The Traveller Child’s - Wicklow County Childcare · the traveller child’s ... 4.2 results of...
Transcript of The Traveller Child’s - Wicklow County Childcare · the traveller child’s ... 4.2 results of...
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The Traveller Child’s
experience of Early Childhood
Care and Education since the
introduction of the free pre-
school year
Marie Cuddihy
Dissertation presented in part fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree for Master of Arts in Early Childhood Studies,
Queen’s University Belfast.
Early Childhood Education Department
September 2014
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ABSTRACT
The aim of this research is to explore the Traveller child's experience of pre-school
since the introduction of the free pre-school year.
The literature shows that Travellers' educational outcomes are not on a par with non-
Travellers and that early education has a vital role in promoting inclusion from the
outset.
A mixed methods research approach was adopted to facilitate the collection of both
quantitative and qualitative data from early years’ educational services and Traveller
parents. A survey, interviews and a focus group were the tools used.
The results found that Traveller children are in the main not accessing pre-school
outside the community sector. Familiarity with pre-schools and relationships were
found to be important factors for Traveller families when choosing a pre-school.
Analysis of the results pointed to recommendations in the areas of on-going data
collection, partnership with parents in line with Siolta, standard 3, and supports a
well-resourced Equality & Diversity training plan combined with on-going mentoring
of Childcare practitioners.
Keywords: Travellers; Early years education; inclusion; free pre-school year;
universalism; Partnership; Equality & Diversity; Siolta and Aistear.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the assistance, guidance and support of the Early
Childhood Studies Team at Stranmillis University College, Belfast, throughout my
engagement with the MA in Early Childhood Studies. Specifically, I would like to
thank my supervisor, Dr. Barbara McConnell for her professional supervision at each
stage of this research.
I would also like to thank my family and friends, and colleagues in the Early Years’
sector for their encouragement, assistance and patience.
Finally, I wish to sincerely thank the Traveller Parents and Early Years Practitioners
who participated in and contributed to this project.
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ACRONYMS USED & EXPLANATION OF TERMS
AISTEAR
Aistear – The Curriculum Framework
CCSS Community Childcare Subvention
Scheme
DES Department of Education and Skills
DCYA The Department of Children & Youth
Affairs
ECEC Early Childhood Education and Care
ECCE Scheme
Early Childhood Care and Education
Scheme = Free Pre-school Year
EOCP Equal Opportunities Childcare
Programme
FETAC
Further Education & Training
Awards Council
NDP
National Development Programme
NEYAI National Early Years Access
Initiative
NEYQSS National Early Years Quality Support
Service
NCIP National Childcare Investment
Programme
OMC Office of the Minister for Children
OMCYA Office of the Minister for Children &
Youth Affairs
PPP Professional Pedagogy Project
SIOLTA Siolta – The Early Years quality
Framework
UNCRC UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child
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LIST OF FIGURES
Page number
Figure 2.1 Investment in Traveller education 2008-2013
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Figure 4.1 Questionnaire Distribution and Results
48
Figure 4.2 Breakdown of Respondents by type of service 49
Figure 4.3 Breakdown of Respondents by size of service 50
Figure 4.4 Enquiries to Pre-school services about
admission by Traveller families since January 2010
51
Figure 4.5 Enquiries to Private Pre-schools by Travellers 52
Figure 4.6 Enquiries to Community Pre-schools by
Travellers
53
Figure 4.7 Number of Traveller Children who attend
Community Pre-schools
54
Figure 4.8 Number of Traveller Children who attend
Private Pre-schools
55
Figure 4.9 Equality & Diversity Training 56
Figure 4.10 Responsibility for ensuring good peer
relationships in Pre-school
57
Figure 4.11 Factors that the Community Sector thinks
would attract Traveller Families
58
Figure 4.12 Factors that the Private Sector thinks would
attract Traveller Families
59
Figure 4.13 Questionnaire Summary Findings
60
Figure 4.14 Table Summary of emergent themes from
Qualitative Research with Traveller Parents
67
Figure 4.15 Table Summary of emergent themes from
Qualitative Research with Childcare Providers
75
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CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 7
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................ 9
2.0 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................. 9
2.1 CONTEXTUALISING EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION ......... 10
2.2 TRAVELLERS’ EDUCATION.......................................................................... 23
2.3 INCLUSION OF TRAVELLER CHILDREN IN THE EARLY YEARS SECTOR.............................................................................................................................. 28
2.4 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... 40
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 42
3.0 INTRODUCTION TO METHODOLOGY ......................................................... 42
3.1 DESIGN .......................................................................................................... 42
3.2 PARTICIPANTS .............................................................................................. 44
3.3 ETHICS .......................................................................................................... 45
3.4 MATERIALS ................................................................................................... 47
3.5 PROCEDURE ................................................................................................. 48
3.6 CONCLUSION OF METHODOLOGY ............................................................. 51
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ........................................................................................... 52
4.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 52
4.1 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS ......................................................... 52
4.2 RESULTS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH WITH TRAVELLER PARENTS .. 66
4.3 RESULTS OF ONE-TO-ONE INTERVIEWS WITH CHILDCARE PROVIDERS.............................................................................................................................. 73
CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION .......................................................... 80
5.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 81
5.1 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................. 81
5.4 CONCLUSION OF DISCUSSION ................................................................... 92
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................... 94
6.0 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 94
6.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .............................................................................. 94
6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 96
6.3 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................... 97
6.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ...................................................................... 98
6.5 BENEFITS OF THE STUDY ......................................................................... 100
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Since the introduction of the free pre-school year in the Republic of Ireland in
January 2010, there have been many changes in the Early Years’ sector.
These changes have sharpened the focus on the Early Years sector and include
increased qualification requirements for early years’ workers (DCYA2, 2013);
compliance visits for childcare services (POBAL, 2014); emphasis on quality
standards within childcare services using SIOLTA and AISTEAR, the dual “Pillars of
Practice” (Hayes, 2013:47); Murray & Urban remind us of the specific, still relevant,
“quality targets” (Murray & Urban, 2012:69) in the area of diversity, as itemised by
The European Commission Network on Childcare in 1996.
These changes are measurable, tangible aspects of children’s education and care.
These statistics show the increase in the “Qualification Levels of Staff Working in
ECCE Services” (POBAL, 2013:53); “93.7% of services have had at least one
compliance visit from Pobal“(POBAL, 2013:71); “24 practitioners across the seven
services” (AISTEAR, 2013:24) took part in the 2011 – 2013 Aistear initiative. The
statistics can be documented to show that progress is being made in the sector.
Arguably, the changes that haven’t been documented are the experiences of
children who avail of the free pre-school year.
Under Outcome 2 of the National policy Framework for Children and Young people
2014-2020, the Irish government has committed to “Continue to increase investment
in high-quality early years care and education for all children” (Better Outcomes
Brighter Futures, 2014:71). The responsibility for ensuring that this investment is
meaningful and leads to brighter futures for all children lies with the policy makers.
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This piece of work focusses on the experiences of one group of children who access
pre-school, namely Traveller children. The main aim of the research is to get a
rounded picture of how Traveller children and their families negotiate the realm of
early years’ education since the implementation of the free pre-school year.
Another dimension to the research is how early years’ services fit into the equation.
Because, the free pre-school year (ECCE scheme) has been in operation since
January 2010, enough time has passed to let the scheme bed down and arguably
the time is right to look at how Traveller families experience the free pre-school year.
The expectations, around what information will be garnered from this research, lie in
getting a rounded picture of where Traveller children attend pre-school in 2014,
finding out what Traveller families experience when accessing pre-school and also
looking at how Childcare Services manage and further the inclusion and participation
of Traveller families.
At the conclusion, it is hoped, that both the statistics gathered and the emergent
themes generated from the research, will be combined to give a clear picture of how
Traveller children experience pre-school in 2014 and to recommend possible
considerations for policy-makers in the realm of inclusion in the early years’ sector.
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE REVIEW
The aim of this literature review is to contextualise the Traveller child’s experience of
pre-school education in the Republic of Ireland looking through the lens of inclusion.
To achieve this aim, three areas will referred to.
The first of these areas will be Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in the
Republic of Ireland - the history of ECCE will be explored, coupled with a look at
current provision since the introduction of the free pre-school year in January 2010.
Following this a general picture of Travellers’ participation in, and outcomes from,
education in Ireland, and beyond, will be presented.
The third area that will be considered is inclusion in education. In this section a
definition of educational inclusion will be clearly elucidated before looking at three
different inclusion policies which have been implemented in Early Years services in
Ireland and Northern Ireland, with a view to ensuring that all children achieve
comparable outcomes in the ECCE setting.
Finally, It will be seen that research questions will organically emerge, providing a
robust rationale to move ahead with the research and a strong foundation on which
to locate the research.
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2.1 CONTEXTUALISING EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION
Early Childhood Care and Education in Ireland has been expanding since the 1970’s
and what follows here is an overview of the development of the sector coupled with
recent major changes in the sector.
Prior to 2010
Changes in the 1970’s, particularly the removal of the ban on married women
working in the public sector meant that women could now continue to work outside
the home after marriage and during motherhood. (Corrigan, 2003).The childcare
agenda really only came into focus in Ireland in the early 1980’s. Up until then,
mothers usually looked after their own children in the home and for those who
worked outside the home, family members or child minders filled the gap (Corrigan,
2003). From the 1980’s onwards, the sector was evolving in response to the
changes in the labour force participation of females (Corrigan, 2003), and was made
up of private services, community services and specialist services. The majority of
these services would have been primarily a three to three and half hour pre-school
service and even those who provided full-time (more than five hours) or part-time
(three and a half to five hours) provided pre-school education during those times to
the relevant children (children from about three years up to five years) in their care.
Private Pre-schools
Private Pre-schools were fee-paying pre-schools. If you wanted your child to attend
pre-school and were ineligible for the Community or Specialist Pre-schools, you paid
a fee to the pre-school operator for the provision of pre-school education. This sector
developed largely due to the work of private individuals who did training courses in
the Montessori Method or other methods of ECCE and set up private enterprises.
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These private enterprises were supported by organisations such as the Montessori
Board and overarching membership childcare organisations which lobbied for
advances in the sector. Due to the fact that State support for childcare was limited to
specialist services, the efforts of these private services and their mother
organisations provided the basis for the current early childcare sector in the Republic
of Ireland. (Corrigan, 2003). The sector was initially un-regulated as is evidenced by
the fact that Pre-School Inspections were only introduced following the writing into
law of the Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations in 1996. (O’Kane, 2003).
Community Pre-schools
Community Pre-schools were in place to offer subsidised (often free) pre-school
education to those children most in need. These pre-schools were often found
adjacent to or part of Family resource centres. The pre-schools were run by a board
of management and children accessed the service through referrals from the Health
Service Executive, local Family Support Groups, Drugs Task Forces or Community
Groups. Up until the late1990s, childcare supports were administered through the
Health Board from the Department of Health. Most of this support was in the form of
small grants to Community-based services, which addressed the needs of the
referred children at risk.
Under the National Development Plan (NDP) 2000 – 2006, substantial funding was
made available, via the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, (EOCP) to the
community childcare sector, which included a package of capital and staffing grants
for community run childcare services (Blanchardstown Area Partnership and Fingal
County Childcare Committee, 2008). This initiative was implemented to support
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parents to access training and employment therefore, arguably, the supports to the
childcare sector were, at best, a secondary consequence, and, at worst, an
unintended consequence, of the policy reform.
From 2008 and as part of the National Childcare Investment Programme (NCIP)
2006-2010, staffing grants to Community Childcare services were phased out and
replaced by the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS) (Blanchardstown
Area Partnership and Fingal County Childcare Committee, 2008). The major policy
change was that instead of the community childcare service receiving funding to pay
staff, services now received funding based on the individual economic status of the
parents of the children who attended the service. Arguably, again, the policy was not
aimed at children’s care and education but to support parents.
Specialist Pre-schools
Specialist pre-schools developed in Ireland to address particular needs, some like
Early Start and Traveller Pre-schools were policy decisions to tackle social
disadvantage while others, such as pre-schools for children with disabilities
organically grew as extensions of services targeting people with disabilities and while
they received government funding to a degree, were managed by community and
voluntary organisations, which relied on fundraising to provide the services needed.
Examples of these specialist pre-schools include Early Start, Pre-schools for children
with disabilities and Traveller Pre-schools.
EARLY START
In 1994, the Department of Education and Skills (DES), set up 40 pre-primary
services, called Early Start, in primary schools located in areas of urban
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disadvantage. The aim of this initiative was to target pre-schoolers who were
experiencing social disadvantage (Early Start Programme, 2013)
PRE-SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
This sector was usually catered for by charitable organisations, an example of which
is St Catherine’s (St Catherine’s, 2013). Access to St Catherine’s and other such
organisations was dependent upon a referral from the medical sector (St
Catherine’s, 2013). Some services were set up for children with particular Special
Educational Needs.
TRAVELLER PRE-SCHOOLS
In 2001 there were 56 pre-schools specifically for Traveller children in Ireland
(Villareal & Wagman, 2001). These schools which were historically generally
“created by voluntary bodies” (OECD, 2006:354), had started opening in 1978 to
address social and educational disadvantage (DES, 2003). By the year 2000, 98% of
teachers’ salaries and transport costs were being funded by the Department of
Education and Science (OECD, 2006). Arguably, the provision of segregated pre-
school education led to missed opportunities in terms of interaction and learning
across the groups in line with Social Learning Theory (Allport, 1954). Objective K of
the National Children’s Strategy, published in 2000 states that
“Children will be educated and supported to value social and cultural diversity
so that all children including Travellers and other marginalised groups achieve
their full potential” (The National Children’s Strategy, 2000: 37)
This signalled a move away from the segregated provision of education because
valuing social and cultural diversity only becomes a reality when all children have the
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opportunity to access all pre-schools and the opportunity to participate in the pre-
school when they gain access. The UN Convention states that all types of childcare
provision should be equally available to all children (Willoughby, 2004). This is
mirrored in the government report which states that “The future provision of an early-
childhood education and care service for all young children, including young
Traveller children, should be inclusive,” (McNamara, 2006:30). One of the
aspirations of this report was that Traveller children would access and participate is
mainstream early childhood care and education provision (McNamara, 2006).
McNamara went on to state that “It is important that segregated provision be phased
out, in a planned manner (McNamara, 2006:98).
The shift towards mainstream provision is shown by the table below. These figures
appeared in a Pavee Point Publication from April 2013, and highlight the reduction in
Traveller Pre-school education spending from 2008-2013.
Figure 2.1 – Investment in Traveller Education 2008-2013 €
Year
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Pre-
School
Note 1
468,920
761.252
627,887
253,179
95,143
0
Source: Department of Education & Skills.
Note 1 – Pre-School and related transport coats. Now part of the mainstream
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). (Harvey, 2013:36)
This reduction in investment in the segregated model of provision combined with,
firstly, the aspiration and vision of the UN Convention and, secondly, the policy to
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“eliminate or reduce” the number of Traveller Pre-schools, goes some way towards
paving the path towards creating an inclusive educational environment but arguably
the rhetoric does not coincide with the reality.
Up to 2010, the ECCE sector organically grew in response to labour market
requirements, funded by various government departments. It was only after 2010,
that shifts in ways of thinking around the rights of the child and universal ECCE
provision began to take hold in government policy decisions.
Post 2010
From 2010 two major developments in the ECCE sector in the Republic of Ireland
shaped how evolving ECCE strategies would be managed. Firstly, the introduction of
a universal free pre-school year paved the way for changes that were to come,
Secondly in 2011, the Department for Children and Youth and Affairs (DCYA) was
established and a Minister for Children and Youth Affairs was appointed (DCYA3,
2013). Prior to this the Office of the Minister for Children was a junior ministry
attached to the Departments of Health, Justice and Education (Cousins,1996)
Arguably, this appointment signalled that issues surrounding children and ECCE
would be to the forefront of future policy making and policy implementation agendas.
(DCYA3, 2013)
The areas in which marked change have occurred and continue to occur are the
Introduction of the free pre-school year; the quality agenda, which includes the
quality frameworks and qualification requirements for those who work in the ECCE
sector; the consolidation of regulations around running an ECCE service; the
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universalisation of provision of services. These will now be examined in turn to
deepen the understanding of how current provision operates.
Introduction of the free pre-school year
The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) free pre-school year was
introduced in January 2010. This scheme entitles all pre-school children to one
year’s free pre-school provision over 38 weeks. The scheme is universal with the
only eligibility criterion being that the child’s date of birth must fall between two
specific dates. For a child starting pre-school in September 2014 and wishing to avail
of the free pre-school year, she must have been born on or between February 2nd
2010 and June 30th 2011. The child may attend any pre-school which is in contract
with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to deliver the scheme, provided
that pre-school has an available place for the child on the date of application. The
guidance from DCYA to parents is a follows
“There are approximately 4,500 pre-school services notified to the Health
Service Executive or registered with the Irish Montessori Educational Board.
All of these services are eligible to apply to participate in the ECCE
programme. A list of participating pre-school services is available for parents
from the local City or County Childcare Committee…Parents can contact
participating services in their area to arrange to enrol their child” (DCYA1,
2013).
The new free pre-school year was a completely new path in the provision of ECCE in
Ireland. As pre-school services signed contracts to become contracted to deliver the
service on behalf of the government, these services now found themselves having to
comply with the terms and conditions of the contracts. The terms and conditions
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require that quality of service is addressed and that a minimum qualification structure
is adhered to (DCYA2, 2013). As a consequence of this, it is necessary to consider
the existing quality frameworks that govern the early years’ sector. Qualification
requirements and related issues in the early years’ sector will also need to be
explored.
Quality Frameworks
The quality agenda in the pre-school sector is governed by two quality frameworks.
Both of these frameworks, SIOLTA and AISTEAR had been developed prior to 2010.
