This report provides a comprehensive analysis of developments in schools, classrooms, and the teaching and learning of mathematics and science at primary and post-primary levels in Ireland between 2011 and 2023. Drawing on data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), collected from students, teachers, and school principals, the report examines trends […]
Educational Inequality in Primary Schools in Ireland in the Early Years of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy: An Analysis of National Assessment Data Anastasios Karakolidis, Alice Duggan, Gerry Shiel and Joanne Kiniry Drawing on data from the National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER) 2009 and 2014, the current study compares inequalities in […]
A co-professional approach to inspection for accountability and improvement: Progress and prospects in the Irish context Harold Hislop Inspectorate, Department of Education and Skills, Dublin This paper examines developments in inspection and school self-evaluation in primary and post-primary schools in Ireland since 2010, and looks ahead to how aspects of these processes can be further […]
HOMEWORK AND STUDY BEHAVIOURS BEFORE THE LEAVING CERTIFICATE AMONG TRANSITION YEAR PARTICIPANTS AND NON-PARTICIPANTS Aidan Clerkin Educational Research Centre This article describes the self-reported homework and study behaviours of almost 5500 students from Third Year to Sixth Year in a representative sample of 20 Irish schools. In particular, the studying habits of Fifth Year and […]
LITERACY AND NUMERACY IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Gerry Shiel and Lorraine Gilleece Educational Research Centre, St Patrick’s College, Dublin Recent international assessments of educational achievement at primary, post-primary, and adult levels allow for comparisons of performance in reading literacy and numeracy/mathematics between Northern Ireland and the Republic of […]
SATISFYING THE ‘LEARNING IN DEPTH’ CRITERION Kieran Egan Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University It has long been argued that being educated entails satisfying two criteria: first, one must know many things about the world and, second, one must know something in significant depth. There have been a number of proposals for attaining the depth […]
CLASS SIZE AND PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO: POLICY AND PROGRESS Susan Weir, Peter Archer, and Laura McAvinue Educational Research Centre, St Patrick’s College, Dublin Government policy relating to reduction in class size and pupil-teacher ratio over the past 50 years is outlined. Since the 1980s, the policy has focused on positive discrimination towards schools serving pupils in […]
TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE Thomas Kellaghan Educational disadvantage is defined in terms of (i) discontinuities between the competencies and dispositions which children bring to school and the competencies and dispositions valued in schools, and (ii) factors, conceptualized in terms of three forms of ‘capital’ (economic, cultural, social), which influence development of the competencies […]
LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITY ADMINISTRATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND AFTER PARTITION: THE EARLY YEARS OF THE COUNTY DOWN EDUCATION COMMITTEE 1925-31 George Beale The new concept of local education authority administration in the devolved state of Northern Ireland is explored, focusing on the establishment and work of the County Down Regional Education Committee. After the passing of […]
SCIENCE FOR ALL Edward M. Walsh The situation of provision for, and achievement in, science in first and second level education in Ireland is reviewed and is considered unsatisfactory in a country in which the economy depends on workers who have skills in science and. technology. Proposals are made for improvement. A vision for Ireland […]
CULTURE, IDENTITY AND CHILDREN’S LITERATURE Stuart Marriott Optimistic assertions about the significance of fiction in forming and maintaining children’s personal and social identity are difficult to substantiate. Existing evidence from Northern Ireland that fiction has a meaningful role in this process is credible if,largely anecdotal and circumstantial. The necessary task of providing more substantive research […]
Preface This special issue of The Irish Journal of Education contains a report of the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) reading literacy study, which was carried out in 32 countries, including Ireland. International reports of the study have already been published (Elley, 1992; Postlethwaite and Ross, 1992; Lundberg & Linnakylä, 1993). In the […]
GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN IRISH SECOND-LEVEL SCHOOLS Gerry Shiel and Mary Lewis The paper begins with a description of guidance and counselling in second-level schools in the Republic of Ireland, tracing development of the service from its introduction in the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. The role of the guidance counsellor is considered in the […]
Preface This issue of The Irish Journal of Education contains a report of The Second International Assessment of Educational Progress in Mathematics and Science (IAEPII) which was carried out in 20 countries, including Ireland, in 1990-1991. International reports of the study are available (Lapointe, Askew, & Mead, 1992; Lapointe, Mead, & Askew, 1992). In the present report, […]
IRELAND’S RESPONSE TO AFRICA’S EDUCATIONAL NEEDS Paud Murphy An examination of educational provision in sub-Saharan Africa reveals many problems: access, low completion and achievement rates at primary level, maintaining quality while increasing access at second level, and the cost, and relevance of tertiary education. The development of Ireland’s official aid programme and current features are […]
PUBLIC FUNDING OF THEOLOGY IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY Michael Nolan An account is given of the provision of public funds for the teaching of Theology at third-level institutions in the countries of the European Community. Note is also taken of public grants to young people who have chosen to take a degree in this subject. […]
BEGINNING TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING JHC Vonk The process of becoming a teacher is considered to be a part of teachers professional development. The first section of the article describes the general nature of this development which is used as the framework for a longitudinal study on beginning […]
EDUCATIONAL REFORM AND MENTOR-TEACHER PROGRAMMES IN THE UNITED STATES John R Curley A steady increase in the number of school age children, many of them from disadvantaged backgrounds coupled with a decline in the number of new teacher graduates and considerable loss from the teaching profession will pose major problems through the 1990s for education […]
VOCATIONALISM IN IRISH SECOND-LEVEL EDUCATION Mary Lewis and Thomas Kellaghan Growth in vocationalism in second-level schools in Ireland between the late 1960s and the 1980s is examined in the context of four expressions of such a trend: enrolment in vocational schools, the percentage of students in senior cycle enrolled in vocational courses, the take-up of […]
THE CONTEXT AND COURSE OF THOMAS ORDE’S PLAN OF EDUCATION OF 1787 James Kelly By the mid-1780s, the inadequacy of the existing tiers of education in Ireland had become a matter of common knowledge. Proposals for their reform were not quite as forthcoming; however, spurred on by the revelations of John Howard and Jeremiah Fitzpatrick […]
