Background: Socioeconomic characteristics are persistently and systematically related to academic outcomes, despite long-standing efforts to reduce educational inequality. Ireland has a strong policy focus on alleviating educational disadvantage and has seen significant improvements in mathematics and science performance in recent years. This…

Effective continued professional development (CPD) is critical in preparing teachers for implementing curricular changes. Utilising the professional design framework [Loucks-Horsley, S., Stiles, K. E., Mundry, S. E., Love, N. B., & Hewson, P. W. (2009). "Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics."…

Education is pivotal in the global effort to reduce inequalities. Through education, there are numerous opportunities to advance gender+ equality both within and outside of educational institutions. Gender budgeting, a strategy designed to align policies, plans and financial decisions with gender equality commitments, was used in this research to…

The focus on integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education that prepares students for an ever-changing society is gaining momentum. Recent STEM education research has concentrated on developing guiding principles for integrating STEM amid the lack of a unified definition and varied implementations of STEM…

The structure, implementation and operation of music education at the primary level differs depending on the legislation of the education system within which the school operates. An inquiry-based project was completed over a 10-week period, with the overall aim of gaining an understanding of current teacher practice within music education in both…

This fully updated third edition of "Teaching and Learning with Technologies in the Primary School" introduces practising and student teachers to the range of ways in which technology can be used to support and extend teaching and learning opportunities in their classrooms. Newly expanded to include 50% brand new chapters reflecting the…

Using data from the Disentangling Inclusion in Primary Physical Education (DIPPE) Erasmus+ project, this study aimed at investigating teachers' practices related to inclusion of children with additional needs (AN) in primary physical education (PE) and identifying supports that could enhance these practices. Responses from 1170 primary teachers…

Research examining the characteristics of both qualified and pre-service teachers focuses on traits including gender, socio-economic and socio-demographic background, knowledge and a variety of relevant affective constructs. Studies also investigate such traits among entrants to initial teacher education (ITE). The desire for more diversity within…

While the majority of people in Ireland speak English as a first language, the minority Irish language is spoken daily by approximately 3% of the population even though is a compulsory subject in Irish schools. Recent research has shown the language to be in crisis, with consistently declining standards of attainment in schools. This paper…

Reviews the system of elementary education in the Republic of Ireland. Examines demographic data on the nature and size of school population and the organization of elementary education; describes curriculum at the junior and senior grade levels; presents research findings relating to reading, mathematics, science; and considers teacher and…

The Regional Curriculum Support Service (RCSS) was established to provide locally based advice and support to principals and teachers in relation to the implementation of the Primary School Curriculum (1999). Drawing on data from a large-scale national evaluation, this article traces the purpose, structure and operation of the RCSS and provides…

This manual provides guidance in the maintenance requirements of primary education schools in Ireland, covering: roofing; floors and walls; doors and windows; external and internal finishes; heating, plumbing, and drainage; electrical installations; paved and grassed surfaces; and furniture and loose equipment. The basic considerations are covered…

The mediational linkage between class inclusion and role-taking skills was investigated by studying the effects of a successive perspective-taking training technique on the consolidation of class inclusion structures. Sixty preoperational Irish boys were given two pretest measures of class inclusion and two of role-taking. They were then grouped…

This training study investigated the relation between class inclusion and role-taking in elementary school children. The objectives were: (1) to establish the asynchrony between class inclusion and role-taking on an Irish sample and a French sample of preoperational children, and (2) to investigate whether this asynchrony is merely a function of…

The Sex Stereotype Measure II (SSMII) was developed to assess children's knowledge of conventional, sex-trait stereotypes defined by American university students. The SSMII was administered individually to 5- and 8-year-old children in the United States, England, and Ireland and group administered to 11-year-olds in the United States. (Author/JMB)