THE history and culture of the Irish Traveller community is to take its place on the school curriculum.

Education Minister Richard Bruton has asked the State curriculum advisory body to come up with recommendations about how it should be done.

The landmark move comes in the wake of the 2017 decision to recognise the ethnicity of the Traveller community.

That was followed by the introduction to the Seanad in July of a bill aimed at giving legal underpinning to Traveller culture and history in the curriculum. It was sponsored by independent senator Colette Kelleher.

Mr Bruton has asked the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to examine how the education system is dealing with the issue, and to come up with recommendations.

There are NCCA guidelines on inter-cultural education in primary and post-primary schools, but they date back more than a decade, and are general in focus.

The minister wants the NCCA to include an audit of the place of Traveller culture and history in the existing curriculum, from early childhood to Leaving Certificate, and to see how it can be incorporated into existing subjects.

As well as considering the content of the curriculum in relation to Traveller history and culture, he wants the NCCA to consider how the curriculum in this area is delivered.

So he has asked the NCCA audit to identify examples of good practice in schools, with a view to providing these as general exemplars, as well as exploring what additional supports may be required to ensure effective implementation.

The NCCA review will also look at the continuing professional development opportunities for teachers in this area.

Speaking at the annual conference of Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI), the minister said the Government’s decision to recognise the ethnicity of the Traveller community was a milestone and that education had a significant role to play in delivering the vision underpinning that decision.

He referred to “stubbornly low” Traveller retention rates in education. “That must change. I want more children from the traveller community to progress in education at all levels” he said.

Mr Bruton noted that as part of the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy, the Department of Education would be partners in a two year TUSLA-led pilot project to target attendance, participation and school completion in specific traveller and Roma communities regionally, starting early in 2019.

Online Editors