Examining the Familial Impact on Traveller Women’s Aspirations in Education

Mcgrath, Patricia and Cin, Melis (2026) Examining the Familial Impact on Traveller Women’s Aspirations in Education. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Lack of achievement for Travellers in education in Ireland is a continuing issue for the government, educators and the Traveller community (Government of Ireland, 2023; Higher Education Authority, 2022; Irish Traveller Movement, n.d; Limerick Traveller Network, 2025; McGrath, 2023; Oide, 2023; Watson, Kenny and McGinnity, 2017). There has been focus in this literature on why the existing educational environment is not encouraging Travellers to succeed in education but less focus on those who have achieved, and how they have achieved in education. In this thesis I focus on Traveller women graduates who have succeeded in education, despite additional pressures due to caring responsibilities for multi-generation family members, gaps in education and financial constraints. I also focus on the role of families and how they acted to impact the Traveller women either positively or negatively on their educational journey. Studies show that Traveller parents are supportive of their children’s education (Bhopal, 2004; Boyle, Flynn and Hanahan, 2020, p. 1401; Hegarty, 2013; Quinlan, 2021) but there is less attention on how this support manifests, and my investigation into how these Traveller women were supported/not supported by their families helps to further illuminate the different circumstances that Traveller women were in, as they pursued educational advancement. I used qualitative methodology, with semi-structured interviews conducted with seven Traveller women graduates, two NGO workers in Traveller Organisations, two Higher Education Officers and five Higher Education Access Officers in order to produce a contextualised account of the Travellers environment and experiences, to help establish the determinants that acted to support and guide the Traveller women from university entry to degree completion. Through the theoretical lens of the capability theory, I identified conversion factors that acted either to support or discourage the educational engagement of the Traveller women, and there was recognition of how these women used their navigational agency to circumvent the various structural barriers that presented in education, and when a clash of expectations of their university and culture occurred. The findings show that when supported, the Traveller women were able to navigate the unfamiliar environment of higher education, and although they had to immerse themselves in the settled university culture in order to do this, it allowed them to advance their understanding of other cultures. Findings also show that following a supportive and inclusive/relatively inclusive experience in higher education, post-graduation supports were inadequate to meet their needs when accessing employment. Lack of networking opportunities resulting in lack of social capital, led to reduced opportunities to engage with the labour market, and this is an area that can be focused on by universities and employers so that real opportunities are present for Traveller women graduates and all Traveller graduates in employment. These findings are important as increased numbers of Travellers remain longer in education, and wraparound services in terms of labour market connections are needed during university and post-graduation, so that Travellers are not left marginalised as graduates.