“They Give Us That Equal Kind of Level Playing Field to Do Whatever Someone in a Regular School Does.” An Exploration of Second-level Students’ Experiences with an Alternative Education Programme in Supporting Their Education and Well-being in a DEIS School

Young people’s perspectives on social and educational inequalities got little attention from broader social theory and have not been prioritised by childhood and youth studies. Similarly, secondary school students’ voices and qualitative experiences with education and education inequality have been missing, particularly in an Irish context. Educational inequality has persisted in Irish education since the state’s independence. The Irish government has partially addressed the issue by introducing the Delivering of Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Plan. Despite some positive outcomes of this policy, students attending DEIS schools still experience lower educational outcomes than their peers from non-DEIS schools. DEIS schools encounter different levels of disadvantage, and they cater for a higher percentage of people with intellectual disabilities and often rely on the support provided by charities and philanthropies [Cahill, K. (2021). Intersections of social class and special educational needs in a DEIS post-primary school: School choice and identity. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28, 7, 977–991; Fleming, B., & Harford, J. (2023). The DEIS programme as a policy aimed at combating educational disadvantage: Fit for purpose? Irish Educational Studies, 42(42), 381–399]. The context of this study is set as an all-girl post-primary school in the wider Cork area, which receives financial and study support from an external alternative education programme exposed to a broader evaluation conducted by UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, University of Galway. Focus groups and photovoice were introduced to seek students’ experiences with the alternative education programme in the post-primary DEIS school context. Common findings emerging from the data are (a) social inequality and educational opportunities, (b)study and financial support provided by the alternative education programme, and (c) enhanced mental health and well-being. These findings contribute to a further understanding of young people’s experiences with educational inequality in an Irish DEIS school context and emphasise the role of external educational support programmes in tackling such challenges. Students' experiences with educational and broader socio-economic inequalities in Ireland, as presented in this paper, call for system change and policy reform in post-primary education.