Growing up in Ireland: education
The key findings of a Growing Up in Ireland study on education and early work experiences indicate a significant degree of positive correlation between socio-economic factors, attitudes towards school and academic performance.
Growing Up in Ireland, the National Longitudinal Study of Children, began with an initial cohort of 8,568 nine-year- olds, who were recruited in 2007, followed by subsequent interviews with their families, teachers and school principals. At the age of 13, over 7,400 of the young people and their families were re-interviewed, before 6,200 participated in the study again at 17/18 years of age.
The rationale for the study was to develop an understanding of the experience of the education system in order to facilitate planning for structures to ensure effective support for young people. Key questions focused on their perceptions of school and teachers, how they performed academically and their intentions upon completing formal education.
Findings
By the age of 17/18, 84 per cent of this research cohort were still in school, with a further 10 per cent having entered either further or higher education. Of this 10 per cent over half were enrolled in either a university or Institute of Technology. One third of all those who were still in school were employed in a part-time job, with average working week of 9 hours.
The report highlights that, while 49 per cent of those in their Leaving Certificate year were undertaking grinds or private tuition, and an additional 20 per cent said they would take them prior to sitting the exams, there was a significant disparity between students in relation to their family equivalised income. Those students in the highest income quintile (63 per cent) were 30 per cent more likely to take grinds in their Leaving Certificate year when compared with young people from the lowest income quintile (33 per cent).
Likewise, while young people, both male and female, had a generally positive attitude towards teachers and school in their final year, attitudes varied substantially in relation to social class (measured largely by occupational group). The vast majority (94 per cent) of 17/18 year olds agreed that “most of [their] teachers were friendly” while 84 per cent agreed that they could “talk to [their] teachers if they had a problem”. However, a considerable minority (24 per cent) recorded that they “dislike[d] being at school”. This dislike was particularly pronounced among the most socially disadvantaged students (39 per cent) when compared with the most socially advantaged (19 per cent).
While 67 per cent of the cohort consistently liked school between the ages of nine and 17/18, the proportion of young people disliking school increased with age. Nearly a fifth of 17/18 year olds reported liking school at ages nine and 13, but disliked it by age 17/18. The report indicates that a dislike of school is more likely to develop during the post-primary years of a child’s education. Encouragingly, less than 1 per cent of young people consistently disliked school and overall, a majority reported that school had helped prepare them for adult life. At the same time, one particularly concerning aspect of the report suggests that over a fifth of 17/18 year olds felt that school did not assist in “preparing [them] for adult life” or “the world of work”.
Furthermore, young people from the least affluent social background reported more negative experiences with teachers and were more likely to be reprimanded by teachers for substandard work and behaviour. They also recorded a lesser probability of receiving frequent praise from a teacher (52 per cent compared with 60 per cent) or having been told that their “work is good” (63 per cent compared with 76 per cent) in their final year. Again though, the overall perception of treatment by teachers was positive among young people with 73 per cent being told that their work was good and 56 per cent being praised.
Simultaneously, while at Junior Certificate level there was no significant distinction between male and female performance in maths (though females performed better in English), there was a performance gap in relation to educational advantage (determined by the primary caregiver’s educational attainment). Young people from educationally advantaged homes performed better in Junior Certificate English and particularly in Junior Certificate maths. On average, these children also had consistently higher score in both subjects from 9 to 14/15 years old.
Educational aspirations
The vast majority of the cohort who were still in school (89 per cent) outlined their aspiration to continue into either further or higher education. A mere 2 per cent planned to enter straight into employment. While a slightly higher proportion of females stated that they would most likely go into further/higher education than males (92 per cent compared with 86 per cent), this disparity was exacerbated by the educational attainment of their main caregiver. Those whose mother occupied a position on the lowest scale of educational attainment (Junior Certificate or less) were 13 per cent less likely to aspire to continuing into further/higher education than those at the opposite end of the spectrum (degree of above).
Overall, therefore, a significant degree of both educational experience and outcome is linked to family characteristics such as socio-economic standing and parental educational attainment. For example, from the age of nine onwards, educational performance is consistently relative to the educational attainment of the primary caregiver. The report suggests that additional interventions may be necessary to offset this social and economic imbalance.
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone, welcomed the publication of the most recent data collection (at age 17/18) and noted the largely positive findings. Zappone stated: “The majority of 17/18 year olds are healthy, they have positive views of their lives, as well as a positive perception of school, and a substantial majority of 17/18 year olds still in school report that they intend to go on to tertiary education. The findings, however, also raise some areas of concern. For example, children from families who are better off educationally or financially continually tend to fare better than those who are less well-off across a range of outcomes.”
