Reflect-Select-Defend: A Model for Student Teacher Reflection

This study, using mixed methods, addresses the importance of robust self-reflection for final year student teachers completing a Career Entry Profile (CEP). Set against UK regional variations, it examines one innovative model which encourages student teachers to ‘reflect’ on their strengths and areas for development according to stated competences, to ‘select’ appropriate evidence to create a CEP portfolio, and to ‘defend’ their conclusions in discussion with university tutors and school head teachers. The findings highlight the value of the ‘reflect’-‘select’-‘defend’ model by generating much greater depth and quality of reflection, and recommends that such a model be adopted on a wider scale

Newcomer pupils: facing up to the cultural and linguistic challenges

The paper considers the challenges for in-service school teachers of the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of their pupils. Having set the international context, the research focuses on one particular region (Northern Ireland) which is experiencing unprecedented inward migration as it emerges from conflict into a period of relative stability and prosperity. The paper makes specific recommendations not just for Northern Ireland but also for an international audience, with a central proposal that all schools urgently receive additional funding for training and resources to meet the needs and seize the opportunities presented by newcomer pupils

An updated perspective on the Cuts to Education and the Consequences for Children and Young People in Northern Ireland.

In response to the deep cuts to Education that were announced between March and June 2023, nine academics launched a collective response on the consequences for children and young people at Currie Primary School. The cuts to education in 2023 were imposed against a backdrop of the collapse of the NI’s power-sharing Executive. Many of the cuts were imposed without meaningful public consultation or an opportunity for the children and young people (CYP) at the sharp end of the cuts to share their views. The cuts were numerous and dramatic and will have a ripple effect for children’s access to education for years to come. The biggest consequences will be borne by the most disadvantaged children who have lived through the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Cost-of-Living emergency. The UN Committee for the Rights of the Child urged senior civil servants to withdraw the NI Budget and the Children’s Law Centre launched (ongoing) legal proceedings on the operation of section 75 protections with regard to the budget. Our ‘rapid response’ report sought to pull together the latest evidence to increase political and public consciousness on the short and long-term implications of the extensive cuts to provision for disadvantaged CYP across several areas that our research expertise in law, social policy, child rights, education and psychology. We concluded that the cuts would increase poverty, widen existing educational achievement gaps, further exacerbate NI’s mental health crisis and send Special Education Needs provision beyond the brink of collapse.This response to the Programme for Government seeks to update the content of the report published in June 2023. It includes the latest evidence and outlines the sustained consequences of the cuts to education and the insufficient investment in measures that will tackle poverty and educational disadvantage and underachievement.<br/

Internet Use and Perceived Parental Involvement among Adolescents from Lower Socioeconomic Groups in Europe: An Exploration

Internet usage is a salient developmental factor in adolescents’ lives. Although relevant correlates of Internet use have been documented earlier, there is a lack of information on lower socioeconomic status groups. This is important, as these adolescents have increased risk of negative online experiences. The current survey aimed to explore Internet use and parental involvement amongst adolescents from areas of socio-economic disadvantage in 30 urban schools across five European countries. A total of 2594 students participated, of whom 90% were 14–16 years. Virtually all adolescents of socioeconomic disadvantage had Internet access, with 88.5% reporting spending more than two hours per day online, often on apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Almost one-third of adolescents did not talk with their parents about their Internet use and almost two-thirds indicated that their parents were only a little or not interested in their Internet use. A consistent finding across countries was that girls more often talked with their parents about their Internet use and more often reported that their parents were interested in their Internet use than boys. The results suggest that parents have an important task in explicitly showing interest in their adolescents’ Internet use, with special attention needed for boys

Contested childhoods across borders and boundaries: Insights from curriculum provisions in Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in the 1920s

Conceptualisations and constructs of children and childhood are temporally and contextually grounded. Historical documents are rich sources of insight and understanding regarding how children were understood, valued and treated at various times by particular societies. This article explores the conceptualisation of children and childhood in the 26-county Irish Free State (South) and the 6-county Northern Ireland (North) in the 1920s following the partition of Ireland, through the lens of educational documentation, primarily national primary school curricula. The focus on both jurisdictions is interesting in the context of partition, exploring the sometimes divergent and often convergent ways in which children were conceptualised across borders and boundaries. This article reveals, using Sorin and Galloway’s framework as a conceptual and analytical tool, that conceptualisations of children were broadly similar in the North and South but differed in their focus and enactment in both fledgling states. These disparities are largely attributable to the very different political, social and religious orientations of both jurisdictions and the use of education as a vehicle for nation-building, as well as identity and gender formation. The article also explores alternative conceptualisations of children in education policy in the North and South by presenting case study ‘outliers’ of educational provision. A century since partition, conclusions and implications are noted that resonate with contemporary elements of convergence and divergence on educational policy and the conceptualisation of children across the island of Ireland