Traveller students being and relating to an/‘other’: identity, belonging, and inter-ethnic peer relationships in a highly diverse post-primary school
Published on 1 January, 2022.
Irish Travellers have long endured racism in Ireland. In education, they have experienced significantly lower participation and academic achievement rates relative to the settled community. This paper draws on a study examining how an intercultural approach to education was implemented in one urban DEIS post-primary school with a highly diverse student population. Informed by Critical Race Theory, an in-depth qualitative case study design was implemented. Data collection involved twenty-eight semi-structured interviews with staff, Traveller students, ‘other’ minority ethnic students, and White settled Irish students. Data analysis involved several coding stages, and the development of categories.
This paper examines one category focusing on issues of identity, belonging, and relationships amongst minority ethnic groups in the school, with a particular focus on the Traveller participants. Participants’ constructions of ‘normality’ are considered with regard to how people ‘look’ and behave as well as their perceptions of student peer relationships and the lack of engagement between student groups. The findings are interrogated in the context of Critical Race, feminist, and class theories, and the prevailing discourse about educational disadvantage. The recommendations for policy, practice, and future research provided emphasise the need for critical engagement with and sensitive implementation of intercultural education in post-primary schools.