SIOLTA
SIOLTA (meaning seeds), was published in 2006 and iterates sixteen quality
standards that promote best practice in ECCE services. (SIOLTA, 2006). These
standards range from “Play” and “Identity and Belonging” to “Environment” and
“Rights of the Child” (SIOLTA, 2006). Prior to 2010 and before DCYA paid capitation
payments for all eligible children availing of the ECCE scheme, ECCE services were
encouraged to voluntarily engage with SIOLTA, but after 2010, compliance with the
terms and conditions of the ECCE scheme required engagement with SIOLTA
(DCYA4, 2013) SIOLTA co-ordinators were funded by the DCYA to guide a small
proportion of services towards formal engagement with SIOLTA and the
development of a service specific SIOLTA portfolio (Goodbody Economic
Consultants, 2011), Some intensive work was done by 134 services nationally
supported by SIOLTA co-ordinators/mentors. An evaluation of this work was
undertaken by Goodbody Economic Consultants. (Goodbody Economic Consultants,
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2011). It was found that there was a wide difference in the levels of engagement
across the 134 services. This equated to less than 4% of all services nationally as
there were 4250 services in operation (Goodbody Economic Consultants, 2011) at
the time of roll-out of this Siolta Quality Assurance Programme (QAP). The level of
engagement seemed to correlate with the intensity of the Siolta Co-Ordinator support
to the service. (Goodbody Economic Consultants, 2011). Therefore, it could be
argued, that without on-going intensive support, the services were less likely to
achieve the quality standards. This report also noted that going forward the Siolta
mentoring programme would require investment on a very large scale to replicate the
model across all settings. The phrase used to highlight this was “...a resource
intensive model” (Goodbody Economic Consultants, 2011:102). Arguably this model
of quality raising will prove too costly across the sector.
AISTEAR
Aistear, meaning “Journey” was published in 2009 and sets out the curriculum
framework for 0 to 6 year olds. The framework is made up of themes one of which is
“Identity and Belonging” (Aistear, 2009). An Aistear Toolkit is available on-line as a
resource for childcare providers to develop, revise and document quality curricula
(Aistear Toolkit, 2013). These curricula propose to ensure that children benefit from
learning that is steeped in interactions and play and which is assessed regularly to
ensure that children have the best possible learning outcomes (Aistear, 2009).
It could be concluded that, as both Siolta and Aistear concur, much emphasis must
be put on Identity and Belonging to deliver a quality service. As can be seen form the
Goodbody Report (Goodbody Economic Consultants, 2011), on-going, intensive
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investment is needed to progress quality in the sector and this quality investment
could include resources for advancing the Equality and Diversity pre-school agenda.
Analysis arising from Budget 2013 stated that “The quality dimension of the ECCE
programme, which is crucial if the scheme objectives and potential benefits are to be
realised, will be analysed” (Budget 2013: 33). Arguably, arising from this was the
announcement of the launch of National Early Years Quality Support Service
(NEYQSS) by POBAL in early 2014 (NEYQSS, 2014) and this shows a commitment
to the allocation of resources to the early years sector. The direction of these
resources needs to be carefully considered.
Qualifications in the sector
Nutbrown, in her recent report, states that the “… biggest influence on the quality of
early education and care is its workforce…When we talk about the ‘quality’ of staff,
their qualifications are key” (Nutbrown, 2012:14).
When the private pre-school sector started to mushroom in the 1980’s, there was no
regulation in place. “The first legislative control over early education services in
Ireland came into place in 1996, in the form of the Child Care (Pre-School Services)
Regulations (Department of Health, 1996)” (O’Kane, 2005: 231). This allowed pre-
schools to decide what level of qualification, if any, was required to operate the
service.
With the arrival of the pre-school regulations from 1996 onwards, and as re-iterated
in the updated 2006 regulations, it was recommended that “a sufficient number of
suitable and competent adults are working directly with the pre-school children in the
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pre-school service at all times” (Pre-School Regulations, 2006:6). This phrasing is
open to interpretation as “suitable” and “competent” does not necessarily imply that
qualifications are required.
With the introduction of the free pre-school year there was a shift towards the
requirement for qualifications. Services which were led by a childcare worker who
didn’t have a minimum of FETAC Level 5 in Early Childhood Education were given
over two years to upskill to the minimum requirement. From September 2012, this
was vigorously enforced with services who didn’t comply becoming ineligible to be
part of the ECCE free-pre-school year program (DCYA2, 2013)
As recently as November 2010, it was accepted, in Ireland, that “There isn’t a fund
available to assist the ECCE workforce to engage in education and training”
(Workforce Development Plan, 2010:9). However, Right from the Start report
recommends extending free-pre-school provision to children from the age of three up
to the time the child starts primary school and that this change would require prior
investment in up skilling and further education of the existing early years workforce
(Right from the Start, 2013).
An incentive to up skill, aimed at childcare practitioners, was presented in the form of
a higher capitation per child being paid to the pre-school service, if the leader had a
qualification of FETAC 7 (or higher) in Early Childhood Education and every
assistant was qualified to a minimum of FETAC 5 in Early Childhood Education
(DCYA2, 2013). Arguably, this incentive had the intended consequence of motivating
childcare workers to engage in further education but it also had the unintended
consequence of providing two tiers of ECCE provision, one led by childcare
professionals who hold minimum qualifications and the other led by childcare
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professionals who have higher qualifications. In the UK, according to Nutbrown, the
children who attend the service with the more highly qualified staff will have better
outcomes than those who are cared for and educated in the services who adhere to
the minimum standards required. (Nutbrown, 2012). Arguably, the same is true in the
Republic of Ireland, where the children who are educated by the more highly
qualified staff will have better outcomes than those children who are educated by the
educators who hold minimum level qualifications. Arguably this two tier provision
favours some children over others and promotes inequality of provision as well as
inequality of outcomes.
In tandem with the quality agenda and the changing requirements in terms of
qualifications, a streamlining of the registration process for pre-schools is expected
for 2014, and there is a shift towards towards the ethos of “progressive
universalism”. (OMC, 2007:39). What follows is a brief exploration of the proposed
new pre-registration process and a short exploration of the ethos of universalism as
evidenced in the Irish ECCE context.
New Pre-Registration Process for Pre-schools
To date, in the Republic of Ireland, a childcare service must advise TUSLA, formerly
the HSE, of the intention to open, 28 days in advance of opening. Therefore no
checks are in place prior to opening a childcare service. Upon opening, the new
childcare service will be visited by the Pre-School Inspection Service. This visit
results in a report which lists the areas in which the service is non-compliant and
gives a time-frame for the service to work towards compliance.
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From September 2014, it is proposed that, a new system will operate, whereby all
childcare services intending to open, will have to pre-register with the Pre-School-
Inspection service, to ensure that standards around qualifications, garda vetting,
curriculum, health and safety, and quality are met prior to opening. Arguably, this will
promote higher quality of services from the outset because though services who do
not meet the quality criteria will not open.
“Progressive Universalism”
As mentioned earlier, when the new free pre-school year was introduced in 2010,
one of the ideals was that any child can attend any service. Another step on from this
is the ethos of “progressive universalism” (OMC, 2007:39) where all children receive
the free pre-school year (universalism) and those who need extra supports (including
Travellers) receive these supports within pre-school provision, or can access the
extra supports in collaboration with pre-school providers and the wider community
(progressive provision). Arguably, progressive universalism is ideally at work by
implementing the free pre-school year (Right from the Start, 2013). It could also be
argued that the phasing out of the Traveller pre-school which has been recently been
called an elimination of, or a reduction in the number of, Traveller Pre-schools
(Quinn, 2013) coupled with the option for those children who have a diagnosis of
disability, to split the ECCE pre-school provision over two calendar years supports
the ethos of “progressive universalism” (OMC, 2007:39). However, the continuation
of the Early Start Programme coupled with the two-tier ECCE provision based on the
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qualification level of the early years’ workers, seem to be out of synchronisation with
this ethos.
Summary of Context
The preceding pages have given an overview of the historical context, before 2010,
and current provision, since 2010, of ECCE in the Republic of Ireland and has given
a basis for understanding the ethos underlying the provision of Early Childhood Care
and Education and movements in the sector in terms of quality, qualifications,
funding, entitlement and regulation.
This overview and contextualisation of the ECCE sector will give a starting point, in
which to locate the research. This starting point will be augmented by looking
Traveller Education, specifically Traveller ECCE provision and experiences, which
will be dealt with in detail in the next section.
2.2 TRAVELLERS’ EDUCATION
Drawing on studies and literature from the UK and further afield, and general studies
from Ireland in relation to the educational needs of Travellers, this chapter will give a
picture of Travellers’ experience of education generally before moving on to look at
prejudice, participation and outcomes in relation to Traveller children.
“Travellers remain among the most disadvantaged groups in Irish society” (Ronayne,
1997:2). Arguably, this continues to be the case, especially in the case of traveller
children who are “…a minority within a minority” (Murray, 2012:569), Traveller
children suffer the negative outcomes attached to being a Traveller as well as being
24
a minority within the Traveller community, that is, being a child, a minor who has no
power and often no voice. Traveller children suffer from being a Traveller and further
suffer from being a child. (Pavee Point, 2013)
Historically educational attainment has been low among Travellers with only 40% of
Traveller children making the transition to secondary education in 2002/2003 (Pavee
Point, 2013a:1)
Looking at the pre-school experiences of Traveller children in Ireland since 2010 has
proved difficult as there is a paucity of literature in the area due to the relative
newness of the free pre-school setting.
While it is accepted in the Republic of Ireland that “Traveller children should have
access to an inclusive, well-resourced, well-managed, high-quality early-childhood
education, with an appropriately trained staff operating in good-quality premises”
(McNamara, 2006:32), a Northern Irish study has concluded that while integrated
educational provision is an important choice for many Travellers, other Travellers
would choose segregated provision as the less risky option and preferred type of
education for their children. (Hamilton, Bloomer & Potter, 2012).
It could be argued that a number of factors contribute to the choices Traveller
families make around early education, namely; prejudices felt and experienced by
Travellers in the school setting, including the issue of the “…fear of bullying and
discrimination” (Hamilton et al, 2012:517); barriers to participation in the school
setting (Vandenbroeck et al., 2010); poor educational outcomes (Mac Greil, 2011)
are some of the reasons why integration works in some cases and segregation is
chosen in other instances.
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Prejudices
Owners and managers of, what were previously, private pre-schools, are
recommended to have policies and procedures in place that promote openness,
accessibility and equality for all of those children who attend their pre-school.
(Murray, C., Crooke, M., O Doherty, A. & Hanrahan, M., 2006). Even when these
policies are in place, concern still exists that there is “...a mismatch between policy
and practice where some children matter more than others” (Cudworth, 2008: 361).
A more important consideration is the availability of training, support and resources
to empower childcare providers to implement the guidelines. In 2011 and 2012, 231
childcare services (out of 4,500 services) nationally in Ireland engaged in Diversity
and Equality Training (Evaluation Report. 2013) which was shown to improve the
quality of policy implementation within those services. Arguably this is progress for
those 5% of services but 95% of services are still without training. An evaluation
report recommended that
“National initiatives should be designed and planned, hand-in-hand with their
evaluation process” (Evaluation Report, 2013:129).
This points to the possibility that National Initiatives will ensue but confirmation of this
or a proposed timeline has not been made public. This does little to further the up
skilling of 95% of childcare services in Ireland. Among the 95% of the workforce, who
have not benefitted from this training, there may be a latent prejudice, which has
been put down to a lack of “…awareness…” (Murray, 2012:579) across a number of
areas including, being self-ware, recognising oppression, being empathetic, valuing
differing contributions to society and the ability to challenge existing norms.
26
Another issue around prejudice for Travellers is that
“Many Traveller parents feel that they cannot take for granted things that settled
parents generally do not even have to consider, for example that their child will
be welcomed in some schools, will be treated fairly, and will have their needs
dealt with in a respectful way. This can lead to ambivalence and a negative
attitude on the part of some Traveller parents regarding the value of formal
education” (McNamara, 2006:22),
As outlined above, it could be argued that direct, indirect or felt prejudices, which
may stem from the early years setting or the family of the Traveller child may impact
upon the child’s access to a particular setting and/or the Traveller child’s participation
within the setting. (Murray et al, 2006; Murray, 2012; McNamara, 2006)
Participation
Apart from prejudices, direct or otherwise, which may be present in the pre-school
structure, there are a number of other issues which impact upon a Traveller Parents
decision to enrol his/her child in a pre-school setting and then follow up by enabling
the child’s attendance. These include; Literacy and numeracy issues; Lack of
awareness around timelines for enrolment; Physical access considerations, that is,
bad roads and services from sites; Lack of appropriate clothing; Financial restraints
impacting upon school resources” (Vandenbroeck et al., 2010)
Therefore, even if the child has the option of attending a particular service, there are
many barriers to participation which are outside the control of the childcare service.
Arguably, if the Traveller family had supports to address these barriers, the Traveller
child would be in a better position to participate in mainstream settings.
27
As “…Traveller communities have shifted their emphasis towards a greater desire for
formal education dictated by concerns for their children’s futures” (Myers, McGhee &
Bhopal, 2010: 545), arguably, this move towards participation should be matched by
early years’ services engagement with the Identity and Belonging Streams of both
Siolta and Aistear, the quality frameworks, and Equality and Diversity upskilling.
Outcomes
What is not disputed is that “In both Ireland and the UK, Traveller children reportedly
suffer the lowest rates of educational attainment of any group” (Nugent, 2010: 55).
Being relatively inadequately educated affects one’s life chances and provision of
quality pre-school services is one of the early preventative measures that policy-
makers can put in place, as asserted by Murray, who stated
“...that early childhood education and care is a key policy tool to combat social
exclusion” (Murray, 2012: 569)
This is re-iterated by Bello
“According to available studies, kindergarten attendance positively impacts
the success in primary and secondary schools of Roma and Traveller pupils”
(Bello, 2011:53).
Murray and Bello both espouse the importance of early childhood care
and education, specifically for Traveller children.
As previously discussed, prejudices and barriers to participation have been shown to
impact upon the Traveller Child’s experience of and outcomes from early childhood
28
care and education and that is why it is imperative that the experience of Traveller
children within the early years sector is researched and evaluated. This analysis
could inform policy decisions and develop practices and norms that embrace the
Traveller Community, the pre-school sector and the wider community. Following this
through could inform the development of a national inclusion policy for the pre-school
sector in the Republic of Ireland.
2.3 INCLUSION OF TRAVELLER CHILDREN IN THE EARLY YEARS SECTOR
This section will consider inclusion in the pre-school sector. A definition of inclusion
will be put forward at the outset to set the context for the following discussion and
analysis of inclusion as it currently operates and how best practices around inclusion
have developed in other jurisdictions.
Before moving forward, a definition of social inclusion as it refers to this piece of
research will be defined.
Definition of inclusion
The meaning of social Inclusion has been defined, redefined and disputed. Social
inclusion is a process (Topping & Maloney, 2005), and it shifts overtime (Topping &
Maloney, 2005; Millar, 2007). For the purposes of this piece of work the following
definition of inclusion, which relates specifically to educational inclusion will be
adhered to
“Inclusion may be seen as the drive towards maximal participation in and
minimal exclusion from early years settings” (Nutbrown & Clough, 2006: 3)
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Theory underpinning inclusion
Social Learning Theory is a worthwhile lens with which to view the importance of
inclusion in the early years Sector. Inclusion is seen here as enabling participation in
mainstream pre-school settings for all groups irrespective of ability or cultural
background. The Contact Hypothesis (Allport,1954), can be explained by
“...sustained inter-ethnic contact can promote perspective taking and acceptance
of and respect for difference” (Hughes, Campbell & Jenkins, 2011: 981)
When applied to the pre-school sector, the Contact Hypothesis can arguably have
the same outcomes when different groups, which have traditionally been segregated,
are brought together for the purpose of education and care. The social learning that
occurs during contact promotes empathy and respect for difference and leads to
enhanced social inclusion. Just being admitted to the setting, though, is not enough.
Social learning needs to happen. Putnam’s assertion that admittance of an out-group
causes the original members of the group to pull back (Putnam, 2000), may happen
initially, but, arguably if the contact is” sustained” (Hughes et al, 2011: 981), there will
be time for social learning to happen and a gradual process of understanding to
evolve.
However, for Allport’s Contact Hypothesis (Allport, 1954) to produce positive results,
in the pre-school sector in the Republic of Ireland, consideration needs to be given to
five areas;
1. Firstly, when contact does occur, that it is meaningful and the children have
the opportunity to influence the inclusion process (MacNaughton et al, 2007).
30
2. Secondly, that tasks or formal learning do not impinge upon the social
learning. (Tomovska, 2010)
3. Thirdly, that leadership, as a skill is valued, enhanced and made use of to
produce a vision for change in individual pre-schools. (Whalley, 2011)
4. Fourthly, that pre-school practitioners receive training in Inclusion to develop
reflective and reflexive thinking (Brock, 2006) and have the resources to
research and develop inclusive practices (Miller & Cable: 2011)
5. Fifthly, that inclusion policy at national level is not subsumed by the
unintended consequences of other policy changes because “...there are still
policymakers who do not understand the crucial nature of early years
education” (Brock, 2006:6) and the role of Social Learning Theory as a way of
understanding how Inclusion can be facilitated by using Allport’s Contact
Hypothesis (Allport, 1954).
When these five factors are in place, arguably, the process of inclusion (Topping &
Maloney, 2005), will gain momentum and become a reality for all children in the
Republic of Ireland.
Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that a child
has the right to be protected from discrimination. Article 8 of the UNCRC states that
the child has a right to his/her identity (Murray & Urban, 2012). These two rights,
which are two of many, combined with three objectives of The Council of Europe in
its Rights of the Child Strategy 2012-2015, which are
“promoting child-friendly services and systems”
“guaranteeing the rights of children in vulnerable situations (such as those
with disabilities, in detention, in alternative care, migrant or Roma children);”
31
“promoting child participation., (Council of Europe, 2012:1).
support the necessity to have inclusive policies in place for all children.
As mentioned earlier, Traveller pre-schools are being phased out in the Republic of
Ireland with social inclusion being one of the goals of this process (National
Evaluation Report, 2003). Arguably, the justification for this phasing out decision can
be found in the definition of social inclusion as “...Increasing participation for children
and adults in learning and teaching activities, relationships and communities of local
schools” (CSIE, 2013: 1),
The timing of the phasing out of Traveller pre-schools roughly coincided with the
introduction of the ECCE scheme in 2010 when universality was introduced in terms
of pre-school provision and entitlement. In Ireland in 2013, an Early Years Strategy is
being developed and if “backed up by national commitment… could… remove
barriers of inequality” (Right from the Start, 2013:1)
Further afield, in the context of Northern Ireland, research considered “...the issue of
segregated education for the Traveller community and how for some this segregation
can exacerbate social exclusion, disadvantage and discrimination” (Hamilton et al,
2012: 501). This assertion points to the fact that Traveller children would experience
increased social inclusion by gaining access to and participating in mainstream
education provision but not all Traveller families would choose the integrated route
due to worries about safety and the type of education their child would receive
(Hamilton et al, 2012). This demonstrates the importance of an awareness of the role
of all stakeholders in the journey towards inclusion in the Early Years sector, and an
acknowledgement that some Traveller specific provision may need to continue
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Stakeholders in inclusion
“Inclusion does not operate in a vacuum” (Themelis, 2009:262). The roles of six
distinct stakeholders combine to make inclusion (or non-inclusion) an ever-evolving
process.
