DCU Institute of Education
DCU Institute of Education
The first Deaf students to qualify as primary school teachers using Irish Sign Language (ISL) graduated in October.
The first Deaf students to qualify as primary school teachers using Irish Sign Language (ISL) graduated from DCU in October.

DCU Institute of Education’s ISL pathway named Highly Commended at Times Higher Education Awards

The first Deaf students to qualify as primary school teachers using Irish Sign Language (ISL) graduated in October.
Education For All: Broadening education for Irish Sign Language (ISL) was introduced in 2019

The Irish Sign Language Bachelor of Education pathway at Dublin City University’s Institute of Education last night took home a ‘Highly Commended’ mention at the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards, held at the ACC Liverpool Arena.

Education For All: Broadening education for Irish Sign Language (ISL) users was named highly commended in the Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year award.  Introduced in 2019, the programme helps Deaf and hard of hearing people who use Irish Sign Language (ISL) to enter primary teaching for the first time. It is based in the DCU Institute of Education’s School of Inclusive and Special Education. The first Deaf students to qualify as primary school teachers using the Irish Sign Language (ISL) pathway - Kevin Dudley (Dublin), Aimee Ennis McLoughlin (Dublin), and Aisling O'Halloran (Galway) - graduated at a DCU ceremony in October. 

The THE Awards are the biggest celebration in the Higher Education calendar, attracting hundreds of entries from individuals, teams and institutions, and from all corners of the UK and Ireland. Last year, DCU’s Access to the Workplace programme won the Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year Award, and DCU’s Estates team won Outstanding Estates Team.