of the present study. Educational psychologists (EPs) who work with these schools are challenged to provide culturally and linguistically sensitive services for these schools. The EPs' work is impacted by state policies in relation to language planning, Irish language education and inclusive education. AIMS: This qualitative research study aims to describe the views and experiences of EPs and teachers in relation to educational psychological services in primary schools in Category A districts in the Gaeltacht. It explores how the service meets the needs of schools and students and seeks to identify barriers in provision. METHOD: The study is underpinned by Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theoretical framework and the bilingual education and sociocultural theories of Jim Cummins. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four EPs and eleven teachers working in Category A schools. The transcribed interview data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The findings are presented under identified themes using relevant transcript extracts in original and translated form and the findings are interpreted in the light of the theoretical frameworks adopted and relevant literature. Key findings indicate that both EPs and teachers were happy with the new models of special education support and consultation in operation in the schools and were also positively disposed towards Irish-medium education. However, the findings also reveal that the quality of educational psychological and special education services is adversely impacted by factors such as inadequate translation services, the lack of suitable assessment tools and assessors who were not fully proficient in Irish. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight the urgent need for macro-level policies relating to children's education in indigenous Irish-speaking communities to be matched by practices that ensure educational psychological services such as consultation, interventions and assessments can be provided in a timely fashion through the medium of Irish. Recommendations include improved translation services, assessment through the medium of Irish, professional training for psychologists working with this cultural and linguistic minority and recruitment of psychologists who are competent Irish speakers.

The Impact on the Family of Four Neurogenetic Syndromes: A Comparative Study of Parental Views.

Research on behavioral phenotypes in neurogenetic syndromes has primarily focused on aspects of the affected child's behavior. However, the impact of having a child with a neurogenetic syndrome on aspects of family functioning can be significant and differ across syndromes. Parents (N = 381) of school-aged children with one of four neurogenetic syndromes: fragile X Syndrome (FXS), Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS), Williams Syndrome (WS) and 22q11.2 (22qDEL) were asked about challenges, restrictions, future concerns and positive aspects arising from having an affected child. Factors associated with these aspects were analysed via logistic regression. Restrictions were most often reported by parents of children with FXS. The factors significantly (p < .01) associated with the parent reported restrictions were the presence of a behavioral/psychiatric condition and a lower level of receptive communication. The challenges endorsed most often were the child's learning and social skills difficulties. Significant differences (p < .01) between the syndromes were noted for many of the challenges. Ninety-six percent of parents endorsed at least one positive aspect but most aspects endorsed did not differ between the genetic syndromes. Having a behavioral/psychiatric condition was the only factor significantly associated (p < .01) with endorsing a lower number of positive aspects and a higher number of challenges. There are some commonalities but also significant differences across syndromes regarding views on how a child's syndrome affects family functioning. These differences may be important with regard to how to counsel and support affected families. The presence of behavioral/psychiatric conditions is an important predictor of negative family outcome across the syndromes.