The Child as an Inclusion Stakeholder
As stated earlier, Traveller children are a minority (Murray, 2012) and their inclusion
in or exclusion from pre-school is outside their control and in the hands of their family
of origin, the pre-school sector, government policy and society in general.
The Family as an Inclusion Stakeholder
The relationship between the pre-school provider and the Traveller community and
Traveller parents is also important to how Traveller children experience pre-school
and in what setting. This relationship may be impacted upon by “...lack of trust
between schools and parents” (Times Educational Supplement, 2012). What should
not be overlooked, during the research is that Travellers are active agents in their
own quest for education and services and are not merely recipients of education,
who have education bestowed upon them by social policy implementers.
“Travellers are doing what they always have done and still do, and that is
taking control for themselves and choosing what specific educational
opportunities on offer will benefit them” (O’ Hanlon, 2010: 239).
It is well documented that Traveller Parents have negative memories of school
themselves and this fuels fears around their children’s safety in the educational
settings (Myers, McGhee & Bhopal, 2010).
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Other considerations for Traveller parents when making choices around education
include
The mismatch between the curriculum and Traveller Children’s lives (Myers,
McGhee & Bhopal, 2010). How this challenge was overcome in one instance,
is demonstrated by the cameo of “A Traveller boy” (Murray, 2012:578) whose
identity was ably supported by practitioners who had engaged in Diversity and
Equality Training.
The prospect of “cultural erosion” (Myers, McGhee & Bhopal, 2010:534) may
inhibit Traveller parents’ engagement with early education. The minimising of
the importance of Traveller culture is a worry for Traveller families. Again a
cameo of “A 4-year-old Traveller Child” (Murray, 2012: 578) shows how this
may happen, whether motivated by protective measures or not. Mac Greil
asserts that this is not an unfounded worry as there is a tangible risk that
participation for Travellers in education will lead to “cultural de-radicalisation”
(Mac Greil, 2011:305)
As can be seen from the above points, the Traveller child’s family has a huge impact
on the child’s access to and participation in early childhood care and education.
Early Childhood Practitioners as Inclusion Stakeholders
Arguably, when the Traveller Child gains access to and attends the service, there is
another crucial factor which impacts upon inclusion in the pre-school sector, namely
the role and attitudes of the teacher/early years’ practitioner.
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The level of qualifications of pre-school teachers impacts positively on children’s
outcomes (Yoshikawa et al., 2013). Recchia & Lee recognise the “…power of early
childhood teachers” (Recchia & Lee, 2013: 94) in the arena of inclusion. Recchia and
Lee also support the training of these professionals before they work in services as
well as advocating for their continued professional development to “…help guide the
process of changing professionals’ thinking in ways that will lead to changes in their
actions in schools and classrooms” (Recchia & Lee, 2013: 94)
A further consideration is the quality of interactions between the practitioner and the
child. Interactions are impacted upon by the level of practitioner qualifications, ratios
and group size but having these factors in place does not guarantee positive
interactions (Yoshikawa et al., 2013).
Recchia & Lee postulate that there are six competencies that early years’
professionals need to hone to make inclusion a process in the classroom (Recchia &
Lee, 2013). However, the continued development of these competencies needs to
work in tandem with the general ethos and practices of the school community. “In
order to successfully carry out the hard work of enacting inclusion, teachers need to
know they are not alone” (Recchia & Lee, 2013:91). This is where the role of the
educational institution comes into play
The Pre-School as an Inclusion Stakeholder
Arguably, the pre-schools which are now part of the ECCE scheme have a vital role
to play in ensuring that social inclusion is a reality and not just a dream “...the
commitment of the head teacher and senior management team to the inclusive ethos
of the school is crucial in setting the tone of the school towards positive treatment of
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils” (Bhopal & Myers, 2009: 299). Murray takes this a
35
step further by postulating that early childhood care and education settings can
challenge and counteract biases that exist due to hierarchical framings of identity
and belonging (Murray, 2012).This is where leadership comes into play. Engaging in
continued professional development as a manager/leader can enhance leadership
qualities and models good practice. Team members learn by this social modelling.
As Roberston states “...leadership involves pushing against current ways of doing
things” (Robertson, 2006: 43). To promote inclusive early years care and education,
providing leadership training to early years leaders, might be an element worth
considering.
As previously alluded to, attitudes around challenging bias and respecting difference
need to be considered in the ethos of childcare services. (Right from the Start, 2013)
and for this to be achieved the Expert Working Group recommended rolling out the
Diversity and Equality Guidelines for Childcare Providers nationally, in conjunction
with “mandatory training and support for diversity and equality practice” (Right from
the Start, 2013: 21).
The Community as an Inclusion Stakeholder
Murray and Urban postulate that Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)
Settings “…have a role in building communities” (Murray & Urban, 2012: 162).
Providing spaces for families to connect can start the process of building supportive
communities. One of the spaces where parents and children connect can be as
simple as the pre-school entrance area. That is why this area needs to be welcoming
and comfortable for all parents. (Murray & Urban, 2012). Taking this role of the early
years sector as a given, the potential for community building between Traveller
36
families, non-Traveller families, early years teachers and the wider community is
boundless.
Society as an Inclusion Stakeholder
“Good intentions are not enough” (Gorski, 2008: 515) in the area of intercultural
education. Just because our administrators support equality and diversity and a
strong leadership stance is taken, our early years teachers possess the six
competencies (Recchia & Lee, 2013) and mandatory training is recommended in
Equality and Diversity (Right from the Start, 2013), it has been shown in a recent
study that attitudinal changes relating to equality, diversity and multiculturalism, that
come about as a result of training, up skilling, dialogue and consensus are not
necessarily translated into action on the ground. (Pittman, 2013). The practitioners
and stakeholders in the early childhood sector have the information, agree that it is
important but behaviour change does not follow. A societal shift in how minority
groups are viewed needs to happen to enable inclusion across society and this may
happen as a consequence of inclusion in the Early years Sector by virtue of Social
Learning Theory (Allport,1954)
With some or all of the stakeholders playing an active role in promoting and enacting
inclusion in the early years setting, interventionist policies can be put in place to
further the pro-active inclusion of all children in the early years’ sector.
37
Interventionist policies
What follows is a look at three interventionist policies taken on board to promote
inclusion in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Diversity and Equality Framework (Republic of Ireland)
The policy to “support childcare practitioners, early childhood teachers, managers
and policy makers in their exploration, understanding and development of diversity
and equality practice” (OMC, 2006: ix) in the Republic of Ireland focusses on the
training of early childhood practitioners in Diversity and Equality guidelines. The
limitations attached to the roll-out of the Diversity and Equality Framework have been
dealt with previously and are mainly confined to resources. Progress could be
achieved, if the recommendations of the Evaluation Report were actioned
(Evaluation Report, 2013), namely the collaborative development of national
Diversity and Equality Initiative based on the Framework (Evaluation Report, 2013)
and the inclusion of Diversity and Equality modules as part of FETAC 5 & 6 training
in the future. This coupled with the recommendation from Right from the Start to
“Roll out the Diversity and Equality Guidelines for Childcare Providers
nationally, along with mandatory training and support for diversity and equality
practice” (Right From the Start, 2013:22)
could further the Diversity and Equality agenda within pre-schools to enhance the
inclusion of all children in the sector.
38
Arguably, other stakeholders in the inclusion equation in the Republic of Ireland are
being somewhat ignored, as the roll-out of the Diversity and Equality Guidelines only
focusses on the early years educators within the early years’ service. In an effort to
view a wider perspective, Diversity and Equality initiatives from other jurisdictions,
will be discussed with a view to exploring how these initiatives encompass other
stakeholders needs.
The Media Initiative (Northern Ireland)
This interventionist programme operated by showing short cartoon clips on television
over a three week period, a few times a year. The clips were aimed at young
children, using fun characters and the underlying messages were about inclusion.
These clips were discussed in pre-school, led by the early years’ educators, who
received relevant training and were provided with back-up resources to help re-
enforce the learning. Parents were also brought on board to receive information and
play an active role in the learning (Early Years, 2009)
The evaluation of the initiative, acknowledged the innovativeness of the programme,
showed a high level of engagement, across all stakeholders, with the programme but
demonstrated no discernible changes in the of willingness pre-school children to be
more inclusive generally. Partnership with parents was mentioned as an important
factor in the mix. (Coral, 2012)
This Media initiative brought the children, the parents and the wider community into
the Inclusion equation, and explored the possibilities of making inclusion an organic
reality by bringing all the stakeholders together. Arguably, this model of intervention
where different stakeholders are brought together in a joint initiative could be
39
modelled more extensively in the Republic of Ireland with an emphasis on
partnership with parents, which was an issue that was noted in the evaluation of the
Media Initiative.
TOYBOX Project – (Northern Ireland)
The Toybox Project aims to tackle disadvantage, exclusion and poor educational
attainments experienced by Traveller children through supporting them from birth to
4 years. The project operates by partnering with parents and children and delivering
outreach interventions through the medium of play. Staff were employed to carry out
his work and some government funding was accessed. (Early Years1, 2014). One of
the specific aims of the project was to “actively promote their (Traveller Children’s)
enrolment in pre-school settings” (McVeigh, 2007:6).
The TOYBOX project which involved, children, parents and the wider community, is
unique in that it intervenes early in the child’s life to, firstly, increase the child’s
likelihood of attending pre-school and secondly, equip the child’s family to play a
more active role in the child’s education.
40
2.4 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW
In summation, what the literature has shown is; educational outcomes for travellers
are not on a par with non-Travellers (Nugent, 2010: Pavee Point 2013); early
childhood care and education impacts positively upon outcomes for children (Murray,
2012: Yoshikawa et al., 2013); To ensure that an inclusive ethos is active in the pre-
school setting, childcare services need to engage with Diversity and Equality training
that is mandatory (Right from the Start. 2013); inclusive pre-school education
provides better outcomes for some Traveller children (Hamilton et al, 2012); pre-
school leaders have a vital role to play in the promotion of social inclusion (Bhopal &
Myers, 2009); relationships between pre-schools and Traveller parents need to be
focussed upon (Times Educational Supplement, 2012) always keeping in mind the
factors which act as barriers to participation in early years education; Travellers
themselves ultimately have the final say in which educational options they wish to
utilise (O’ Hanlon, 2010). Social Learning Theory is a powerful lens through which to
view educational inclusion and how it may augment social inclusion in the long term.
As stated at the outset, the main aim of this study is to tell the story of the Traveller
Child’s experience of pre-school in the Republic of Ireland in 2014
From the preceding Literature, the following research questions arose,
1. Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?
2. What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-
school?
41
3. Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking
for in a pre-school?
Prior to asking these questions, a clear, relevant methodology will be designed to
ensure that the right questions are asked of the right people and that useful data is
collected.
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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.0 INTRODUCTION TO METHODOLOGY
The objective of this study was to gain an understanding of the Traveller child’s
experience of pre-school since the introduction of the free pre-school year in January
2010. Based on the questions arising from the literature review, namely
1. Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?
2. What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-
school?
3. Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking
for in a pre-school?
this study seeks to examine how the inclusion of Traveller children into mainstream
pre-schools has been achieved. The study specifically looks at the numbers of
Traveller children visible in mainstream settings, how Travellers have been affected
by the Transition, what factors have impacted upon the process, the role of early
years’ services. The study also seeks to provide a snapshot of Early Childhood Care
and Provision for Travellers in the county being researched.
3.1 DESIGN
Arguably, the best way of gleaning information about the Traveller child’s experience
of pre-school since January 2010, is by employing a mixed methods approach. ‘We
do not advocate slavish adherence to a single methodology in research; indeed,
43
combining methodologies may be appropriate for the research in hand’. (Cohen,
Manion & Morrison, 2011: 217). In this particular study, combining methodologies is
the best choice because both quantitative and qualitative data is required to produce
a holistic picture of Early Childhood Care and Education for Traveller children since
2010 and Johnson and Onwuegbuzie asserted that the “time has come” (Johnson, &
Onwuegbuzie, 2004: 14) for using mixed methods research. For example the
quantitative data around the number of Traveller children attending mainstream pre-
schools, combined with the qualitative data around the experiences of Traveller
parents in relation to the Transition from segregated provision to mainstream
provision, need to be collected to provide a rounded picture combining facts and
experiences. Thus,
“In a complementarity mixed methods study, qualitative and quantitative
methods are used to measure overlapping but also different facets of a
phenomenon, yielding an enriched, elaborated understanding of the
phenomenon” (Greene, Caracelli, and Graham, 1989: 258)
This mixed methods approach included a quantitative approach, the survey
questionnaire, which was sent to pre-school services, followed by the qualitative
approach, which comprised of interviews with three pre-school services and two
focus group discussions with groups of Traveller parents. These methods were
chosen to do justice to the process of transition that was being investigated.
Both quantitative data, on where Travellers attend pre-school, levels of equality and
diversity training in pre-schools, and, emergent qualitative data on perceptions and
understandings on Traveller children’s transition from segregated to universal
provision of early childhood care and education form the viewpoint of both pre-
44
schools and Traveller parents, was needed to give a rounded picture of the pre-
school experience of Traveller Children. “Exclusive reliance on one method... may
bias or distort the researcher’s picture of the particular slice of reality she is
investigating” (Cohen et al, 2011: 195).
3.2 PARTICIPANTS
The participants in this research were chosen from the early years’ sector in the
county. All of the150 or so ECCE pre-school providers in the area were invited to
take part in the questionnaire phase of the study. These providers were part of the
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) government funded scheme, and
covered the spectrum of private, community and full day care providers. The last
questions on the questionnaire asked the participant, if he/she would be prepared to
engage in a short one-to-one interview with the researcher on the topics covered in
the questionnaire. Based on the feedback from this particular question, three early
years services were chosen for the interview phase of the research. The three
selected included a private service where Traveller children were highly visible, a
private service where no Traveller Children were visible and a community service
that has a long history of engagement with Traveller families.
For the third strand of the research, access to Traveller parents was achieved by
linking in with, two local training networks for Travellers and two Family Resource
centre, where Travellers access services and are involved in cascading information
and training to the Travelling Community. These four links acted as gatekeepers for
45
the researcher to gain access to Traveller parents. Two focus groups with Traveller
Parents, in different geographical areas, were organised through the involvement of
the stakeholders mentioned above.
3.3 ETHICS
Prior to embarking on the study, ethical approval was sought and obtained from the
Stranmillis University College MA Ethics Committee using the guidelines contained
in RESPECT (2004), Connolly, (2003), Howe & Moses (1999) and Oliver (2003) .
(Please see Appendix 10 to view a signed copy of the ethical consent obtained).
Even though, no children were interviewed during the course of the study, informed
consent from the participants in the study was sought. Consent forms were
developed for this purpose. (Please see Appendices 5 & 6). Along with the consent
form, all participants were given a synopsis of the research aims and an explanation
of the input required from the participants. (Please see Appendix 7 to view the
research synopsis). The study synopsis was emailed to the survey participants along
with the questionnaire – there was no need for a consent form in this case, because
filling in the questionnaire indicated consent. However a consent form and the study
synopsis were presented to the interviewees and focus group participants prior to the
interviews and focus group. Focus Group participants were accessed through
gatekeepers as indicated earlier. The four gatekeepers were approached at the
outset and utilised as an access point, which promoted increased trust in the project
from the viewpoint of the participants but care was taken to ensure that no
participants felt obliged to take part in the focus group due to the involvement of the
gatekeepers (Connolly, 2003). All participants were informed that they could refuse
46
to take part in the research or could withdraw at any time during the research. Care
was taken to explain the research and to answer questions as they arose. Consent
for recording of information, whether in writing or electronically was also sought.
Conflict of Interest may have become an issue as the researcher had, prior to this
research, developed in-depth relationships with approximately 70 of the 150
childcare services to be approached to complete the questionnaire and this may
have had an impact on the services’ understanding of the voluntary nature of the
questionnaire. In this regard, a web based survey generator was utilised to collect
and analyse the data to ensure that the anonymity of the services was watertight and
to ensure that questionnaire recipients did not feel under pressure to participate.
Another issue that could have impacted upon the value of the research findings was
that Focus Group participants were accessed through gatekeepers as indicated
earlier. The four gatekeepers were approached at the outset and utilised as an
access point, which promoted increased trust in the project from the viewpoint of the
participants but care was be taken to ensure that no participants felt obliged to take
part in the focus group due to the involvement of the gatekeepers (Connolly, 2003).
Anonymity and confidentiality were assured and participants were informed that all
potential identifiers would be removed from data before replication in findings.
Findings were fed back to the groups in an appropriate manner. This took the form of
a debriefing session which was held as part of a networking event.
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3.4 MATERIALS
Firstly, the quantitative aspect of the study was carried out. This comprised of a
questionnaire which was directly emailed to the 146 early years services by the web
based survey generator. The questionnaires were anonymous to protect the
identities of the services and the children involved. The questionnaire asked open
and closed questions including closed questions like “How many children do you
cater for?”, “How many Traveller children do you have in attendance?” The
questionnaire also had two questions around expertise in the area of Equality and
Diversity. The first question was a “selected response” (Gillham, 2010:28) question,
where the participant had a list of possible answers to choose from; the second
question gave answer options on a sliding scale, and is termed a “rating scale
question” (Thomas, 2013:211), where the possible answers were graded on a scale
from “not at all“, to “a lot” and the participant chose one answer. There was also a
somewhat open question on the questionnaire that sought information on the
likelihood of Travellers choosing the pre-school in question. This “rank order
question” (Thomas, 2013:210) asked for the opinion of the respondent, who had to
rank the answers in order of importance. The question was therefore somewhat
qualitative, demonstrating the cross-over between data collection methods and data
type. (Please see Appendix 1 to view the questionnaire)
The justifications for choosing this method as a starting point for the study are
manifold; firstly, the questionnaire could be distributed to a large group of pre-
schools without the need for personal interaction and time resources; secondly, to
find out straightforward facts about Traveller Children in pre-school and levels of
expertise in equality and diversity; thirdly, to explore perceptions that pre-school
48
providers have in relation to Travellers and pre-school (Sharp, 2009); fourthly, it
provides a way of identifying those services who would be willing to participate in the
interview strand of the research. The decision to email the questionnaire was taken
for two reasons; firstly, because the “Participants are also more often willing to give
more honest answers to a computer or by email than to a person or on a paper
questionnaire” (Seale, 2012: 188); secondly to reduce costs. The questionnaire was
short, containing only 11 questions which could be completed in a short space of
time. This design was specifically chosen so that most potential participants didn’t
feel put off before they even started filling in the questionnaire (Seale, 2012).The
proposed questionnaire was piloted with three pre-school providers, outside of the
research county, who were not part of the study. This pilot group was asked to
complete the questionnaire and report back on the length of time it took to complete
the questionnaire, the clarity of the instructions and if they felt the questions were
clear. (Please see Appendix 4 to see a copy of the email requesting feedback on the
questionnaire). The pilot group recommended minor changes around the wording of
questions and reported that the time taken to fill out the questionnaire was between
4 and 9 minutes. The recommendations for minor changes made by the pilot group
were taken on board before distributing the amended questionnaire.
