Students Visit Ireland for Study Abroad Program in Social Justice
June 14, 2017 - Ten University of Memphis students visited Ireland for a week in May
2017 as part of a course offered through the College of Education entitled "Social
Justice and Intellectual Disability in Ireland." The students included four undergraduate,
one master's level, and five doctoral students. Additionally, one TigerLIFE student
and parent and four "Friends of TigerLIFE" participated in the experience, sponsored
by the University of Memphis Institute on Disability (UMID) in conjunction with the
Study Abroad office.
The purpose of the course was to examine issues of social justice for people with
intellectual disabilities by visiting various Irish institutions of higher education
(Trinity College, Maynooth University, University College Cork, and Limerick Institute
of Technology) and learning about their Inclusive Post Secondary Education (IPSE)
programs. Students compared and contrasted American IPSE programs—such as TigerLIFE
at the University of Memphis—with the Irish models.
Larissa Boyd, a Master's degree student in Educational Psychology, was impressed by
the inclusive nature of Irish universities with regard to students with intellectual
disabilities. "They are in the same classes, societies (fraternities and sororities),
and participate in graduations with their classmates." Larissa added that visiting
the IPSE programs in Ireland helped her see the potential American colleges and universities
have to accommodate young people with intellectual disabilities and integrate these
students into all aspects of college life. "It made me realize that we can do this;
we just have to set some things in motion!" She said that in the future, she hopes
more TigerLIFE students can accompany university students on study abroad trips.
Dr. Chrisann Schiro-Geist, Director of UMID, stated that this pilot experience went
very well and hopes to continue study abroad classes that focus on IPSE programs at
least every other academic year. For more information about the University of Memphis
TigerLIFE program, visit https://www.memphis.edu/tigerlife
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact: Dr. Chrisann Schiro-Geist
312-961-9665
cschrgst@memphis.edu