Towards a Better Future: A Review of the Irish School System

Irish schooling faces significant challenges into the future. Ireland’s is not a perfect system, no more than any other schooling system in the world. While perfection is not achievable, it is incumbent on every society to apply its best efforts to ensuring that the school system is as good as possible so that that this and future generations are assisted at achieving their potentials. The thirteen chapters of this Review paint a very creditable picture of how Irish schooling policy and provision has been evolving and of the manner in which this is being achieved. The various stakeholders and educational partners, in this small island state, have focussed constructively in establishing the present structure. Each of the categories reviewed indicates that Ireland’s educational system is on the cusp of major attempts at reform. Building on a range of accumulated achievements, it is poised for qualitative breakthroughs on a range of fronts. The thirteen chapters consist of the following: Introduction; Teaching and Learning; Early Childhood Education; Curriculum; Assessment: Primary and Junior Cycle; Transition from Second Level to Higher Education; Educational Leadership and Governance; The School System: Equality, Inclusion and Rights; The Changing Role of the Inspectorate; Initial Teacher Education and Induction; Professional Development; The Financing and Resourcing of Education at Primary and Post-Primary Levels: What Can We Learn from the OECD’s Education at a Glance

Men and the Classroom

The teaching of young children has long been dominated by women. This global phenomenon is firmly rooted in issues related to economic development, urbanization, the position of women in society, cultural definitions of masculinity and the values of children and childcare. Yet, amongst the media scare stories and moral panics about underachieving boys, there are surprisingly few empirically-supported answers to vital questions such as: Is the feminisation of teaching really a problem? How is the relationship of gender and teaching considered within a framework of feminist theory? What are the perceptions of students of teaching, in comparison to other professions? Why are so few men attracted to teaching? Can more men be attracted into the classroom? The authors of this groundbreaking book have undertaken the largest, most in-depth study ever carried out on this topic, in order to assess both teachers and students' views across primary education

Jobstown Youth Action Project: External Evaluation Proposal

Evaluation reportPaper proposing an evaluation of the Jobstown Youth Action Project