The Traveller Education Strategy: A New Vision for Traveller Education
Context
Pavee Point has for many years expressed concerns regarding Traveller Education in terms of equality of outcomes, data collection, lack of interculturalism in the curriculum and has pushed for the inclusion of Travellers in mainstream education. The 1995 Task Force report on the Travelling Community made 167 recommendations in the field of Traveller Education i.e. more than half of the total number in the report. This reflected the massive need for change in the provisions that exist.
In the 2002 census it was revealed that there was a vast difference in the level of attainment between that of Travellers and that of their settled peers. This Census revealed that among children whose age was known, 63.3% of Traveller children dropped out of full time education before they were 15 years as compared to the national rate of 15.4%.
Towards a Traveller Education Strategy
2004 has been a year where the foundations were laid to make tangible progress in Traveller Education. In 2003 a joint working group was established drawing membership from the Education Disadvantage Committee (EDC) and the Advisory committee on Traveller Education (ACTE). This group consists of representatives from Pavee Point, the National Traveller Women’s Forum, the Irish Traveller Movement, officials from the Social Inclusion Unit of the DES, Teachers Unions, representatives from the Visiting Teacher Service, the National Traveller Education Officer and the National Coordinator for Senior Traveller Training Centres
A Five Year Strategy was proposed to look at the whole area of Traveller Education which includes; pre-school and early years, Primary, Post-Primary, Further and Adult Education and Third Level.
Consultations with Traveller Parents and Learners
In early 2004 the three Traveller Organisations (Pavee Point, National Traveller Women’s Forum and Irish Traveller movement) suggested to the Joint Working Group that a National Consultation with Traveller Parents and learners would hugely benefit the process of evaluating existing Educational provision and the changes that should be made to Traveller Education in the Strategy. The Joint Working Group were supportive of this and the three National Traveller Organisations took it upon themselves to organise five consultation seminars. In May and June 2004 five seminars attended by 450 people took place in the midlands (Tullamore), North- West (Sligo), South (Mallow) and South East (Kilkenny) with a National seminar taking place in Dublin.
A number of concerns were articulated repeated at the workshops at the seminars. These included
- Access to Education
- Negative Attitudes towards Travellers
- Segregation in Provision
- Additional Resources and Support
- Invalidation of Traveller Culture
- Parental Involvemen
- Ethos in School
- Outcomes for Travellers
As a result of these Seminars a report with 49 recommendations towards the development of the Traveller Education Strategy was produced. This report was recently presented to the Joint Working Group and will contribute to both the context and the action plan of the Strategy.
The Way Forward
The main objective of the Traveller Education Strategy is to ensure equality of access, participation and outcomes for Travellers in the Education system. It will map out a way forward in relation to Traveller Education, taking account of the complexity of the issues involved, the history of provision and the existing measures. It will undertake a root and branch review of the provisions that exist and will mark out the challenges and changes for the future and identify ways to approach these changes.
The strategy will take the form of clear goals in relation to optimising/ re-allocating existing Educational provision for Travellers. It will outline a process to shift from segregated provision to a policy of inclusion, interculturalism and integration. Taking into account that change does not happen overnight the Strategy will identify a series of short, medium and long-term objectives. Implementation and how it will be monitored will be crucial to the Traveller Education Strategy.
Pavee Point welcomes real change and sees the Traveller Education Strategy as providing new hope for the future of Traveller Education. We welcome a strategy which would give Travellers a chance to achieve equality of outcomes from an Education system that incorporates and celebrates cultural diversity and allows Traveller children to have a positive sense of identity.
“Education needs to be about liberating Travellers, not about domesticating them. True Education will give Travellers the tools to challenge their oppression rather than teaching them how to become acceptable in a settled world”
Martin Collins, Pavee Point, addressing the opening session of the National Seminar of Traveller Parents and Learners.