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How we created a shelter of belonging in a developing multicultural Irish primary school through participatory action research

Tobin, Bernadette (2022) How we created a shelter of belonging in a developing multicultural Irish primary school through participatory action research. PhD thesis, Dublin City University.

Abstract
We are one of a disproportionately small number of schools that educate the majority of students from non-Irish backgrounds. In drawing inspiration from a heritage of Celtic thought, I appreciated that as a new school community we all, albeit in differing ways, experienced that as our old shelter collapsed, we lost what it held and we had to enter into the beginnings of a new shelter of belonging that would slowly build around us (O’Donohue, 1998). This belonging implies a growth, which would afford new experiences. In this research, I inquired into how we invoked and awakened our shelter of belonging. Hence, I viewed this as a collaborative form of inquiry, in which all involved would have the opportunity to engage in democratic dialogue as co-researchers and cosubjects, influencing our lives and our work through critical participatory action research. A boxset of three related action research narratives, presented chronologically as discrete pieces of work, allows the reader to experience the communicative spaces of this educational journey. This thesis shows that in an affinity of thought and an openness to exploration, a community of spirit has grown and a shelter of belonging has come alive. Social and professional relationships have been nurtured, in which leadership is valued as a collective activity across members of the community. Resultingly, there is a willingness to take risks, and to be resilient and push boundaries. Essential sustained interaction is facilitated by structures that give sufficient time for effective collaborative planning, reflection, and professional learning to take place. Democratic professional relationships are emerging in dialogue with parents in which our complementary experience and knowledge work to enhance the education of the children in our care. An enactment of O’Donohue’s shelter of belonging is seen in our integrity, creativity and receptivity, which has invoked the creation of a forward-thinking, collaborative culture of interdependence in the school.
Metadata
Item Type:Thesis (PhD)
Date of Award:February 2022
Refereed:No
Supervisor(s):Farren, Margaret and Crotty, Yvonne
Subjects:Humanities > Philosophy
Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Multiculturalism
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of STEM Education, Innovation, & Global Studies
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:26576
Deposited On:16 Feb 2022 15:08 by Margaret Farren . Last Modified 16 Feb 2022 15:08
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