3.5 PROCEDURE
The questionnaires were distributed via email, using an email list sourced from the
local County Childcare Committee, for which permission was granted by the Board of
the Childcare Committee in question. (See Appendix 10)
49
Once the forms were returned, they were analysed to count the number of pre-
schools where Traveller children attend, to get a statistical picture of where Traveller
children attend pre-school and also to pinpoint factors which may give an insight into
why the attendance patterns exist. Perceptions of pre-schools to Travellers were
also noted and an equality and diversity expertise audit was recorded.
This survey, though useful in the collection of some data related to this study, did
have its shortcomings in that the data collected was primarily quantitative and did not
give a descriptive picture of the experiences of Traveller children and families in pre-
school. To counteract this shortcoming, qualitative methods were also employed to
provide rich data on the “attitudes and values” (Seale, 2012: 209) of early childhood
care and education providers.
According to Lave and Kvale, “The most sufficiently complex instrument to
understand human life is another human” (Lave and Kvale, 1995: 220). It is with this
in mind that, interviews with pre-school providers were carried out. As previously
said the questionnaire was anonymous, but it had a tick box at the end, for the
service provider to indicate if they were happy to engage in a short interview process
to explore the topic further. 28 services agreed to this engagement on the topic.
Because of resources, three were chosen to take part in the interviews. The three
were chosen based on having Traveller children enrolled, based on not having
Traveller children enrolled and based on a history of engagement with Traveller
families. The interviews were short, spanning a period of 15 to 20 minutes each.
These interviews were one to one with the researcher, structured in format, and
included questions on feelings and attitudes around educational Inclusion and
specifically Traveller inclusion. (Please see Appendix 2 for a list of proposed
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interview questions). The interviews were also recorded with the consent of the
participants. These interviews provided rich qualitative information, “…accessing
individuals attitudes and values – things that cannot necessarily be observed or
accommodated in a formal questionnaire” (Seale, 2012: 209). On completion, the
interviews were transcribed and analysed to identify themes. The strengths of this
interview approach lay in the possibility to explore, in-depth, the perceptions and
attitudes pre-schools have around the inclusion of Traveller children in mainstream
pre-schools and the steps pre-schools have taken or are willing to take to facilitate
this inclusion. This data provided understanding around the process of
mainstreaming but its main short-coming was that it focused on the understandings
and perceptions from the viewpoint of the pre-school provider and that justified a
third strand to the research, which focused on the Traveller experience of the
transition from segregated to universal provision of early Childhood Care and
Education.
Two focus groups with Traveller parents were then organised in different areas of the
county to elicit the attitudes and perceptions of Travellers to the phasing out of
Traveller pre-schools and the inclusion of Traveller children in “mainstream” pre-
schools. The focus groups, though somewhat structured, were less formal than the
interviews with the pre-school providers and took the form of group discussions, and
as facilitator the researcher was “…facilitating, moderating, monitoring and recording
group interaction” (Punch, 2009:147). The aim of the focus group was to gather data
generated by “…group interaction and discussion” (Seale, 2012:228). (Please see
Appendix 3 to view the topics pre-planned by the researcher to be brought up during
the focus group). Each focus group time slot was planned to be approximately 50
minutes. However, on the day of the first focus group, the participants indicated that
51
they would prefer to be interviewed singly, rather than take part in a focus group. The
researcher facilitated this and four one-to-one interviews were conducted with
Traveller parents. The interview were recorded, with the consent of the participants.
The second focus group proceeded as planned and was also recorded with consent.
As with the interviews with pre-school providers, the Focus Group discussions and
the interviews with Traveller parents were transcribed and the data analysed to
identify emergent themes.
3.6 CONCLUSION OF METHODOLOGY
Based on a mixed methods approach, the value of this study can be distilled down to
the information, both quantitative and qualitative, that was generated concerning,
where Traveller children attend pre-school, what factors impact upon the choices
that Traveller families make in regard to early childhood care and education and how
equality and diversity training impacts upon inclusion. At the end of the research a
holistic picture of early childhood care and education for Travellers and non-
Travellers through the lens of equality and diversity was available. This can be used
as a barometer for change or as an example of good practice. Either way, the
research is needed because almost five years have elapsed since the Early
Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme was introduced and in the interests
of the pre-school child, the practices that have evolved, due to the new policy
changes, need to be evaluated.
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CHAPTER 4: RESULTS
4.0 INTRODUCTION
The main aim of this study was to examine the Traveller child’s experience of pre-
school since the introduction of the free pre-school year in the Republic of Ireland in
January 2010. In particular the study aimed to look at the views and experiences of
Traveller children through the lens of the Traveller parent. In conjunction with this,
the perspectives of early years’ services were also sought to give a two dimensional
view of the Traveller child’s experiences of pre-school.
The following Research questions were addressed
4. Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?
5. What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-
school?
6. Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking
for in a pre-school?
Initially, the survey questionnaire will be looked at before moving on to analyse the
results of the Traveller parents’ Focus group and one-to-one interviews with pre-
schools and Traveller parents
4.1 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
This section will provide the results for the questionnaires distributed to childcare
providers by post, email or through a web link.
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Response Group Data
Before examining the findings, a brief snapshot of the response group data will
presented.
Figure 4.1: Questionnaire Distribution and Results
Method of questionnaire
distribution
Number of childcare
services targeted
Number of services who
responded to the
questionnaire
Survey monkey email 146 65
Direct email 1 1
Web link 1 1
Total 148 67
Response rate 45.3% (n=67)
Figure 4.1, above, shows that there was a 45% response rate to the questionnaire.
Figure 4.2: Breakdown of Respondents by type of service
54
ECCE Services targeted
Response Rate
Number of services
% of services
Number of responses
% of overall responses
% of responses from own sector ie Community or Private
Community Services
18 12% 9 13% 50% response rate from Community Services
Private services
130 88% 58 87% 44.6% response rate from Private Services
Figure 4.2, above, shows that the response rate percentages of community (13%)
and private (87%) services are indicative of the percentages of community (12%)
and private (88%) services targeted in the research area. This demonstrates an even
spread of responses across the two sectors, in line with the numbers of services.
Group sizes in Respondent Pre-schools
According to the data generated by the questionnaire, Community pre-school
services cater for a minimum of ten children and more than half of services cater for
20+ children. The private sector, however has 20% of groups catering for less than
10 children and one of these groups catering for less than 6 children (See Figure
4.3)
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Figure 4.3: Breakdown of Respondents by size of service
Figure 4.3 indicates that, The Private Sector offers more diverse pre-school group
sizes than the Community Sector, and that if a child attends, a community service,
the groups are likely to be larger.
Questionnaire Findings
The Findings will show; to which pre-schools Traveller Families make enquiries re
admission; where Traveller Children are visible in pre-school; how qualified pre-
school practitioners report being in the area of Equality and Diversity; who is seen as
responsible for positive relationship development within the pre-school setting and;
what factors are seen as important to Traveller families when choosing a pre-school.
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Enquiries by Traveller Families to Pre-schools
As stated earlier there were 67 pre-school services who responded to the survey and
as can be seen on the pie chart below, the majority of these services (over 83%)
report that they do not receive enquiries from Traveller families re admission of their
children into the service. (See Figure 4.4)
Figure 4.4 Enquiries to Pre-school services
83% of childcare services surveyed reported that they had no enquiries from
Traveller Families around enrolling their child in the pre-school. Of the 17% of
57
services (n = 11) who report that Travellers made enquiries re admittance, 5 of these
services were Private services (see Figure 4.5) and 6 were Community services (see
Figure 4.6), even though the ratio of Private to Community Services in the county is
approximately 7:1 and this ratio is upheld in the ratio of private providers to
community providers who took part in the survey as shown in Figure 4.2 above.
Figure 4.5 Enquiries to Private Pre-schools
Over 91% of Private Services received no admission enquiries from Traveller
families.
5 Private Services out of a total of 55 received enquiries.
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Figure 4.6 Enquiries to Community Pre-schools
33% of Community Services received no admission enquiries from Traveller families.
6 Community Services out of a total of 9 received enquiries.
Figures 4.5 & 4.6 show, Traveller families are much more likely to consider using
Community pre-schools over Private pre-schools.
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Visibility of Traveller Children in Pre-school
So having considered their options, where do traveller families eventually send their
children to access pre-school services?
Figure 4.7 Number of Traveller children who attend Community Pre-schools
Of the 9 community services who participated in the survey 5 had no Traveller
children enrolled and 4 community services had Traveller children visible within the
service (See figure 4.7 above)
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Figure 4.8 Number of Traveller children who attend Private Pre-schools
Of the 58 private services who participated in the survey a much larger percentage
had no Traveller children enrolled and only 3 private services had Traveller children
visible within the service. (See chart 4.8 above)
Equality & Diversity Training engaged in by Pre-school services
As can be seen from Figure 4.9 below, only 1 pre-school from the 67 surveyed
reports having no qualifications or learning in the area of Equality and Diversity.
Each pre-school had the choice of choosing all options that applied within a service.
For example one member of staff may have a FETAC 6 module in Equality and
Diversity, another may have studied Equality and Diversity as part of general
childcare training and another may have other non-accredited training in the area.
61
Figure 4.9 Equality & Diversity Training
Figure 4.9 shows that pre-school services report high levels of qualification in the
area of Equality and Diversity.
Responsibility for ensuring that positive peer relationships are integral to the pre-school experience.
Overall, across the childcare sector, the feeling is that this responsibility lies with the
pre-school and not the Traveller Family or child. The Private Sector takes on this
mantle even more completely than the Community sector with over 98% of private
services stating that it is their responsibility to ensure that a child develops good peer
relationships. One third of the Community sector pre-schools feel that this
responsibility lies with parents as opposed to pre-schools. (See Figure 4.10 below)
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Figure 4.10 Responsibility for ensuring good peer relationships in Pre-school
Therefore, the perception of pre-schools is that the onus is on them to ensure that a
child has good relationships within the pre-school setting.
Deciding factors when Traveller families are choosing a pre-school
Figures 4.11 & 4.12, below, show statistics for both Community and Private services.
There are differences across the two sectors but quality of care and education and
63
welcome score high as factors of importance to Traveller Families, in both the
Private and Community sectors.
Figure 4.11 Factors that the Community Sector thinks would attract Traveller Families
For Community Services, Familiarity is another factor which is felt to be important to
almost 89% of services. Training options for parents is another aspect of provision
which 44% of Community services feel is important to Traveller families whereas
64
only a third of community services feel that proximity to the childcare service is a
consideration for Traveller families. (See Figure 4.11, above)
On the other hand, the Private sector attributes high importance to Proximity of the
service to the town centre with almost half of those surveyed stating that this would
attract Traveller families. In contrast to the 88% of Community services only 41% of
Private services feel that familiarity is an important factor in attracting Traveller
families. (See Figure 4.12, below)
Figure 4.12 Factors that the Private Sector thinks would attract Traveller Families
65
Overall, Pre-school services feel that the quality of care and education that the
service offers and the welcome that the child and family receive from the service are
the most important factors when a Traveller family is choosing a pre-school.
Summary of Questionnaire Findings
Arising from the questionnaire, the following 5 findings are among the most
noteworthy.
Figure 4.13 Questionnaire Summary Findings
1. The majority of pre-schools do not receive enquiries from Traveller families re
admission to pre-school and those services that do receive enquiries are mainly
community services.
2. Traveller children are more likely to be visible in community pre-schools than private
pre-schools
3. Pre-school Services report high levels of qualification in the area of Equality and
Diversity
4. The perception of pre-schools is that the onus is on them to ensure that a child has
good relationships within the pre-school setting.
5. Pre-school services feel that the quality of care and education that the service offers
and the welcome that the child and family receive from the service are the most
important factors when a Traveller family is choosing a pre-school.
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4.2 RESULTS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH WITH TRAVELLER PARENTS
The following section will report on the findings from one focus group and 4
individual interviews with a total of 11 Traveller parents. The Methodology chapter
outlined how the focus group and interviews were conducted. The data collected was
thematically analysed and will be addressed under the following headings; Quality of
care and education; Familiarity and connection with the pre-school; Relationships;
Information; Inclusion and Integration.
Each theme is presented below and supported by extracts of data. ((M1), (M3), (K)
etc., represent statements made by the participants).
Quality of Care and Education
The Traveller parents had very strong and definite ideas about why they currently
send and why they will send their children to pre-school in the future.
Education “To learn” (M2), Socialisation “To mix” (M1) and “To be not stuck at home
all day” (L) and Childcare “To have a break” (M3) were the reasons stated as to why
pre-schools were used
As the focus group progressed, it became more obvious that quality of care seemed
to be more of a consideration than quality of education. There was reference to the
2013 Primetime documentary “…aired in May 2013, on national television”
(Eurofound, 2014: 25) during which early years services were secretly filmed and
seen to be engaging in practices that were concerning in terms of best practice and
quality of care. “It was on the news about it - you’d have to trust someone to mind
your child like.” (M2). There was a fear that a child might be treated badly “I’d be
afraid they’d get neglected or something” (M2)
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Talking about her decision to move her child from one pre-school to a Traveller
specific pre-school, one participant asserted that the new pre-school made more of
an effort to make the child feel welcome and an integral part of the setting “They just
take it a step more to make the child comfortable” (K)
Familiarity and connection with the pre-school
The second theme that emerged was around familiarity and connection with the pre-
school. If other family members had attended the pre-school in the past and there
was a historical or current connection with the pre-school, it seemed that the
participants would be more likely to use the pre-school. “Her father went there and a
lot of her aunties and uncles are up there” (in the primary school section) (K). A
familiarity of the pre-school through wider networks was also seen as a positive. “A
lot of people I know and their father went to it” (K). A knowledge of the leadership in
the pre-school was also mentioned “The better you know the person who’s running
the crèche” (M1) along with the experience and longevity of service of pre-school
personnel as evidenced by “She’s been up there for years” (K)
The relationship between the pre-school service and the child/family The third theme that emerged was around the relationships between the pre-school
service and the child and the family.
How the child is dealt with on a daily basis was seen as very important. “The way
they treat your children” (L). Having time for the children and not ignoring their needs
was also mentioned during the focus group. There was a concern expressed around,
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“If they” (the childcare workers) ”have no time for them” (the children) (M2), and this
was given as a reason for not sending a child to pre-school.
There was also an assertion that the personality of the pre-school personnel plays a
vital role in relationship-building. One participant when talking about her decision to
move her child from one pre-school to another said of the teacher in the school that
the child was moving to “It’s just the teacher up there is very, very nice” (K)
Trust, which is an aspect of relationships, was seen to play a part in how Traveller
children experience pre-school. This trust needed to be firmed up by the families to
enhance the child’s experience. As the participants stated “…you’re leaving the life
of your child in someone else’s hands” (L) and “…you’d have to trust someone to
mind your child like (M2).
During the individual interviews, emphasis was put on the relationships between the
child and the pre-school personnel and the relationship between the Traveller child’s
family and the pre-school.
One interviewee spoke about an incident where she removed her child from a pre-
school because of a biting incident. The interviewee felt that the pre-school was
“shocked” (B) when she brought up the incident and that in the end she had no
option but to change pre-schools because she felt the issue was being disregarded
because she was from the Travelling Community “…when you go to talk to someone
you’re not talking about Traveller, you are talking about a child. And that’s where I
think the people gets very confused with schools and the Education system” (B) This
interviewee moved her child to a private pre-school where Traveller children had not
previously attended. Verbal communication was stronger and the importance of this
was even more highly accentuated as the interviewee could not read or write.
“…they communicated a lot with me” (B).
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The same interviewee told a story
When one of her sons was in senior infants in primary school and the class was
having a conversation about grandparents. Her son mentioned his “Oul Da” and
was corrected by the teacher saying there was no such thing. (“Oul Da” is used in
Traveller culture as a name for Grandfather). The child was confused and upset
telling his mother the story later on that day.
This story highlights the importance of communication between the teacher and the
child and its potential impact on the relationship between the teacher and child.
Another interviewee also pointed to “The relationship between the kids and the
teacher” (C) as one of the most important things in making a good pre-school.
A further interviewee, when asked “what makes a good pre-school?” answered
“I think the women. It’s nice if they could have a good relationship with the children. That’s
the most important part for me…That the child is comfortable with the person is the most
important thing for me” (K)
This highlights the role that positive relationships have on Traveller children in pre-
school.
The fact that “The teacher greets the child each morning by his name and this
welcoming is important” (K) shows that the on-going everyday relationship between
the child and teacher and how it is affirmed though the use of names and a
welcoming ritual is recognised and appreciated by Traveller parents.
When asked what would put her off a pre-school, an interviewee said “If I felt that I
didn’t feel comfortable with the teachers and I didn’t feel that there was any pleasant
70
thing about them and I know from the way my child is reacting with them”(C). This
interviewee felt that she would be guided by the interactions between the child and
the teacher and her general “sense” (C) of the teacher when making decisions
around a pre-school’s suitability to cater for her child’s needs. This solidifies the role
that positive relationships play in the child’s pre-school experience.
Information Another dominant theme was around how Traveller families get information on the
pre-school services they use.
When choosing a pre-school, Traveller parents widely seek recommendations from
other parents and act upon these recommendations. Interviewees, when talking
about why they chose a particular pre-school, said “Because I heard a lot of people
talking about it (K1) and “A few of the friends I was talking to was telling me about it.
They had kids in it, themselves” (K1). The reliance on verbal recommendations can
be seen throughout the interviews. Another interviewee, when asked how she got
information about pre-schools stated “I can’t read or write so I would rely more on
word of mouth” (B). This is evidenced again by yet another interviewee who stated “I
chose it because I heard good recommendations from other parents that had their
kids in that crèche at that time” (C) and “Other members of the Travelling community
had used that crèche and gave me the good recommendations for it” (C). The final
interviewee when asked how she chose a pre-school for her son said “Word-of-
mouth, recommendations and how their child got on. I would trust other people
before I would just put him in some place” (K).
