Longford woman's PhD project aims to provide more wellbeing supports for migrant students

Jade Gill is a PhD Candidate at the University of Limerick. Originally from Longford, she is connecting with her midlands roots as an inspiration for her PhD thesis.

Jade is in the third year of her PhD which is under the University Psychology Department and the School, Child and Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing Lab.

As a part of her research, Jade is holding an upcoming webinar to launch a new research initiative between the University and a not-for-profit based in Limerick, Narrative 4.

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The webinar will launch a national survey exploring well-being support for migrant students in Irish secondary schools.

“We’ve been working with an organisation called Narrative 4, they’re a charity based in Limerick that uses a storytelling programme to promote wellbeing and promote social connection and empathy,” Jade explains.

“What my PhD is hoping to do is tweak that into some type of creative resource that can be used specifically to promote the well-being of migrant students.

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“It was kind of a natural relationship because I was with them during my undergrad.”

For Jade, the well-being of migrant students and the support available for them was something that she felt needed more attention.

“I know from perspective and if you’re from Longford you know that Longford’s got a huge influx of migrants. I think between 2011 and 2016 we had the second highest influx of migrants.

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“Reading up on the literature around it, just seeing the additional challenges adolescent migrants have in terms of integrating and integrating into the school context, which is something I’ve found really interesting.

“Some of my friends are teachers and I’ve seen or heard from their experience like the difficulties they’ve had in the classroom trying to cater to students who might be studying higher level English and then students who weren’t studying English until they came to Ireland.”

Creating understanding and shared story practices between migrant and Irish students is vitally important in today's climate when understanding others is something prioritised less and less.

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In order to ensure the accuracy and efficiency of the survey, Jade and Narrative 4 have formed a committee of young migrant women who are currently in secondary school, to advise on the project based on their own experiences.

“It’s an advisory panel of young migrants from Limerick who review focus groups and interview questions.

“They were trained up with researchers to come out and do the student interviews with me.

“So it’s really youth-led,” highlighted Jade, “ It’s really important that we have input from schools and principals about what they’d like to see.”

Jade would like to invite anyone available or interested to join the webinar via the link below, especially students and teachers.

The research plays a key role in providing environments of inclusivity and support for migrant students in Ireland.

If you wish to take part in Jade's survey you can do so by clicking this link: https://unioflimerick.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ddsFBmSjr9Zc2Ro