The Educational Company of Ireland (Edco), the publisher of school textbooks, has expressed regret for certain material in one of its Junior Cycle curriculum books and promised to take it out after “closer inspection”, reports RTE.
A family of Irish people wearing Aran jumpers is shown in the section “All Different, All Equal” as having a daily diet of bacon, cabbage, and potatoes and detesting change and distinction.
In contrast, a mixed-race family is shown to go abroad and eat a wider variety of cuisines.
In response to questions about the book’s portrayals, which sparked several requests for the book to be cancelled, the publisher sent a statement to RTÉ News.
In the statement, Edco said: “Firstly, we would like to say that we welcome the public’s interest in this issue and the whole area of SPHE. By means of background and context, the main function of this activity (‘Looking at Difference’) is designed to help students understand the importance of diversity in our lives, to introduce students to the Equal Status Acts and to highlight the types of discrimination they cover. Following the students’ introduction to the Equal Status Acts, the activity uses exaggeration and hyperbole to convey the nature and effects of inclusion and bias,” reports RTE.
On closer examination, nevertheless, we now realise that our strategy should have been different, the statement stated.
“Accepts that it has caused upset and anger, even though this was not our intention,” the publisher continued.
“We have taken the decision to replace this activity and we apologise for any hurt caused,” it stated, reports RTE.
Additionally, Edco made it clear that since the book has not yet been translated into Irish, there isn’t an Irish version of it.
“We would like to confirm that no Irish version of the 2023 Health and Wellbeing 1 has been published. The first edition of this book was published in 2017 in line with the specification for SPHE at that time,” it added, reports RTE.
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