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Inclusion/Integration
The fifth theme that emerged from the qualitative strand of the research project was
the issue of inclusion and integration and the importance that Traveller parents
attributed to this concept and process.
An interviewee said she chose a particular pre-school because “It wasn’t just for
settled children like. It was mixed” (K1). This was backed up by another interviewee
who thought “I think it’s nice for them to mix with others and to see other cultures”
(K).
When asked if they thought it was a good idea to phase out Traveller specific pre-
school one interviewee said “It’s hard to know, being straight like. That’s a hard
question. I’m not sure like” (K1). 3 of the 4 interviewees said the phasing out of
Traveller pre-schools was a good idea however, there was some concern around
cultural erosion and the loss of Traveller culture “I think children need to integrate in
society but I think some children do get lost along the way too. They’re losing their
identity” (B). Another view expressed was that
“Yes. I think that’s the best decision. I wouldn’t like my child to be singled out, to be in
their own community all the time and not mixing. I think that’s a good thing for their
development as well. They can mix with other children of their own age. Travelling
children have their own culture but at this age they are just developing and they can
keep this culture, I feel this personally myself” (C)
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Summary of Results of Focus Group & Interviews with Traveller Parents
The results of the focus group and the interviews show that from the perspective of
the Traveller parent, the following themes and sub-themes below are important
factors when looking at the Traveller child’s experience of pre-school. Figure 4.13
shows the themes and sub themes in tabular form.
Figure 4.14 Table Summary of emergent themes from Qualitative Research with Traveller Parents
Theme Sub Theme
Quality of care and education
Quality of Care
Trust/Reputation
Welcome
Fear of neglect
Familiarity and connection with the pre-
school
Family Connection
Familiarity with leadership in pre-school
Knowledge around pre-school personnel
The relationship between the pre-school
leader and the child/family
Treatment of children
Personality of pre-school teacher
Trust
Verbal Communication
Interaction between child and pre-school
teacher
Information Verbal recommendation
Inclusion/Integration Socialisation
Cultural erosion
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4.3 RESULTS OF ONE-TO-ONE INTERVIEWS WITH CHILDCARE PROVIDERS
The Methodology Chapter outlined how the interviews were conducted and how data
analysis led to the emergence of themes from which several categories were formed.
Three dominant themes were evident; Familiarity and connection with the pre-
school: Relationship between the pre-school and the child/family; Traveller Families’
use of Community Childcare Services. Each theme is presented below and
supported by extracts of data. ((M), (M1) and (O) etc., represent statements made by
the interviewees)
Familiarity and connection with the pre-school
This first theme was evident in all three interviews. Interviewee one attributed her
personal experiences and connections with Travellers as she was growing up as a
factor in her current ability to communicate and interact with Travellers who
approach her pre-school.
“I believe in being upfront. I grew up with Travellers. A family moved to my
area when I was young. I went to school with them. My parents never made
any fuss that I hung around with Travellers. It’s all about having normal
conversations with them about everyday things. If you hide from them, they’ll
hide from you” (M).
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The interviewee felt that her method of communication and her personal history
contributes to the visibility of Traveller children in this private childcare service.
From the Community Childcare Service’s point of view, it was felt that connections
with Traveller families evolved over time and while Travellers may have been reticent
about engaging with pre-school services in the past, their other connections with the
service, in terms of training or homework and breakfast clubs acted as a bridge for
Travellers to eventually access pre-school using the free pre-school year.
“The big thing is familiarity and trust that builds up over a lot of
years so maybe even Traveller families who would never have sent
their children to pre-school, they have sent their children to
homework club. So they might have had older ones in homework club and
then the free pre-school year (ECCE) came in and they might send younger
children or their grandchildren because the service is someplace they trust for
the care of their children” (M2)
This observation clearly indicates that familiarity with the service in terms of other
services provided and connection with the service over time increases the
attendance and visibility of Traveller children in Community Childcare Services.
A private childcare provider noted that “Giving help to parents filling out forms and
reading and explaining what’s on the forms” (M) seems to be one of the factors that
attracts Traveller families to the service.
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When asked “what would put a Traveller family off applying to a service, there was a
feeling that location or lack of knowledge about a service would put Traveller families
off.
“Maybe where we are or maybe they don’t know where we are” (O)
A private service, which does not have Traveller children attending the service
responded to the question “What would attract Traveller Families to the service?”
saying,
“I don’t know if advertising works because we do a lot of that. Maybe some other way
of reaching the families. Maybe linking in with family support workers who work with
the families” (O).
This familiarity or connection theme presents a strong basis for understanding where
Traveller children attend pre-school and the underlying reasons for choosing the
particular pre-school.
“We would have built a rapport with Traveller families over the years”… “…and I was
very interested when the Free Pre-school Year (ECCE) came in to see if these
families would send their children to other services but it hasn’t happened”. (M1)
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Relationship between the pre-school and the child/family
The second theme which emerges from the interviews is the relationship between
the pre-school and the Traveller child and his family. This is undoubtedly linked to
the familiarity/connection theme, which is in operation before the child attends a
service. The relationship theme is evident when the child is attending the service and
is visible in the everyday dealings between the child, the family and the pre-school.
The relationship theme can be broken down into three sub-themes
Welcome and openness.
There was a consensus among the private pre-school providers that “Being friendly
and welcoming” (M) and “Being Open” (O) in relationship forming would attract and
retain Traveller families.
Non-Judgemental ethos and practices
In conjunction with this open armed approach, it was asserted that the relationship
between the pre-school and the Traveller family should not be “judgemental” (M1), or
not have “…any pre-conceived ideas about how their children are going to behave or
how they are going to perform” (M1)
Communication
As with the previous two relationship sub themes, communication was evident as a
factor that impacts upon the Traveller experience of pre-school.
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When speaking about what Travellers want from a pre-school, one interviewee said
“I think very often they would like a pre-school where they are going to be talked to. It
has to be face-to-face communication, the note or the text won’t do. (M1)
Another interviewee stated “Being honest with them and being upfront even asking
“Can you read and write?” (M)
Acknowledging the importance of verbal communication for the Traveller family and
being honest and direct in your communication style emerged as important sub
themes.
Traveller Families’ use of Community Childcare Services.
This theme emerged from the Interview with the Community Childcare service.
Unintended Consequence of Free Pre-School Year
The interviewee stated the introduction of the free pre-school year had the
consequence of, not only, ensuring that more Traveller children attended for one
pre-school year, but it also had the unintended consequence of increasing the
number of Traveller children who attended pre-school for two years. The interviewee
added that this could not be wholly attributed to the introduction of the free pre-
school year but attendance in the pre-school over two years for Traveller children is
becoming more normal in tandem with the CCS scheme (This scheme provides
subsidised or free childcare for eligible families based on need which is evidenced
usually by the parents’ receipt of a social welfare payment),
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“If the children come and do a CCS year, they usually stay to do the free pre- school
year afterwards, so they get a two year pre-school experience and I would say, for
most Traveller families that has been a big departure over the last few years. The
completely free pre-school year has probably opened Travellers more to pre-school
education and once that’s happened the subsequent siblings, cousins and other
family members, they see that they can also have the CCS year. Not only has it
been an improvement in the amount of traveller children starting and ending with a
free pre-school year, it means that more have two pre-school years. So it’s more
than just the free year, also the subsidised year (CCS) has made a big difference”
(M1)
Pragmatism
Travellers are very pragmatic in their choice of service and even if the childcare
portion of the service has proved difficult for them, in terms of child protection
referrals, and they feel compelled to withdraw from the service, they may revert to
the service at a later stage because of other considerations, such as training
opportunities, homework clubs etc.
“We have had, on occasion, issues with child protection, where you would lose a
whole extended Traveller family, if a child protection referral was made. They will just
withdraw from the service. What we have found over the years is that they might
withdraw for a year and within the year they would come back. Pragmatically, it (the
service) suits in other ways” (M1)
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Structure of Pre-school
The interviewee noted that the structure of the pre-school session sometimes proves
challenging for Traveller families and that these issues can be troublesome to
resolve.
“…what puts Traveller families off is the structure of it. The fact that we do expect the
children to come every day that we expect them to be in for the curriculum at nine o’
clock, that if they are not going to attend on a regular basis, we hassle them about it.
They are the things that are the niggles between the service and the families and
their culture” (M1)
Summary of Results of Interviews with Childcare Providers
The results of the interviews show that from the perspective of childcare providers,
the themes and sub-themes below are important factors when looking at the
Traveller child’s experience of pre-school.
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Figure 4.15 Table Summary of emergent themes from qualitative research Interview Results with Childcare Providers
Theme Sub-Themes
Familiarity and connection with the pre-school Familiarity
Location
Connection
Advertising
Relationship between the pre-school and the
child/family
Welcome/Openness
Non Judgemental ethos and Practices
Communication
Traveller Families’ use of Community Childcare
Services
Unintended Consequence of
introduction of free pre-school year.
Pragmatism
Structure
CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
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5.0 INTRODUCTION The chapter analyses and discusses the findings of this study drawing on the
literature presented at the outset for comparison and critique where relevant.
Drawing from the findings of the questionnaire, in combination with, the results of the
one-to-one interviews with Pre-school Providers and the results of the focus group
and one-to-one interviews with Traveller parents, a multi-dimensional story around
the experiences of Traveller children in pre-school since the introduction of the free
pre-school year emerges.
Direct quotations from interviewees and focus group participants will be shown in
‘Italics’.
5.1 DISCUSSION
Arising from the findings of the questionnaire and the emergent themes from the
qualitative research, as outlined in Chapter 4, the following main issues will be
discussed and analysed; The differences between what Traveller Parents and Pre-
schools see as important factors when choosing a pre-school; Inclusion/Integration
of Traveller children into Private pre-schools; Pre-schools level of expertise in
Equality and Diversity; Relationship building; Promoting Familiarity and Connection
between the Pre-school Sector and the Travelling Community.
As stated at the outset, the main aim of this study is to tell the story of the Traveller
Child’s experience of pre-school in the Republic of Ireland in 2014
In tandem with this discussion will be a reflection on the Specific Research
Questions which were put forward at the outset namely
1. Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?
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2. What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-
school?
3. Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking
for in a pre-school?
While answering these questions, a rounded picture of the Traveller Child’s
experience of pre-school since the introduction of the free pre-school year will
emerge, laying the foundation for policy-makers to consider how policy might be re-
evaluated to incorporate changes based on findings from this Research.
Differences between what Traveller Parents and Pre-schools see as important factors when choosing a pre-school.
Firstly, Finding 6 from the questionnaire shows that Pre-school services feel that the
quality of care and education that the service offers and the welcome that the child
and family receive from the service are the most important factors when a Traveller
family is choosing a pre-school.
The qualitative research with Traveller parents concurs that
welcome is important, “The teacher says “Hello” to the child each morning by
his name and this is good”. This is supported in the literature. (Murray &
Urban, 2012). The absence of this welcome may lead to “…ambivalence and
a negative attitude on the part of some Traveller parents” (McNamara,
2006:22) as referenced in Chapter 2.
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Quality of care is part of the decision process when choosing a pre-school “…
you know that they’re taking care of your child and their eyes is on them, full
stop”. Quality of education was also mentioned but not as often as the care
element. “To learn” was one of the responses to “What would encourage you
to send a child to pre-school?” From this research Traveller families seem to
put emphasis on the care rather than the education of their children and this
stance is corroborated by McNamara in Chapter 2. (McNamara, 2006)
Secondly, further data from the questionnaire shows that over 48% of Private
Childcare Providers and 33% of Community Services feel that proximity of the
service to the town centre would be a factor when Traveller parents choose a pre-
school but this was clearly shown not to be the case as evidenced by what one
Traveller parent said during the interviews“… when I moved to another town I still
drove back to the previous town to put my daughter in the pre-school that I moved
my son to”. This shows that location of the pre-school is secondary when choosing a
pre-school. This is in line with what the literature shows around the choices that
Travellers make in respect of pre-school “Travellers are doing what they always
have done and still do, and that is taking control for themselves and choosing what
specific educational opportunities on offer will benefit them” (O’ Hanlon, 2010: 239).
The closest pre-school to the Traveller Family will not always be the pre-school that
the Traveller Family chooses.
Thirdly, the large gap in understanding between the percentage of Community
Services (89%) and Private Services (41%) who perceive that familiarity with a
service encourages enquiries from Traveller families and enrolment of Traveller
children, is worth noting. This could be due to the additional services that Community
Services are often attached to, or it could be due to the fact that the information and
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knowledge around the universal availability of pre-school services is not filtering
down to Traveller families. Another consideration could be the link between
availability of Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) funding and the free pre-
school year.
The above three points highlight the fact that while there is some understanding in
the pre-school sector around the reasons why Traveller families choose a particular
pre-school, there are also mixed understandings across Community and Private Pre-
schools and less recognition of some of the issues that are closest to the hearts of
Traveller parents.
Inclusion/Integration of traveller children into Private pre-schools
As seen from Questionnaire Finding 2, Traveller children are more likely to be visible
in community pre-schools than private pre-schools. This would lead us to the
conclusion that Traveller children are not making the move into the private sector
and not becoming more integrated into the mainstream pre-school education system.
However, there is some movement to the private sector as is evidenced by the
attendance of 3 children across two private services who were surveyed. There is
also an acknowledgment from the Travelling Community that this is happening. A
Traveller parent when interviewed said “The school James is in now, he’s the only
Traveller that ever went there”. Based on this there is some slight movement towards
the integration of Traveller children in private pre-schools. A manager of a
Community pre-school said that “…I was very interested when the Free Pre-school
Year (ECCE) came in to see if these families would send their children to other
services but it hasn’t happened”. (M1). The movement of Traveller children has been
so slight that it is unnoticed by this particular community service.
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This gradual, almost unnoticed movement is a factor in the overall process of
inclusion/integration and it presents a beginning of the application of the Contact
Hypothesis (Allport, 1954) in the pre-school sector in the Republic of Ireland. As
discussed in Chapter 2, the outcomes from ongoing contact between different
groups helps all groups see things through the eyes of the other, promotes empathy
and fosters mutual respect (Hughes et al, 2011)
It is not enough, however, that Traveller children attend private pre-schools. There
are other factors in the inclusion equation that need to be addressed when Traveller
children attend private services to ensure meaningful participation in the service.
Linking back to the definition of Inclusion put forward at the outset,
““Inclusion may be seen as the drive towards maximal participation in and
minimal exclusion from early years settings” (Nutbrown & Clough, 2006: 3)
It can be appreciated that quality of education, respect for diversity and the
elimination of discrimination are factors that are at play after the child walks through
the door of any childcare service.
From the qualitative strand of the research, Traveller parents spoke again and again
about the emphasis they put on how their child is being treated and being included in
the service. This is shown by the boxed statements below.
1. “I think it’s nice for them to mix with others and to see other cultures”
2. “I wouldn’t like my child to be singled out”
3. “They just take it a step more to make the child comfortable”
A simple way of implementing inclusion is shown by the cameo of Joseph, a three
year old Traveller child. When the pre-school manager meets with Joseph’s mother,
she communicates verbally with the mother, admitting that her knowledge of
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Traveller culture is not very extensive, asks for information from the mother on the
Traveller culture and Joseph’s likes and dislikes. The pre-school then prepares for
Joseph’s arrival day, not only by sourcing resources that she knows Joseph will be
interested in, but by telling the other children that a new boy will be arriving and
organising activities that will allow Joseph to talk about his home life in a safe place
and allow him to start forming bonds with other children. The pre-school manager
regularly updates Joseph’s mother with how he is getting on (Hayes, 2013).
Arguably, incorporating a policy around inclusion for all children who are newcomers
to a service, takes the pressure off the early years’ workers when a new child arrives
at the service. The preparation is done in advance in line with guidelines in the policy
and each parent, irrespective of the child’s background, will be assured that their
child is experiencing an inclusive pre-school experience
There is the widespread belief that these issues can be addressed “Through
informed practice” (Hayes, 2013: 100) which is achieved by up-skilling and training in
the area of Equality and Diversity (Murray & Urban, 2012; Nutbrown, 2012), which
brings us to the third issue arising from the Research.
Pre-schools level of expertise in Equality and Diversity
The third issue arising from the research was quite marked. Based on the
questionnaire, 98% of services report having done, at least, some training in the area
of Equality and Diversity and only 1 service reported that no training had been
undertaken in this area. This self-reporting of expertise in the area of Equality and
Diversity is in marked contrast to the statistics shown in Chapter 2, which show that
only 5% of services have been trained in the FETAC 6 module in Equality and
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Diversity which was rolled out in 2011 and 2012 (Evaluation Report, 2013). Taking
the questionnaire findings on board would lead to the conclusion that the perceived
level of expertise in pre-school services around Inclusion and Integration is quite
high. The pre-school services express a high level of engagement with training and
the understanding would be that this training would “…help guide the process of
changing professionals’ thinking in ways that will lead to changes in their actions in
schools and classrooms” (Recchia & Lee, 2013:94). The changes in attitude,
according to Pittman (2013), which come about as a result of training, up skilling,
dialogue and consensus are not necessarily translated into action on the ground.
(Pittman, 2013). The fact that the practitioners and stakeholders in the early
childhood sector have the information and agree that it is important does not
necessarily bring about behaviour change.
Arguably, this could be a factor in why Traveller children are not more visible in
Private pre-school settings. Based on the research findings, early years’ workers
have the training and the knowledge but practices around equality and diversity are
not being implemented on the ground, firstly, to attract Traveller families and
secondly, to meaningfully engage with these families when they arrive at the door of
the service. What needs to be ensured here, as outlined in Chapter 2, is that
following any Training in Inclusion or Equality and Diversity, that early years
practitioners develop reflective and reflexive thinking (Brock, 2006) and that
resources are in place to facilitate the development of inclusive practices (Miller &
Cable, 2011). The Evaluation Report on the Pre-school Education Initiative for
Children from Minority Groups supports this proposed strategy
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“…the findings of this report have demonstrated that a training programme
with mentoring/coaching included is the best way to ensure maximum learning
outcomes for Practitioners” (Evaluation Report, 2013:8).
This is also supported by The Professional Pedagogy Project (PPP) where 10
childcare services in Donegal underwent professional development over a 12 week
training period. These services then linked in with on-going support to affect change
on the ground. It was acknowledged that isolated training was not adequate (NEYAI,
2014).
A recent research paper which analysed Irish pre-school practice across a number of
areas noted that under the category of diversity “In most cases books, pictures, dolls
and display show little or no evidence of race diversity in a wider world, In order to
improve on this score, practitioners require training in the use of the resources
designed to promote cultural understanding” (Neylon, 2014: 113).
