1. The Post-School Pathways of Russian-speaking young people in Ireland.
A Longitudinal Study.
Holly Foley B.A. MEcon.Sc.
Supervisors: Dr Daniel Faas and Dr Merike Darmody
Background:
• This is the first longitudinal study of Russian-speaking students in Ireland. The aim of
this study is to explore post-school pathways in Ireland, using Russian-speaking
students as a case study.
• The term ‘pathway’ has become of prominent research focus across OECD countries.
‘Pathways’ is used as a broad metaphor for the move to upper education, training
and/or work
• In 2014, 82.5% of students who sat the Russian language exam achieved an A grade.
This was the highest proportion of A grades out of all the Leaving Certificate subjects
taken in 2014.
• Research suggests that students from lower income and minority ethnic groups are
potentially more ‘at risk’ in making the transition to post-primary than their peers. It is
not known however about how they make the transition from post-primary to the
labour market or higher education.
Longitudinal Study:
The research is a qualitative longitudinal study (QLS). It will comprise of two waves of
in-depth semi-structured interviews with Russian-speaking students. The first wave will
take place during their final year in school year and revisit the students approximately
12 months later. Final year students are generally aged between 16-19 years old.
‘Longitudinal studies are essential in order to understand choices made by young
people at different ages and the precursors, consequences and the contextual
constraints that may influence choices’ (McCoy et al., 2013; 10).
The purpose of revisiting the interviewees is to collect additional data, there has been a
lack of empirical evidence to date on how young people in Ireland experience the
transition to post-school education (McCoy et al., 2013; 182).
Sampling and Recruitment
Research Design:
The qualitative data will be collected using semi-structured interviews. Having a semi-
structured guide means that the main themes will get discussed whilst allowing scope
to discuss more specific issues at length. This interview guide is structured for the
interviewees to be retrospective and prospective in their answers. It allows participants
to map their previous experiences, when they migrated through to the present time in
school and looking forward to their future after school. This gives a sense of logic to the
narrative and allows for the participants to become reflexive by explaining their future
choices through their personal history.The first wave will give an insight into the
rationale and thought processes behind the decisions that the students make for their
future pathways. The students are in a ‘critical’ stage of their lives during their first
interviews, on the verge of leaving school. The second wave will show the outcomes of the decisions
made throughout school will influence their adult lives.
14 Students
Recruited:4 Male and
10 Female.
Countries of Birth:
Ukraine, Moldova,
Latvia, Lithuania and
Russia.
Attending DEIS schools,
Vocational Schools,
Community Colleges
and Fee-Paying Schools
in Ireland.
Recruited from Dublin,
Kildare, Meath and
Galway.
Objectives:
The objectives of this study are to determine who are the key agents in the decision
making process during a student's final year of school, identify the pathways chosen
and if there are structural barriers which prevent certain pathways being open to all
students, identify if there are there socio-cultural issues which influence decision
making. Russian-speakers in Ireland are the subject of very few studies, the need for
further longitudinal study of Russian-speaking young people has been highlighted
as a research area to understand how cultural socialisation inside and outside the
home affects pathways into adulthood. (Eriksson, 2011: 222). This research aims to
address this gap in the literature by contributing to a deeper understanding of
Russian-speaking students in Ireland.
This study seeks to answer the following research question:
How do Russian-speaking students manage the transition from compulsory
schooling to higher education/labour market?
For additional information please contact:
foleyha@tcd.ie
Conclusion and preliminary findings:
• The uniqueness of this research will arguably have some policy implications. By
studying social structure and agency over a period of time we can find answers
to some current social policy challenges by understanding the causal
relationship e.g. how education affects future life chances (Heinz and Kruger;
2001)
• The existing literature on Russian-speakers in Ireland is limited and tends to
focus on either parents of Russian-speaking children or children within a
classroom environment. Eriksson’s (2011) research on Russian-speaking
students is comprehensive inside the classroom environment, but there is no
information available on what happens when these students progress to
further/higher education or the labour market. Russian-speakers are in a
vulnerable position because they can be so easily overlooked or lost in the
broader discourse of ‘East to West’ migration to Ireland.
• All students in this research have chosen further or higher education as their
post-school pathway
• Most students in this research have described their experience of education in
Ireland as easier/ less difficult than in their ‘home’ country
• Students in this research and their parents are using their own social networks
to gather information on college courses available.