The report being launched at an online research seminar today, is based on a mixed methods research study conducted at 11 ETSS late in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 school closures. The research involved students, teachers, parents, school leaders and other stakeholders.

This paper examines socio-emotional and academic outcomes among 17-year-olds with different types of special educational needs and the role of parental educational expectations in shaping these outcomes, using data from Ireland's national longitudinal study of children. The analysis takes...

Recent evidence shows increasing wellbeing and mental health difficulties among young people in Ireland (Carroll et al., 2024) and internationally (WHO, 2021). This evidence emerges against the backdrop of significant policy focus, with the Department of Education publishing the Wellbeing Policy...

This paper assesses the role of shadow education (SE), i.e. organised learning activities outside formal schooling, in the lives of secondary school students of different social backgrounds and in different school settings, in a high-stakes context. It draws on multilevel analysis of...

Personal assistance (PA) services have been an evolving part of Irish provision for people with physical and sensory impairments for roughly three decades, but the lack of national standards for allocation, provision or data collection have made it an opaque system characterised by piecemeal or...

The Irish education system is undergoing significant change as it navigates the challenges of the 2020s. Schools are at the frontline of Ireland's efforts to integrate migrant families, build an inclusive society and tackle generational socioeconomic inequality. They are also, increasingly, key...

This study shows an increase in the number of students taking higher level subjects for the Leaving Certificate. However, the increase was less pronounced in DEIS schools and smaller schools.

ESRI research, funded by Solas, examines the effectiveness of the programme aimed at young people who leave school early. It finds that the Youthreach programme helps young people who leave school early to have a positive experience of teaching and learning, supports the development of their...

Research conducted by the ESRI shows a strong appetite among students, parents and teachers for changing senior cycle education, which incorporates Transition Year, 5th Year and 6th Year. A study presenting their viewpoints shows that they mainly focus on changing the approach to assessment,...

This paper combines data from a government programme providing broadband access to primary schools in Ireland with survey microdata on schools', teachers' and pupils use of the internet to examine the links between public subsidies, classroom use of the internet and educational performance....