What emerged from this Research Project is that the training that has been received
by early years’ practitioners is not becoming a reality on the ground, in terms of
understanding the needs and preferences of Traveller families and in enabling
access to private services for Traveller families. Another issue is the early year’s
practitioners’ perception of their expertise in the area. This highlights the continued
need for training (Neylon, 2014; Murray & Urban, 2012; Nutbrown, 2012), combined
with coaching & mentoring (Evaluation Report, 2013), reflexive thinking (Brock,
2006) and specific resources (Neylon, 2014), (Miller & Cable, 2011) as outlined
above.
“Building Partnerships” (Hayes, 2013: 81) will become feasible if the above elements
are streamlined to meaningfully engage with Traveller families. This engagement
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requires developing relationships from the outset. This is the fourth theme that
emerged from the study, Relationship Building.
Relationship building.
From the findings of the qualitative strand of the research, relationships emerged a
very dominant theme. Interviewees and focus group participants put high emphasis
on communication with verbal communication being the preferred mode of
communication. Being able to go and talk to a pre-school manager if an issue arose
was also seen as important, as evidenced by, the biting incident and the Traveller
parent, who wanted to talk about this to the pre-school. The parent described the
pre-school’s reaction as “shocked” that she should bring up the issue. The
relationship with Traveller parents, as with all parents, needs to be developed and
nurtured as seen by the cameo of Joseph above. Of course, Joseph benefits from
the preparation put in before he arrives at the pre-school, but he also benefits from
the fact that his parent is happy and feels connected to his experiences in the pre-
school. Arguably this aspect of partnering with parents, though often implemented
when a child joins a service, could be built upon during the school year, to further
enhance the child’s experience of pre-school. This is evident, again from the biting
incident story where the parent felt that her concerns were not given due
consideration because of her Traveller background, and she felt compelled to
remove her child. If the relationship had had a more solid base, arguably the child
would have had a more consistent pre-school experience. Murray & Urban talk about
“Meaningful engagement with parents” (Murray & Urban, 2012: 160) which has its
foundation in “Partnership with parents…” (Murray & Urban, 2012: 161) and
“…Genuine interest” (Murray & Urban, 2012: 161). Relationships that don’t feel safe
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or strong to Traveller parents can impinge upon the child’s pre-school experiences.
This was visited in Chapter 2 also when referencing an article which appeared in the
national press (Times Educational Supplement, 2012)
It can be seen from the findings of the questionnaire that pre-school services, mainly
believe that the onus is on them to ensure that Traveller children have good peer
relationships within the pre-school setting. If this thinking was changed to a
collaborative vision where both pre-schools and parents share this responsibility and
partnership with parents was the norm, not just in the realm of promoting good peer
relationships, arguably, relationships between Traveller families and pre-school
services would be greatly enhanced and the child’s experience of pre-school
improved.
To achieve meaningful partnership with parents, the ethos of the service needs to
reflect the willingness and drive for partnership in its policies and procedures and
communicate this ethos to Traveller parents. The underlying research for SIOLTA,
the Quality Framework as referenced in Chapter 2 states “…parental involvement
needs to be individualised and reflective of the diversity of families” (Siolta1, 2006:6)
It is acknowledged that involving parents in decision-making in the early years sector
is difficult to implement (Siolta1, 2006) but arguably with a drive to apply the
strategies outlined in Siolta Standard 3, Parents & Families (Siolta, 2006: 29)
improved outcomes could be realised for Traveller families and pre-schools alike.
According to the results of the interview with a Community Service, there is the belief
that Relationship building is slow and cumulative and can sometimes take
generations, as evidenced by the following quote,
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The big thing is familiarity and trust that builds up over a lot of
years so maybe even Traveller families who would never have sent
their children to pre-school, they have sent their children to homework club.
So they might have had older ones in homework club and then the free pre-
school year (ECCE) came in and they might send younger
children or their grandchildren because the service is someplace they trust for
the care of their children.
This leads to the fifth theme that emerged from the study which is Promoting
Familiarity and Connection between the Pre-school and the Travelling Community.
Promoting Familiarity and Connection between the Pre-school and the Travelling Community.
Findings from the questionnaire showed that the Community sector placed more
emphasis (88%) on familiarity or connection to the pre-school service by Traveller
families than did the Private sector (41%). This could be the case because, often, the
Community sector pre-school offers additional services, on the same site, which
Traveller families avail of. These additional services could be training or information
and the Traveller families become familiar with the pre-school aspect of the service
by accessing the other services. There is a general understanding of this process
within the community sector and maybe not such a strong understanding from the
private sector, even though, one private service when asked “what would put
Traveller families off accessing your pre-school” seemed cognizant of this lack of
familiarity when answering “Maybe where we are, or maybe they don’t know where
we are”. This may well be the case, because during the focus group with Traveller
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participants, when asked “Do you have enough information about pre-schools in your
area?” a participant answered “Well, I didn’t know there was 40 in this town”
indicating that there is a lack of familiarity around pre-school services. This familiarity
is greatly increased in the community sector due to provision of other services on-
site and it was acknowledged by a Community pre-school that Traveller families are
pragmatic in their choice of pre-school and would often base their decision to choose
a service if “…it suits in other ways”. This echoes the literature, specifically in that
Travellers choose what education suits them and are active decision makers (O’
Hanlon, 2010).
The issue for going forward, is how to promote a familiarity and connectedness with
pre-schools for Traveller families, where there is only pre-school provision on-site.
Can this be done by information dissemination? Who should take responsibility for
this? Should it be a national initiative or left to individual pre-schools to manage?
This issue has been visited by Right From the Start when talking about Equality and
Diversity Training for pre-school Providers where it was recommended that not only
should the recent pilot of Equality and Diversity Training be rolled out nationally but
this should be accompanied by “…mandatory training and support for diversity and
equality practice” (Right From the Start, 2013:22). This national approach would
allow for streamlining of approaches and go some way towards, eliminating poor
practices and, guiding pre-schools on how to become familiar to all communities and
further connectedness with Traveller families.
5.4 CONCLUSION OF DISCUSSION
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The preceding chapter analysed and discussed the results of this research project.
Bringing the quantitative and qualitative data together and enmeshing it with the
literature produced a robust picture of the Traveller Child’s experience of pre-school
since the introduction of the free pre-school year. This picture had 5 differing aspects
1. Differences between what Traveller Parents and Pre-schools see as
important factors when choosing a pre-school
2. Inclusion/Integration of Traveller children into Private pre-schools
3. Pre-schools level of expertise in Equality and Diversity
4. Relationship building
5. Promoting Familiarity and Connection between the Pre-school Sector and the
Travelling Community.
The next chapter moves on to present the conclusions from this study and points to
potential considerations for Policy makers and implementers in the area of inclusive
pre-school provision.
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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.0 CONCLUSION
This study explored and identified the Traveller Child’s experience of Pre-school in
the Republic of Ireland since the introduction of the free pre-school year using a dual
lens, that is, the experiences of Traveller parents and the experiences and statistical
data collected from pre-school services.
The Research questions presented at the outset of this research were
7. Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?
8. What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-
school?
9. Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking
for in a pre-school?
This chapter seeks to demonstrate how these questions have been answered,
before suggesting recommendations arising from the research findings.
Following this limitations and benefits of the study will be outlined.
6.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Research Question 1 - Where, in 2014, do Traveller Children attend pre-school?
In the main, Traveller children attend pre-school in Community services, even though
there is visibility of Traveller children moving into the Private Pre-school sector.
Community services get more enquiries from Traveller families that Private services
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do. This practice can be explained by the Familiarity/Connectedness theme or the
Travellers not being aware of the universality of pre-school services since 2010
Research Question 2 - What are Traveller parents’ views on how their children experience pre-school?
Traveller parents rank the relationship that the child has with the pre-school teacher
as very important, along with putting great emphasis on the care the child receives.
Verbal communication and trust were sub-themes that were prevalent in the findings
as were inclusion and integration.
Research Question 3 - Are pre-schools equipped to understand what Traveller families are looking for in a pre-school? Pre-schools do understand what Traveller Families are looking for in a pre-school on
many levels, however, there are areas that need to be highlighted and worked upon.
This work needs to be done to address the level of expertise of childcare
practitioners in the area of Equality and Diversity; to question childcare services’
perception that they have more expertise than is actually evident; to facilitate the
translation of training into inclusive practices on the ground; to explore the provision
of intensive coaching and mentoring following Equality and Diversity Training; to
allocate resources, including time, to facilitate equality and diversity practices.
Understanding that, traditionally, Traveller families access pre-school on a multi-
service site, and this pattern is challenging in terms of attracting traveller families into
mainstream settings.
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On the whole, the answer to this research question is mixed. Pre-schools have some
of the tools to understand the needs of Travellers but more resources are needed to
fully equip pre-schools.
6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1 - National Audit of where Traveller children attend Pre-school
Arising from research question 1 and its findings, it might be useful if a National Audit
of where Traveller Children attend Pre-school could be carried out. This could be
easily achieved by adding a question to the ECCE registration forms which pre-
schools gather from parents each September. This data could be compared annually
to audit the trends in where Travellers attend pre-school and to document any shift
towards the Private Sector.
Recommendation 2 - Implementation of a Partnership with Parents Strategy
Arising from research question 2 and the issue of what Travellers parents want from
the pre-school sector, widespread implementation of SIOLTA Standard 3, Parents
and Families, could be considered with a view to opening up sustained dialogue and
engagement with Traveller families, promoting partnership while Traveller children
attend pre-school and beyond.
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Recommendation 3 - Facilitation of the continuance of Equality and Diversity Training
Finally, arising from Research Question 3 and the question of equipping pre-schools
to understand what Traveller families want from the pre-school sector, continuing
with the roll-out of Equality and Diversity training might be considered with the
addition of coaching and mentoring and the requirement for reflexive practice. A
similar model to that used by the Professional Pedagogy Project (PPP) (NEYAI,
2014). could be utilised. Acknowledging that this training was not specifically in the
area of Inclusion, does not dilute the potential usefulness of the model.
Further to the rolling out of this training, consideration might be given to adopting
more holistic approaches to Equality and Diversity Training as shown by the
TOYBOX PROJECT (McVeigh, 2007) and the MEDIA INITIATIVE (Coral, 2012) in
Northern Ireland where stakeholders other than Early Years Educators were involved
in the interventions, as mentioned in the literature review.
The three recommendations outlined above can be universally applied to the Early
Years sector and could be viewed as initiatives to facilitate all children in the early
years’ environment. The recommendations could be initial steps to inform policy
makers when planning educational services for all young children.
6.3 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
These recommendations are directly in line with the recently published National
Policy Framework for Children and Young People which states that the government
commits to “Strengthen social Inclusion measures and re-invigorate efforts to
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improve educational outcomes among, and integration of, Travellers, Roma and
migrant children and young people… recognising an enhanced role for early Years
Education in targeting these groups” (Better Outcomes Brighter Futures, 2014: 71)
This re-invigoration could start with collecting data that will show trends in
enrolments in Private Pre-schools, mapping changes on a yearly basis as outlined
by recommendation 1. Re-engaging with the SIOLTA Quality Framework, namely the
Parents and Families Standard, as outlined by recommendation 2, would further the
re-invigoration. Finally, the continuance of Equality and Diversity Training for Early
Years educators, as outlined at Recommendation 3, would be the third step towards
re-invigorating efforts to improve educational outcomes for Travellers and, in the
process, bestow a meaningful, enhanced role upon Early Years educators.
6.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The limitations of this study lie,
Firstly, the research is not representative for the island of Ireland and we
cannot make assumptions that this is the situation across the island.
Secondly, many Traveller parents may have had negative experiences of
education themselves, and this may have impinged on engagement during
the focus group and interviews. This might have been addressed by adding
an observational aspect to the study. This could have taken the form of
observing Traveller Families, bringing their children to, and collecting them
from, pre-school. The observations could have been based upon interactions
between the Traveller family and the Pre-school and may have yielded data
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from another perspective as the researcher would have been able to “’step
back’ from the obvious and ‘ordinary’ and look at the social world and social
interactions ‘afresh’” (Seale, 2012:163)
Thirdly, the opinions of Traveller children were not sought and arguably, this
would have added richness to the findings and upheld the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child, which states that all children should have a voice. The
reasoning for not using children in this particular study lay in the age profile of
the children who would be from 3 years 3 months up to 5 years
approximately. Also, the type of data being collected is around how service
providers and parents negotiate the arena of pre-school and make it positive
for all children.
Fourthly, there were risks to the participants in the study for example
o Childcare services might have been identified
o Poor practice in childcare services might have been highlighted
o Traveller parents may have been reticent to engage with the Research
based on previous experience with pre-school and/or education
generally
This limitation may have been somewhat lessened by ensuring anonymity
around reporting of research by removing all identifiers, by promoting
confidentiality during interviews and the focus group, by ensuring that all
participants knew that taking part in the study was voluntary and that
everyone could decide to take part or not, or could withdraw at any time.
Nonetheless, the risk to participants is an acknowledged limitation of the
study.
100
6.5 BENEFITS OF THE STUDY
In spite of the acknowledged limitations of the study, iterated above, there are also,
arguably, potential benefits accruing from the study, namely
Awareness of ECCE scheme and its universality may be risen;
Promotion of inclusion issues and practices in line with SIOLTA, Standard 14
and the identity and Belonging theme of AISTEAR;
Re-consideration of Equality and Diversity Training especially in light of the
coaching/mentoring aspect of the Training;
Partnership between Traveller parents and childcare services and the
implementation of SIOLTA Standard 3, Parents and Families may be re-
visited as an area in need of resourcing.
101
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APPENDICES
Appendix 1 – Survey/Questionnaire for Childcare Providers
Appendix 2 - Interview Questions
Appendix 3 - Focus Group Questions
Appendix 4 - Email requesting feedback on pilot questionnaire
Appendix 5 - Consent form 1 One-to-one interviews
Appendix 6 - Consent form 2 Focus Group Participation
Appendix 7 - Synopsis of Research for Pre-School Services
Appendix 7a - Research Synopsis for Traveller Families
Appendix 8 - Statistics re Travellers in the County being Researched.
Appendix 10 - Consent form to use Childcare Committee’s Email addresses to
distribute survey/questionnaire
Appendix 11 - Dissertation consultation proforma 1
Appendix 12 - Dissertation consultation proforma 2
Appendix 13 - Dissertation consultation proforma 3
Appendix 14 - Interview with Traveller Parent 1
Appendix 15 - Interview with Traveller Parent 2
Appendix 16- Interview with Traveller Parent 3
Appendix 17 - Interview with Traveller Parent 4
Appendix 18 – Focus Group with Young Traveller Women
Appendix 19 – Interview with Childcare Provider 1
Appendix 20 – Interview with Childcare Provider 2
Appendix 21 – Interview with Childcare Provider 3
Appendix 22 – Ethics Consent Form
109
Appendix 1 – Survey/Questionnaire for Childcare Providers
The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free
pre-school year
1. Do you want to be in the draw for a FREE storytelling workshop for your childcare
service? Please choose one answer
Yes No
2. Is your preschool service Community or Private? Please choose Community or
Private from the dropdown box
3. How many preschool children, aged 2.5years to 6 years, attend your preschool
service? Please tick one answer
Less than 6
6 to 10
11 to 20
20+
4. How many Traveller Children attend your pre-school service? Please choose one answer.
0
2
3
4
5+
5. Since January 2010, approximately how many enquiries re admittance to your preschool service have you received from Traveller families? Please tick one answer
0
1 or 2
3 to 7
7+
110
6. Has your preschool service ever refused admission to a Traveller child? Please tick one answer
yes
no
don't know
7. What equality and diversity training has your preschool service engaged with? Please tick all that apply
none
as part of general childcare training
Fetac 6 module in Equality & Diversity
Other accredited training
Other non-accredited training
8. How much does your preschool service value diversity of children's
backgrounds? Please tick one answer
Not at all
A little bit
Some
Quite a bit
A tremendous amount
9. Who, do you think, is primarily responsible for making sure that a child has good relationships with his or her peers in the preschool setting? Please tick one answer
Parents Pre- Schools Children
10. What factors about your pre-school would make it attractive to Traveller
Families? Please tick all that apply.
Quality of care/educ.
Proximity to town centre
Training for parents
Additional Extras
No additional extras
Additional Time options
Leadership
Service small 0- 9 places
Mid size 11-20 places
Service large 20+ places
Familiarity
Welcome
Access to other services
None
Other (please specify)
11. If you would be prepared to engage in a short 15 minute one to one
interview, with the researcher on the topics covered above please put your
contact details below
111
Thank you for your time and participation.
Please email this form to the researcher [email protected]
112
Appendix 2 - Interview Questions
The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free
pre-school year
1. Introduction and reminder of research aims
2. Tell me what about your pre-school would attract Traveller families?
3. Explain what things about your pre-school would put Traveller Families
off your pre-school.
4. What do you think Traveller Families are looking for in a pre-school?
5. Do you think the decision to close Traveller Pre-schools was a good
decision? Why?
113
Appendix 3 - Focus Group Questions
The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free
pre-school year
1. Introductions, Name, number of children, ages of children, children
currently in pre-school, children who will attend pre-school within the
next three years?
2. Tell me about your experience of pre-school?
a. Did you go to pre-school? (prompt)
b. Did your older children go to pre-school? (prompt)
c. Why did you choose that pre-school? (prompt)
3. What makes a good/bad pre-school?
4. What would put you off sending your child to pre-school? Why?
5. What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school?
Why?
6. Do you think the decision to close Traveller Pre-schools was a good
decision? Why?
114
Appendix 4 - Email requesting feedback on pilot questionnaire
Dear early years’ practitioner,
I may have mentioned to you, that, as part of the Masters Programme I am
completing, I am required to submit a dissertation. My dissertation is in the area of
Traveller Inclusion in pre-school since the introduction of the free pre-school year in
January 2010. For more information, have a read of the research synopsis which I
have attached.
Before I start the research, I would like to get some feedback on my questionnaire
from early years practitioners in the field who will not be part of the research and this
is the reason I am contacting you. I would be most grateful, if you would have a look
at the questionnaire and complete it. I don’t want the questionnaire back from you
but I would like your critical comments on, the length of time it took to complete the
questionnaire, the clarity of the instructions that come with each question (ie how
many options to tick, how to rank etc), whether or not the questions are clear, If not
how could the wording be better and the layout of the questionnaire
I know you are all busy but I would be really grateful for your feedback as it will
inform the research.
