Bright young things greet politicians with 'pure manure' [Independent.ie]
- Published: 14 January 2011
"pure manure" signs, the plastic bullock or even having to pose in a car seat wearing a pair of silly goggles posed no problems.
But it was funny how the visiting politicians managed to navigate carefully past the noticeboard that could have been genuinely catastrophic for them to be photographed with.
On whistlestop tours of the BT Young Scientist Exhibition at the RDS yesterday, nary a one happened upon the exhibit boldly proclaiming that 91.4pc of those surveyed disagreed with the statement that "all Irish politicians are decent, hard-working people".
The work done by students of Youghal Community School in Cork was done to test the political awareness and engagement of students aged 15 to 18. Claire Cunningham (15), Rebecca Wilson (14), and Matthew Doherty (16), said they never expected the results to be as negative.
"Nobody trusts the Government," they said, adding that some 46pc of people could not name any three current party leaders.
Students at Sacred Heart Secondary School in Clonakilty, Co Cork, are hoping to turn their idea into a lucrative business.
Kate Jennings (15), Niamh Kingston (15), and Catriona Hegarty (15), came up with the concept of a cheap inflatable flood barrier that is already sparking interest amongst local business groups.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Schools cut PE classes for points despite rise in obesity [Independent.ie]
- Published: 13 January 2011
Department of Education inspectors have rapped schools for cutting the amount of time that exam students spend in physical education (PE) classes.
The pressure for results, particularly in the Leaving Cert points race, has been blamed for a trend in schools to sacrifice sport for exam subjects.
The department says second-level students should spend two hours a week -- the equivalent of three class periods -- doing PE.
But according to the latest series of inspectors' reports, not one of four schools visited was meeting this requirement -- and some students were doing no PE classes at all.
The inspectors have exp-ressed concern at a time of rising levels of obesity in Ireland, with more than one in five children regarded as overweight or obese.
Inspectors say the "practice of reducing or withdrawing curricular time for certificate examination students may, inadvertently, create the perception amongst students that physical education and engagement in physical activity is a low priority".
Their comments, in a report on a girls' school, stress that physical activity is essential for this age group and gender "to develop positive attitudes and sustainable health-related lifestyle behaviours, especially at such an important stage in their development".
Full Story: www.independent.ie
A quarter of parents find teachers hard to deal with [Independent.ie]
- Published: 13 January 2011
ONE in four parents believe their children's teachers are not very approachable, a major survey reveals today.
And one parent in six feels that the schools do not want them involved.
Formal involvement in the parents' council or board of management is confined to a small group of parents, usually those with higher levels of educational qualifications.
The study found that working class parents with lower levels of education tended to have less formal contact with the school than other social groups.
Where they do have contact, it is more likely to be in response to difficulties with their child's behaviour or lack of educational progress.
The study, by Delma Byrne and Emer Smyth for the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), found that parents were broadly satisfied with their children's schooling.
But there was a need to develop broader competencies -- particularly computer skills, preparation for work and life skills.
Parents tended to be more critical of the Junior Cert curriculum than the Leaving Certificate.
'Behind the Scenes?' draws on surveys of parents of senior cycle students as well as insights from school personnel. It is the most comprehensive study to date of Irish parents' involvement in their children's education.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Behind the Scenes? A Study of Parental Involvement in Post-Primary Education [esri.ie]
- Published: 13 January 2011
The most comprehensive study to date of Irish parents’ involvement in their children’s education is published today (13 January 2011). The Irish Constitution sees parents as the ‘primary educators’ of their children and parents are increasingly seen as ‘partners’ in the educational process. But we know very little about parents’ own perspectives or their level of involvement. Behind the Scenes? draws on surveys of, and in-depth interviews with, parents of senior cycle students as well as insights from school personnel. The study highlights many new findings relating to parental involvement in schooling, including:
Irish parents play a very important role in their children’s education.
- Choosing a particular school affects a young person’s educational experience and later life-chances through their access to particular subjects, subject levels and programmes.
- Active school choice is common among all social groups in Ireland, with higher professional parents being more likely to send their child to a school outside the local area.
- In choosing a second-level school, parents take into account a multiplicity of factors, and the majority of young people play a role in the process. There is evidence of some middle-class parents displaying long-term active choice, by taking into account feeder primary schools when choosing a post-primary school.
- Parents are the main source of advice as young people make choices about what subjects to take, which programmes to select, what to do after leaving school, and whether to remain in school or not. This highlights the importance of providing parents with the information necessary to assist their children in these choices.
- Informal parental involvement, through discussing educational decisions, is associated with improved exam performance among young people.
Equal access tops cherry-picking [Independent.ie]
- Published: 13 January 2011
REGARDING John Walshe's article on school enrolment policies on January 11, the ASTI wishes to assert unequivocally that the best schools are those which welcome all pupils from their locality, regardless of needs, backgrounds or abilities.
An audit of second-level schools carried out by the Department of Education and Science in 2008 found no evidence of widespread discrimination in the enrolment practices of schools, but found “pockets of inconsistency” where some schools had “disproportionate shares of pupils of all backgrounds and needs”.
A formal policy position of the ASTI is that the department should either reward schools for their intake of special-needs pupils or penalise those schools found to be effectively discouraging their enrolment.
While the ASTI welcomes the debate on the issue of enrolment policies, it also strongly believes that the regular publication of the so called ‘Feeder Schools’ tables in newspapers presents an unfair and incomplete picture of the work of second-level schools.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
