Teachers who have trained abroad are being invited to take part in a Migrant Teacher Project to help them find work in Irish schools while alleviating the shortage of teachers across the State.
Dr Rory McDaid, coordinator of the project, said students could benefit by learning from a more “diverse” teaching staff but that migrant teachers were facing many barriers when applying for jobs in Irish primary and secondary schools.
“Teachers from immigrant backgrounds can face challenges gaining employment in Irish schools, despite having appropriate qualifications and valuable experience,” said Dr McDaid.
“This project is designed to open up pathways for these teachers to access employment, with benefits for both individual teachers and the school communities where they work.”
The teaching project, which was launched on Tuesday, is calling on all teachers who would like to work in publicly funded schools but who were trained overseas to register with the Teaching Council of Ireland.
Researchers from the Migrant Teacher Project, which is being co-ordinated by the Marino Institute of Education, say the scheme will provide a "bridging programme" to help immigrant teachers find work in Irish schools.
They say most teachers in Ireland are still from white Irish backgrounds, which is not reflective of the increasingly ethnically diverse country we live in.
They add that research shows employing teachers from different backgrounds in schools promotes education, enhances the educational experience for all students and provides benefits and support for minority ethnic students.
“Even though we have a teacher shortage, it can be difficult for these internationally educated teachers to get their qualifications recognised and enter the workforce,” said the group.
At present, the application process for teaching posts in Ireland is “difficult to navigate, especially without local knowledge and contacts”, warned researchers. They added that many employers are not aware of the benefits of hiring migrant teachers.
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