Looking forward to hearing from you by return email.
Regards,
Marie Cuddihy
115
Appendix 5 - Consent form 1 One-to-one interviews
Full title of Project:
The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free
pre-school year
Researcher
Marie Cuddihy, Childcare Development Officer, WCCC, Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow
Town.
Please Initial Box
1. I confirm that I have read and understand the information
sheet for the above study and have had the opportunity to ask
questions.
2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I
am free to withdraw at any time, without giving reason.
3. I agree to take part in the above study.
4. I agree to the recording of the interview.
5. I agree to the use of anonymised quotes from the interview
Name of Participant Date Signature
Marie Cuddihy
Name of Researcher Date Signature
116
Appendix 6 - Consent form 2 Focus Group Participation Full title of Project
The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free
pre-school year
Researcher
Marie Cuddihy, Childcare Development Officer, WCCC, Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow Town.
Please Initial Box
1. I confirm that I have read and understand the information
sheet for the above study and have had the opportunity to ask
questions.
2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I
am free to withdraw at any time, without giving reason.
3. I agree to take part in the focus group.
4. I agree to recording the focus group.
5. I agree to the use of anonymised quotes from the focus group
Name of Participant Date Signature
Marie Cuddihy
Name of Researcher Date Signature
117
Appendix 7 - Synopsis of Research for Pre-School Services
The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood Care and Education since the introduction of the free
pre-school year
Traveller Pre-schools are being phased out tandem with the introduction of the Early
Childhood Care and Education Scheme (ECCE) in 2010. The aims of this research
are
1. to find out where Traveller Families access pre-school education
2. to understand how Travellers have dealt with the transition from segregated provision
to universal provision
3. to explore the factors impacting upon where the children attend
4. to identify ways of progressing positive pre-school outcomes for Traveller children.
There are two strands to the Research in which pre-school services can participate.
A questionnaire will be distributed to all ECCE pre-schools in the county to get a picture of
where Traveller children attend pre-school. The pre-school will be asked to answer 11
questions, which will take less than ten minutes and email the questionnaire along with the
consent form back to the researcher. The questionnaire will be confidential and anonymous
unless you are willing to be interviewed further on the topic. (Please see Q 11 on the
questionnaire)
One-to-one, face-to-face interviews will be carried out with three services, which consent to
being interviewed in more detail, on the topics covered in the questionnaire. The interviews
will be recorded to help the researcher remember what is being said. The names of services
and all identifiers will be removed from the data collected and confidentiality will be assured.
Appendix 7a - Research Synopsis for Traveller Families
The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood
118
Care and Education since the introduction of the free pre-school year
Traveller Pre-schools are being phased out in tandem with the introduction of the
Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme (ECCE) in 2010.The aims of this
research are
1. to find out
a. where Traveller Families go for pre-school education
b. how Travellers have dealt with the change from dedicated Traveller Pre-
schools to general pre-schools.
c. the factors impacting upon where the children attend
2. to identify ways of making pre-school more positive for Traveller children.
The opinions and experiences of Traveller families and parents are required to make
the research rounded.
Focus Group
This group will consist of Traveller parents whose children have attended, are attending or
will attend ECCE pre-schools. The group will last for about 50 minutes and will take the
form of a group discussion. Participation is voluntary and no undue pressure will be put on
participants. Consent will be formally sought. The participants will be asked to talk about
their personal experiences of the pre-school sector both before and since, the closure of
Traveller pre-schools, for example, where their children attend/ed or will attend and why they
chose that pre-school. The session will be recorded to help the researcher remember all that is
being said. The names of all people will be removed from the data collected and
confidentiality will be assured.
Appendix 8 - Statistics re Travellers in the County being Researched.
119
According to the Central Statistics Office, Travellers account for 0.6% of the total
population of the Republic of Ireland. 16% of Travellers are in the age bracket 0 to 4
years (CSO, 2012). In 2011, the population of the sample county was measured at
137,656 (CSO, 2012). This means that there are approximately 826 Travellers living
in the sample county with approximately 72 of these being in the 0 – 4 year age
bracket. Assuming that half of these children attend pre-school that means there are,
currently, 36 Traveller pre-school children in the sample county.
Appendix 10 - Consent form to use Childcare Committee’s Email addresses to distribute survey/questionnaire
Full title of Project:
The Traveller child’s experience of Early Childhood
120
Care and Education since the introduction of the free pre-school year
Researcher
Marie Cuddihy, 102 Ardmore Park, Bray, Co. Wicklow. Consent for using professional email contact list for the purpose of accessing childcare
providers
Please Initial Box
1. The Board confirms that the information sheet for the above
study has been read and understood and the Board has had the
opportunity to ask questions.
2. The Board understands that the list will be used for one
purpose only and that the emails will be sent from the
researchers private email address in the researchers own time.
3. I agree to the use of the professional email list
Name of Signatory Date Signature
(On Behalf of Board)
Marie Cuddihy
Name of Researcher Date Signature
Appendix 11 - Dissertation consultation proforma 1
STRANMILLIS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE A College of Queen’s University Belfast
MA Early Childhood Studies
121
NAME OF STUDENT: Marie Cuddihy
YEAR GROUP: MA ECS
DATE OF MEETING: 16.9.13
TIME OF MEETING: 12.30
The following points were discussed and agreed at today’s meeting:
Expectations for a MA Dissertation – word length, critical writing, original and
independent piece
Supervisor Role – advisory, help student with their goals and research plan, ‘a
critical friend’, provide constructive feedback, to assess the dissertation
Student’s role – take full responsibility for studies, submit work and meet deadlines,
regular contact, and take initiative in raising concerns
Supervision protocol – supervision meetings - number and length, emails, phone calls,
reviewing drafts
Research Topic and Questions – Topical, EY relevant, ‘Golden thread’
Methods – Appropriate, Innovative, Triangulation
Potential to Publish
Beginning the lit review – how and where to start
Planning the research - timeframe
Ethics – filling out the ethics form
Reviewed the literature review,
Action points for next meeting: Read other dissertations MA- particularly look at Majella mcbride
Review sources on qual
TUTOR SIGNED: ______________________ 16.9.13
STUDENT SIGNED: ______________________16.9.13
A copy of this response has been retained by the tutor for reference
Appendix 12 - Dissertation consultation proforma 2
STRANMILLIS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE A College of Queen’s University Belfast
MA Early Childhood Studies
122
DISSERTATION CONSULTATION PROFORMA
NAME OF STUDENT: Marie Cuddihy
YEAR GROUP: MA ECS
DATE OF MEETING: 17.10.13
TIME OF MEETING: 4.30
The following points were discussed and agreed at today’s meeting:
Discussed literature review and talked about the need to set it in a more theoretical context.
Suggested that Marie looks at the Inclusion literature and made some suggestions as to
further sources to ref
Talked about the need for a more critical writing style as to the descriptive approach (needs
less quotations and more paraphrasing)
Reviewed the literature review,
Action points for next meeting: Submit second draft of literature to be sure the research questions bare out of the literature
Submit second draft by Tues 5th
Nov
TUTOR SIGNED: ______________________ 17.10.13
STUDENT SIGNED: ______________________17.10.13
A copy of this response has been retained by the tutor for reference
Appendix 13 - Dissertation consultation proforma 3
STRANMILLIS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE A College of Queen’s University Belfast
MA Early Childhood Studies
DISSERTATION CONSULTATION PROFORMA
NAME OF STUDENT: Marie Cuddihy
123
YEAR GROUP: MA ECS
DATE OF MEETING: 18.02.14
TIME OF MEETING: 11.30
The following points were discussed and agreed at today’s meeting:
Discussed the structure and format of the methodology. We talked through the structure and
content of the remaining of the dissertation
Talked about the best way to present results to inform the discussion
Action points for next meeting: Submit the methodology for comment by email – 28
th Feb
Email questionnaire for ref
TUTOR SIGNED: ______________________ 18.02.14
STUDENT SIGNED: ______________________18.02.14
A copy of this response has been retained by the tutor for reference
Appendix 14 - Interview with Traveller Parent 1
Interview with Traveller Mother (Catherina) At 12.03 am on 20/03/2014
Background Catherina has three children, 7, 5 and 3 years old. All three went to the crèche for the year before school. Her first experience of pre-school with her daughter was very good- “She learnt an awful lot from the crèche” “I felt that she was very, very happy and content with that crèche”. Her second experience was with her little boy. ”For the first seven months he was very, very happy in school”. However, then Catherina saw the primetime documentary in 2013 about practices in creches and this “changed her opinion completely” “I was doubting myself – was I a bad mother for putting him in
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and that I didn’t pay more attention to what was going on”. “I was doubting myself”. “My opinion changed completely on the crèche and a week later, I took Ben out and kept him at home until he started school, but I really would have wished that he had more experience before he had went to school, and I felt it was a bit early putting him into school. I blamed it on myself and the crèche”.” I wanted to put him in for another year before he started school….because I felt myself as a parent that he wasn’t ready for school but I sent him anyway cos she (the Montessori teacher) said he was ready for school, but with the speech, my little fellow has a speech problem, I can understand him, but the teacher mightn’t, and that’s why I wanted him in the crèche for another year but I didn’t feel comfortable doing that” “With my third child, I was actually working here at the time, I didn’t have much family in the area that could take him while I was working in the morning and I had spoken to a few parents who had kids in other creches, for to see, did they find any problems with the creches. For myself, I didn’t feel ready to put him in the creche for the incident that happened to my other son (in a different service) but I had no other choice and if I wanted to keep my job here, I had to put him into a crèche. Interview I = Interviewer C = Catherina I: Tell me why you chose the particular pre-school to which you sent your eldest child? C: I sent my girl to a Montessori, a different one to the one my son went to. I chose it because I heard good recommendations from other parents that had their kids in that crèche at that time I: were these parents also from the Travelling Community? C: Yes I: Why did you chose the different pre-school for your son? C: Same thing. A cousin of mine had her little girl in there the year before Ben had started and she was giving it high praises that when you were going home every day you were told what he (she) had drank, how many times he (she) had been to the toilet and all this and I found that that was brilliant. I wanted to know every step and minute in the crèche what he was doing and how was he progressing. I: And for your third child, who is now currently in pre-school…. C: My third child… my baby…first starting off for the first couple of days, I didn’t think I was going to adjust fairly easy but then he really got into it and started to enjoy it. Coming out in the day, he was telling me what he doing, painting or…. I: And why did you choose that particular pre-school, which is a different one again? C: Other members of the Travelling community had used that crèche and gave me the good recommendations for it. I: In your opinion, what makes a good pre-school? What’s the most important thing? C: I’d say the minding, the minders, the workers because you know that they’re taking care of your child and their eyes is on them, full stop.
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I: Would you say, if they were well qualified, that that would make it even better? C: Yes, obviously they have to have experience with kids and have to have done everything, all the courses and that, what they have to do before they’re actually in childcare. Learning and the coping. The relationship between the kids and the teacher. I: What would put you off sending your child to pre-school? C: Safety and the teachers. If I felt that I didn’t feel comfortable with the teachers and I didn’t feel that there was any pleasant thing about them and I know from the way my child is reacting with them and my sense of… I: What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school? C: Word-of-mouth, recommendations and how their child got on. I would trust other people before I would just put him in some place. I: Do you think it was a good idea to close Traveller specific pre-schools? C: Yes. I think that the best decision. .I wouldn’t like my child to be singled out, to be in their own community all the time and not mixing. I think that’s a good thing for their development as well. They can mix with other children of their own age. Travelling children have their own culture but at this age they are just developing and they can keep this culture, I feel this personally myself. I: Do you have enough information about pre-school in your area? C: Yes I do.
Appendix 15 - Interview with Traveller Parent 2
Interview with Traveller Mother (Keira) At 12.20 pm on 20/03/2014
Background Keira has three children. In 2005 and 2006 “My first two went to a Traveller’s crèche – it was here in the building. I was upstairs training and it was great because I’d just come in in the morning at nine, put the two girls into the crèche downstairs and I’d come upstairs. I was here until four and then I’d collect them but we’d go down at dinner hour to give the women a break – the mothers would go down to their own children like.” Keira did this until she had her third child in 2007. Then Keira stayed at home for a while and used the Traveller crèche once a week or so as a drop-in for a couple of hours while she did her shopping or other such things. Soon afterwards,
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Keira was employed by the centre up to one o clock each day. By this time her girls were in school so she only needed care for her young son, James went to registered childminder from the ages of two to four years and then started his free-pre-school year in a local Montessori school. ”It was similar to the childminders, he never really like going much – I think it was the mornings used to kill him, he didn’t like to get out of bed in the mornings. I used to have to drag him out”. He went there (the Montessori) for 12 months. It was lovely down there cos they do a little graduation and everything. The have the little graduation hats. Lovely. (The owner) was lovely” Keira felt she was going to have hassle when James started school because “when they’re at pre-school you can keep them off if they really don’t want to go but when they’re at school they’re meant to go, like” Interview I = Interviewer K = Keira I: Tell me why you chose the particular pre-school to which you sent your girls? K: I was upstairs and they were downstairs. If anything happened to them, they would just walk straight up to you. Convenient. I: Did you ever consider going to a different childcare service? K: No I: In your opinion, what makes a good pre-school? K: I think the women. It’s nice if they could have a good relationship with the children. That’s the most important part for me. To know what they’re doing as well. That the child is comfortable with the person is the most important thing for me. I: What would have put you off sending your child to pre-school? K: You kinda get a feeling when things are not…..I was worried when they were starting, anxious like. You hear things on the news about this crèche and you’re thinking could that happen, I think when you start for the first few weeks you are.. and then after a few weeks you get to know them. I: What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school? K: It was close to me. Closer to me is better for me. And you hear people saying my child goes there and it’s a lovely crèche. In the Montessori James went to, he was the only Traveller. Word-of-mouth, recommendations and how their child got on. I would trust other people before I would just put him in some place. I: Do you think g that it was a good idea to close Traveller specific pre-schools?
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K: Yes. I think it nice for them to mix with others and to see other cultures. There’s no-one the same so you can’t bring them up as thinking that…. The school James is in now, he’s the only Traveller that ever went there I: Why did you choose that school? K: To be honest, they’re all different down there, they’re Polish and all different cultures and then they won’t be judged, I think, as much, of being a Traveller. The teacher says “Hello” to the child each morning by his name and this is good. I: When you were accessing pre-schools, did you have enough information about pre-schools in your area? K: I did because I went over to the Childcare Committee myself. I saw something in the window one day. I can read myself and I was looking for a creche so I went in and they gave me a list of creches and phone numbers so I rang them all.
Appendix 16 – Interview with Traveller Parent 3
Interview with Traveller Mother (Bernie) At 12.42 pm on 20/03/2014
Background Bernie has three children, two boys and a girl, aged 7, 9 and 12 years. All three of Bernie’s children went to pre-school. Her eldest boy went to the pre-school in the building where Bernie was part of a Traveller organisation. After having her son, Bernie really didn’t want to leave him but the “woman haunted her” to get her back. “He benefitted an awful lot from that”. Then Bernie moved to another town and again she had her son in the crèche within the same building in which she was working. This crèche was in a family resource centre, which was not traveller specific. “I had bad experience in that pre-school, so I took him out and I shopped around and I got
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him into a different pre-school” Then Bernie finished working in this town but she still started her daughter in the same pre-school because she really liked the way they treated the kids Interview I = Interviewer B = Bernie I: Tell me why you chose the particular pre-school to which you sent your children? B: The first was because it was in the same building as I was. When I wanted to move my son because of the biting incidents, I was talking around to other mothers and I got good feedback from it and when I went up to see them, actually my kids were the first traveller kids that ever went to it, they were very helpful, very understandable. Even when I would go to collect the kids, they would hide in the door. They really enjoyed having the kids and they communicated a lot with me. The other (previous) pre-school that my son was in had more contact with Traveller organisations and there were more Traveller kids there but it just wasn’t the same thing. I: What do you think makes a good pre-school? B: I think it’s the participants, it’s the kids that’s going to it, the families that’s involved and it’s the people that runs it. If they have an interest and they like what they’re doing and enjoy doing what they’re doing and the families don’t have an issue that their child is going (to pre-school) with a Traveller – it just works much better. I: Is there anything that would have put you off sending your child to pre-school? B: That experience that I did have did really knock me back an awful lot like, but I kept him home for about two weeks but the child was missing it (pre-school). I felt guilty then…. And it took me a good bit to get him back into it and that’s why I had to look into things more before I put him back in. In the other crèche (where Bernie’s son was during the biting incident), she was a lovely woman, but she was shocked that I confronted her and made such an issue out of it. Probably there was other Traveller families there before and they didn’t really make a big issue out of these simple things. I: So you feel communication is really important? B: When you’re putting your child into a service, you’re not putting your child into a service with a label on him, you’re putting him in as a child, it’s a human being you’re talking about. It ain’t label Traveller, White, Black or Whatever. It’s a child, like, do you know what I mean? And even though you want your child to have their identity, and you’re not hiding the fact that they’re a Traveller, when you go to talk to someone you’re not talking about Traveller, you are talking about a child. And that’s where I think the people gets very confused with schools and the Education system. I: What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school? B: Good communication. Yeah because when I moved to another town I still drove back to the previous town to put my daughter in the pre-school that I moved my son to. I: Do you think that it was a good idea to close Traveller specific pre-schools?
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K: I think children need to integrate in society but I think some children do get lost along the way too. They’re losing their identity. That’s why I was asking earlier about the toys in the crèche (There were toys that reflected Traveller culture shown in a DVD that was shown earlier in the day). Bernie then gave an example of when one of her boys was in senior infants in primary school and the class was having a conversation about grandparents. Her son mentioned his “Oul Da” and was corrected by the teacher saying there was no such thing (Oul Da is used in Traveller culture as a name for Grandfather) I: Did you have enough information about pre-schools in your area? B: At the time no, it was down to myself for research and for looking for… I: Was it easy to find that information? B: It was yeah, because you get it through word of mouth and through other things. I: Would you say you would rely more on word of mouth or would you go out and research it yourself? B: I can’t read or write so I would rely more on word of mouth. I did view a good few places before I found the right place.
Appendix 17 - Interview with Traveller Parent 4
Interview with Traveller Mother (Katie) At 12.59 pm on 20/03/2014
Background Katie has two children, two boys, aged 6 and 9 years. The older boy didn’t go to pre-school but the younger did at the age of three. Katie live in a different town when her elder boy was little and she didn’t have information about pre-schools. Then when her younger boy was little, Katie moved to another town and was offered a training course and needed childcare. Interview I = Interviewer K = Katie I: Tell me why you chose the particular pre-school to which you sent your children?
