Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020
54. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education her plans to commission long-term research on the impact of the school closures on educational outcomes for children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40094/20]
View answerThe Inspectorate is carrying out research on how well schools are operating in the current school year. This is providing up-to-date information on matters such as how well students have settled back into school, how they are progressing in their learning, and the wellbeing of students. The research work involves capturing a range of perspectives and includes surveys of stakeholders in schools, discussion with school principals and inspectors’ engagement with focus groups of students. The analysis to date indicates that schools are operating safely, students have settled in well to school and teachers have successfully adapted their teaching approaches in the current context.
In addition to the work carried out by the Inspectorate, my Department is aware that a range of other bodies such as the National Parent Councils, school management bodies and research institutions continue to carry out research on the experience of schooling and its impact on students.
Indeed, considerable numbers of researchers have approached schools seeking to involve them in research surveys during this time of Covid-19, and my Department has some concerns about the pressures that such research requests are creating for school leaders and teachers at a time when they are focussed on sustaining educational provision in a Covid-19 context.
In reflecting this context, standardised tests in primary schools were cancelled in the school year 2019/20. Looking forward to April 2021, the Department grant for standardised tests in primary schools will issue for tests to be administered in May 2021 as usual.
The Department’s Inspectorate cooperates closely with the Educational Research Centre (ERC) in the carrying out of, and reporting on, a number of national and international surveys of achievement. These surveys of achievement are carried out on a regular basis and are conducted in scientifically constructed samples of schools, and provide valuable insight into the achievements and progress of Irish students over time, especially in the critical areas of literacy and mathematics.
In May 2021, 195 primary schools will be participating in the National Assessment of English Reading (NAER) and the National Assessment of Mathematics Achievement (NAMA).
Over the next few years, Ireland will participate in international assessments such as the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which measures student achievement in reading, mathematics and science at age 15 years, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) at primary and post-primary level. In 2021, 150 primary schools will be participating in the Progress in the International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) assessment.
