ABSTRACT

Following a period of close to a century when the Irish language was placed at the margins of the education system under British rule, there was a radical change in curriculum provision following political independence in Ireland in the 1920s. The importance of the Irish language in defining sovereignty, national identity, and nationhood in the Irish Free State was central to these curricular changes. Within months of the achievement of political independence, curriculum policy was revised to include provision for the teaching of the Irish language to all pupils in primary schools as well as the use of Irish as the medium of instruction in infant classes (the first two years of primary school). The education system became the linchpin in the political and cultural campaign to restore the Irish language as the vernacular. This paper critically examines how nationalist thinking in Ireland, which had its origins in nineteenth-century European discourses, impacted on curriculum decisions pertaining to the Irish language in the early 1900s. Focusing on the interrelationship between nationalism, language, and education, it traces the process and provisions of curriculum development in Ireland in the 1920s. Overall the paper argues that the influence of nationalism as understood in the wider European context of the time shifted emphasis in Ireland away from bilingualism (Irish and English languages) to the revival of the Irish language in the 1920s, primarily through the education system, to add political legitimacy to the new Irish Free State.

摘要

在将近一个世纪的时间里，爱尔兰语在英国统治下被置于教育体系的边缘，在1920年代爱尔兰政治独立之后，课程设置发生了根本变化。这些课程变化的核心是爱尔兰语言在定义爱尔兰自由国的主权，民族认同和国家地位方面的重要性。在实现政治独立的几个月内，对课程政策进行了修订，包括规定向所有小学学生教授爱尔兰语，以及在婴儿课堂中使用爱尔兰语作为教学语言（自2000年起的头两年）小学）。教育制度成为恢复爱尔兰语为母语的政治和文化运动的关键。本文批判性地考察了起源于19世纪欧洲话语的爱尔兰民族主义思想如何影响了1900年代初与爱尔兰语言有关的课程设置。着眼于民族主义，语言和教育之间的相互关系，它追溯了1920年代爱尔兰课程发展的过程和规定。总体而言，该论文认为，在更宽泛的欧洲背景下所理解的民族主义的影响，使爱尔兰的重点从双语（爱尔兰语和英语）转变为1920年代复兴的爱尔兰语，主要是通过教育系统，转向了为新的爱尔兰自由国增加政治合法性。在1900年代初对与爱尔兰语言有关的课程决定产生了影响。着眼于民族主义，语言和教育之间的相互关系，它追溯了1920年代爱尔兰课程发展的过程和规定。总体而言，该论文认为，在更宽泛的欧洲背景下所理解的民族主义的影响，使爱尔兰的重点从双语（爱尔兰语和英语）转变为1920年代复兴的爱尔兰语，主要是通过教育系统，转向了为新的爱尔兰自由国增加政治合法性。在1900年代初对与爱尔兰语言有关的课程决定产生了影响。着眼于民族主义，语言和教育之间的相互关系，它追溯了1920年代爱尔兰课程发展的过程和规定。总体而言，该论文认为，在更宽泛的欧洲时代背景下理解的民族主义的影响，使爱尔兰的重点从双语（爱尔兰和英语）转变为1920年代爱尔兰语言的复兴，主要是通过教育系统，转向了为新的爱尔兰自由国增加政治合法性。