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K: Because I heard a lot of people talking about it. It wasn’t just for settled children like. It was mixed. I: Were there other Travellers there? K: There was yeah. I: And was it recommended to you? K: A few of the friends I was talking to was telling me about it. They had kids in it, themselves. I: In your opinion, what makes a good pre-school? K: I think it’s a good pre-school if it’s mixed, like. I think it’s good for the kids to mix and in that crèche, they were very good and they were very nice and all the kids were mixing like. And that’s the reason why I left him in it, I suppose, if I had to have a problem…. I: And how long was he there? K: He was there for two years. I: And did he get the free pre-school year? K: He did yeah I: What would have put you off sending your child to pre-school? K: No…. I think with the other lad, he was my first, I didn’t have any other kids like. I think that might have been the reason he never did go to pre-school. And then he started school when he was four and a half. I: What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school? K: Good recommendations. Good mixed pre-school. I: Do you think that it was a good idea to close Traveller specific pre-schools? K: It’s hard to know, being straight like. That’s a hard question. I’m not sure like. I: Did you think you had enough information about pre-schools in your area? K: Yeah, I had plenty I: Even for your older boy? K: I knew, yeah, I didn’t have anyone else there. I was moving around a good bit as well like. Wasn’t really in the one place long enough.
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Appendix 18 – Focus Group with Young Traveller Women
At 10.27 pm on 24/04/2014
Background Seven young women were part of the group Margaret (M1) – no children yet Margaret (M2) – no children Donna (D) – no children Mary (M3) - I have a little girl and she’s two years Lynette (L) – I have a little girl and she is 8 months Tara (T) – I have a little boy and he’s 16 months Kara (K) – I have a three year old girl and a two year old boy. Interview I = Interviewer
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I: Did any of you go to pre-school? M1: I went to St Chiaran’s (A Traveller school with a pre-school attached) M2: I can’t remember D: I went to St Chiarans as well. I started when I was three. It was good. I cried for the first few days. M3: I went to Primary school straight. A mainstream school. I: And what about your little girl, do you think you will send her? M3: Yeah I will. L: I don’t remember anything about pre-school. Just Primary. I: And what about your little girl? L: Yeah, she’s a bit young for the crèche yet. She’s at home with my mother. When she’s well able for it, when she’s able to talk and all (I will use a pre-school) T: I went to a community pre-school when I was three or four. I: What do you remember about it? T: I remember it being fun like, I enjoyed it. I: What about your little lad? T: Oh my mother takes him. He’s too young as well. I: When he gets to say three or four, will you send him to pre-school? T: Yeah definitely. K: I just started school when I was five. I: And what about the kids? K: My girl went to a community pre-school but I took her out and sent her up to the Traveller specific schoo.. I: When will she be 4? K: November I: So she’s going up to the reception year, the year before school. Do they have many little ones up there? K: Not really. I: Tell me why you chose the particular pre-school to which you sent your children? K: Her father went there and a lot of her aunties and uncles are up there (in the primary school section) I: And why did you choose the community pre-school before that. K: Because a cousin of hers was there. But it didn’t work out because they were in different classes I: In your opinion, what makes a good pre-school? M1: Feedback T: How close it is to you. M2: You’d look into it like. L: The way they treat your children M2: I’d be afraid they’d get neglected or something I: Why would you think that? M2: It was on the news about it - you’d have to trust someone to mind your child like. M1: The better you know the person who’s running the crèche I: What about, if you thought the person in the crèche wasn’t qualified? M2: yeah M1: yeah D: yeah
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I: Someone mentioned earlier that it’s about the way they treat your children… K: When my daughter was going to the community service she was crying going in but when she went up to the Traveller specific pre-school she was much happier. She’s delighted every morning now. She can’t wait to get on the bus to go to school. I: And what do you think the difference is? K: It’s just the teacher up there is very, very nice. I: Do you know if the teacher is highly qualified? K: She’s been up there for years. M1: She taught me up there years ago. K: They just take it a step more to make the child comfortable. K: If they go out of their way…. I: On the other side then what would make a bad pre-school? M2: If they were neglecting your children. I’m not a mother but I’d say a mother could tell…. D: They would know their own child I: So is there anything else then that would make a bad pre-school? M3: If you go in and it’s all untidy or dirty I: What would put you off sending your child to pre-school? M2: Neglect M1: Hearing things about the pre-school D: Getting negative feedback L: That the child is too young M2: What’s been on the news about it. Make you trust no-one M1: And you’d be paranoid about it. L: Like you’re leaving the life of your child in someone else’s hands M2: If they (the childcare workers) have no time for them (the children) I: What would encourage you to send your child to pre-school? M2: To learn M1: To mix L: To be not stuck at home all day M3: To have a break I: What would encourage you to send your child to a particular pre-school? K: A lot of people I know and their father went to it M2: If it was good I: Would any of you pick a pre-school where you didn’t know anybody who was going there? T: It depends on the child. Some kids are good at mixing. Some kids are shy. But if you don’t know a child there (in a specific childcare service), they mightn’t go;
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I: If I told you that the best pre-school in Ireland was two miles away from you and it was free to go to, would you choose that pre-school M2: Well you’d have to investigate it L: You’d have to visit it D: Go on the website to find out more L: Talk to one of the staff M3: Have a look around M1: Check the qualifications I: Would you feel confident investigating it, going in and asking questions? M1: Yeah M2: Yeah T: Yeah M3: I don’t think I would be able to do it D: I would K: I asked a few questions I suppose, but my partner was asking more. I: Do you think the decision to close Traveller pre-schools was a good one? M1:M2: Yeah, Yeah M1: Travellers should mix with settled people more L: Everybody should be equal, treated equal M1: You shouldn’t just have a pre-school for Travellers like M1: You would feel like they were treating you different. Like when I went to pre-school I would have liked to have gone somewhere else. It was a good pre-school but I would have rathered…. Cos I went to a Travellers’ secondary school as well. It’s a better idea to mix. I: Do you think that Traveller culture is effected by the closure of Traveller pre-schools? M2: Me and my brothers went to ordinary schools primary and secondary and we still have our culture. So it doesn’t really matter about the school, I think (in terms of culture) K: I’m not a Traveller but I am with a Traveller (in a relationship with) and I don’t think that any child should be treated differently, they should be treated the same, but if they want if they want to go on the road or anything, that should be up to them. No child should be treated any different to any other child no matter what culture they are. M2: I think it all depends on the family – culture D: Not all Travellers are the same I: Do you have enough information about pre-schools in your area? I: Do you know where they are? M2: No T: Well, I didn’t know there was 40 in this town (laughs) I: Did you know that under the government funded ECCE scheme, your children can go to any of those pre-schools? I: Do you know where to look for the information about where those pre-schools are? M1: The Internet? M2: Just ask around
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I: Say you wanted to find a particular pre-school, say Playtime Montessori, how would you find it? M2: Where’s that? I did work experience in a Montessori but I can’t remember the name of it. I: Did you? M2: There was child there, a little boy, there was something wrong with him, nothing serious, he had anger issues or something, and they left him out. I stopped doing my work experience there over that. They left him out and they locked him in the classroom upstairs while they brought the other kids around. He was screaming and crying an awful lot. I stopped going because of that. It was terrible. They were very lazy there. I: Was this work experience part of a childcare qualification? M2: No it was during school I: Do you think that experience would affect how you would choose a pre-school? M2: I can’t even look at the place when I am driving past. No way. It’s scary even the inside of it. When you walk in, it’s like you can feel it. That there’s something not right about it. I: So you would work on feelings. If you got a sense of someplace not being friendly or good or whatever. Going back to finding information on pre-schools, you said you would use the internet, ask other people and rely on your own personal experiences and feelings about a service. I: Do you have any questions for me? D: I think we have talked enough (laughs)
Appendix 19 – Interview with Childcare Provider 1
Interview with Owner/Manager of a private full day care facility At 10.00 am on 12/06/2014
Background This full day care service has been owned and run by the current manager for 8 years since 2006 It is based in a rural area about 1 kilometre from the nearest small town The service can accommodate 50 children at any one time. Full day care, part time care, the free-pre-school year, Montessori pre-school and after school care are the childcare options available at this service . Including the manager there are 8 full-time staff. There are 23 free pre-school year children on the books of this service though not all children attend every day. Three of these children are Travellers. One of the three comes from the local town, the other two come from two other towns that are both within a 3 mile radius of the service. These 23 children have two optional extras that they may avail of
1. A hot meal every day for €19 a month
2. A Stretch and Grow class once a week for €3 a week
Most of the 23 children, including the 3 Traveller children avail of the optional extras.
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The service has a policy of not taking deposits to secure places and does not ask for a voluntary contribution from families. Interview I = Interviewer M = Manager I: Tell me what about the pre-school part of your service would attract Traveller families M: Being Friendly and Welcoming. Giving help to parents filling out forms and reading and explaining what’s on forms. Being honest with them and being upfront even asking “Can you read and write?” I: Do you think that’s an easy question to ask? M: Well it is for me. I believe in being upfront. I grew up with Travellers. A family moved to my area when I was young. I went to school with them. My parents never made any fuss that I hung around with Travellers. It’s all about having normal conversations with them about everyday things. If you hide from them, they’ll hide from you. I: Is there anything else that would make Traveller families use your pre-school? M: Word-of-mouth. One Traveller family might tell another Traveller family. I: Tell me what things about your pre-school would put Traveller families off applying to come here. M: Pauses… I can’t think of anything. Maybe the only things would be that we are full-day care and private I: What do you think Traveller families are looking for in a pre-school? M: A welcoming manager who will introduce them to the staff who will be with the child because they (Travellers) have a fear of their child not being looked after ‘cos of who they are. I: Do you think the decision to close Traveller Pre-Schools was a good decision? M: Yes, it was a good idea cos now they have a choice of where they go.
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Appendix 20 – Interview with Childcare Provider 2
Interview with Owner/Manager of a private pre-school
At 10.00 am on 13/06/2014
I = Interviewer
O = Owner
Background
This service has been owned and run by the current manager for 15 years
The service can accommodate 20 children at any one time.
The free-pre-school year, pre-school and after school care are the childcare
options available at this service.
Including the owner there are 3 part-time staff.
There are 18 free pre-school year children on the books of this service though
not all children attend every day. No Traveller children attend.
These pre-school children are not charged for optional extras but children may
stay for an extra half an hour at a cost of €20 per week.
More than half of the 18 children avail of the optional time.
The service has a policy of not taking deposits to secure places and does not ask
for a voluntary contribution from families. Interview I = Interviewer
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O= Owner I: Tell me what about the pre-school part of your service would attract Traveller families O: Being open and treating all children the same. We have children from all backgrounds here and would never give one child preference over another. I: Is there anything else that would make Traveller families use your pre-school? O: I don’t know if advertising works because we do a lot of that. Maybe some other way of reaching the families. Maybe linking in with family support workers who work with the families. I: Tell me what things about your pre-school would put Traveller families off applying to come here. O: Maybe where we are or maybe they don’t know where we are. I: What do you think Traveller families are looking for in a pre-school? O: The same as everyone else, I suppose. A safe, high quality place where their children will be enabled to develop socially and academically, getting ready for school. I: Do you think the decision to phase out Traveller Pre-Schools was a good decision? O: Yes, I think it was but has it really happened? There is still a Traveller pre-school in the area. But if they are being phased out, I agree with it because all children should have the same opportunities and experiences. After all, we don’t send Polish children to Polish pre-schools and we don’t send African children to African pre-schools. They are helped within our pre-school system to develop their language and other skills and they don’t lose their connection with their backgrounds.
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Appendix 21 – Interview with Childcare Provider 3
Interview with Manager of a group of community childcare services
At 10.25 am on 16/06/2014
I = Interviewer
M1 = Manager
Background
This group of community childcare services is spread across 7 locations and
offers sessional care, breakfast clubs and after school services to in excess of
200 children and has been doing so for over 20 years.
The sessional or pre-school part of the service caters for 80 children across two
sites. One of the sites has both a morning and an afternoon session (26 + 30 +
24). 51 of the 80 children are part of the ECCE scheme and the others would
predominantly avail of the CCS scheme (This scheme provides subsidised or
free childcare for eligible families based on need which is evidenced usually by
the parents’ receipt of a social welfare payment)
The percentage that would be Traveller children would be quite small. 7 or 8
out of the 51 are Travellers (around 14%). This figure is high because of
location of the service and the profile of families in the area. The service is
located in a RAPID area which indicates high disadvantage.
If the children come and do a CCS year, they usually stay to do the free pre-
school year afterwards, so they get a two year pre-school experience and I
would say for most Traveller families that has been a big departure over the last
few years. The completely free pre-school year has probably opened Travellers
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more to pre-school education and once that’s happened the subsequent siblings,
cousins and other family members, they see that they can also have the CCS
year. Not only has it been an improvement in the amount of traveller children
starting and ending with a free pre-school year, it means that more have two
pre-school years. So its more than just the free year, also the subsidised year
(CCS) has made a big difference. For traveller families, it has opened it and
made it more familiar to them. The concept of sending their children early to
school which for a lot of traveller women has been a step to get over because
most would feel that what their function is, is to look after their young children.
For the most part the mums here would be stay-at-home mums. The other thing
is we have more Traveller men bringing their children and understanding the
whole idea of pre-school education and over the last two years that has been a
huge change. Some of it has to do with the changes in Welfare benefits where
especially the young women can get part-time work and the Traveller men are
still not working in the official economy and they would be the ones dropping
the children into pre-school.
I: What is it about your service that would attract Traveller Families?
M1: The big thing is familiarity and trust that builds up over a lot of years so
maybe even Traveller families who would never have sent their children to pre-
school, they have sent their children to homework club. So they might have had
older ones in homework club and then the free pre-school year (ECCE) came in
and they might send younger children or their grandchildren because the service
is someplace they trust for the care of their children. We would have built a
rapport with Traveller families over the years as well as other families who
would have other difficulties, who live in the area and I was very interested
when the Free Pre-school Year (ECCE) came in to see if these families would
send their children to other services but it hasn’t happened.
I: Is there anything about your pre-school that would put traveller families off
applying for admission?
M1: (Pauses) Not applying for admission, but what puts Traveller families off is
the structure of it. The fact that we do expect the children to come every day,
that we expect them to be in for the curriculum at nine o’ clock, that if they are
not going to attend on a regular basis, we hassle them about it. They are the
things that are the niggles between the service and the families and their culture.
The service would be fairly attractive to Traveller families generally.
I: What do you think Traveller families are looking for in a pre-school?
M1: I think they are looking for a pre-school that’s not judgemental, or not
having any pre-conceived ideas about how their children are going to behave or
how they are going to perform and I think very often they would like a pre-
school where they are going to be talked to. It has to be face-to-face
communication, the note or the text won’t do.
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So there’s that, and all of the usual things with any parent, to know their
children are safe, that the staff are nice to them, all the normal everyday things,
the same as any parent, there’s nothing different, but for Travellers, in
particular, once, they’ve committed to a place, unless something goes wrong….
We have had, on occasion, issues with child protection, where you would lose a
whole extended Traveller family, if a child protection referral was made. They
will just withdraw from the service. What we have found over the years is that
they might withdraw for a year and within the year they would come back.
Pragmatically, it (the service) suits in other ways.
Again, these are the issues that would impact upon Travellers when looking for
or using a pre-school.
I: Do the Traveller families who attend the pre-school all live locally?
M1: The vast majority do, but we do prioritise some Traveller families. We
have on our application form, that people would be in the catchment area,
because we serve the two RAPID areas, but nevertheless, we also look at
siblings who previously attended and any other issues that we feel are pertinent,
so, on occasion, we have had families who have moved from the area, but who
would still want the children to continue coming here. But nevertheless, the vast
majority who attend here are local and within walking distance of the service.
I: Do you think the decision to close traveller pre-schools was a good decision?
M1: I’m not really sure that it has actually happened, first of all.
I: There are a couple still open…
M1: It seems to me that if they had closed all Traveller pre-schools, I would
think that it would be a good decision because it would integrate Traveller
children better for their transition into mainstream school and it has given
parents a better choice. Unfortunately there are gender related issues. Because a
lot of traveller families in my experience, are more willing to send their girl
children to mainstream school than their boy children and for a variety of
reasons, maybe behavioural issues, and sometimes a boy will spend two or three
years in a mainstream school and then move into a Traveller school. So I do
think it’s a good idea to close Traveller pre-schools, but a situation where you
have a limbo… for example, on two occasions this year, we have had children
who haven’t been attending well here but getting on terrifically in terms of their
development and learning but they haven’t had the consistency in terms of
lifestyle and parenting to have the child here 5 days a week. Because the
consistency of attendance was an issue, the families then opted to move to local
Traveller pre-school, which to me seems to be a second best option for the
child.
I: I know of a really successful Traveller pre-school in another area, which uses
the Highscope method, where attendance levels are good and where numbers
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transitioning to mainstream primary school are very high… So where Traveller
pre-school work, they work.
M1: If they work, in terms of transitioning to mainstream primary school, that
would be good.
M1: In terms of the decision to close Traveller pre-schools, I am sure Traveller
parents would be ambivalent because everyone wants their child to be
welcomed. No matter how much you want to promote and hold on to your
culture, you don’t want your child to feel even slightly different. The main issue
for us is that we would make differences of all children a positive. What we are
trying to do, is not homogenise the whole group of children in pre-school. What
we do is, because lots of children in our service have different cultures and
backgrounds, we look at these aspects of their home life and make them into
positives, such as language. We don’t try to smooth it all out into one
homogenised group.
I: Is there anything striking that you have seen or experienced in terms of
changes in how traveller families access pre-school in the past 4 years or so?
M1: I think the only other thing that I haven’t mentioned already would be the
perspective of parents. Like any other group in society, you have a huge
variations in what a Traveller is. We have a lot of young parents now, who have
been through our services themselves, for example homework clubs. They are
from Traveller families, but they are so integrated into society now that they
really aren’t identified as Travellers and they don’t self-identify as Travellers
either. That is a big difference. These young Traveller parents are more likely to
integrate with the other parents. They discuss their children more openly. They
have a more integrated approach to their child’s life. The reason for this, I think,
is that they are able to step back from the Traveller culture. It’s a hard one to
identify but you can see it. The Traveller parents who have been through our
childcare services themselves are much more open to advice and support.
Sometimes, the previous generation of traveller mothers, would not want to
speak to me (as manager). The “high woman” is not someone, they would have
wanted to speak to but they would speak happily to the staff.
I: We have come to the end. Thank you for your time and consent.
M1: You are welcome