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Blended learning emerged as an effective learning and teaching strategy during Covid, but can we now use it for engagement during absenteeism?

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This worksheet aims to highlight the difference between needs and wants for children, and to gain appreciation for other people's situations. 

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Understanding differences in children's reading ability by social origin: The role of parental reading and pre- and primary school exposure in Ireland

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I have included this article (particularly section 1.2.2) as an insight for parents to understand the effects of the home environment on their children.

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Highlights

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Both children's gender and their family's social class influence their cognitive development between age 3 and age 9.

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Gender and social class act as additive effects, with little variation in the gender gap across social class groups.

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Social class differences in parental reading to children are marked at age 3 but much lower at age 5, when most children in Ireland have started school.

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Boys benefit more than girls from primary school exposure in Ireland.

Abstract

Given growing concerns about disadvantaged boys' achievement and disengagement from learning, this paper investigates differences in reading ability by gender and social origin. It uses data from the Growing Up in Ireland study to investigate how parents' approach to learning at home and children's exposure to early care and education contribute to these differences. We find that both children's gender and their family's social class influence their cognitive development between age 3 and age 9, though the effects are additive, with little variation in the gender gap across social class groups. Parents from more advantaged social classes read more to their 3-year-old children than other parents, yet by age 5, when most children have started primary school, these class differences in parental reading are much lower. Parental reading, ECCE participation and length of primary school exposure were found to facilitate language development and partly explain differences in reading scores at age 9, although strong direct effects of social class remained, even accounting for vocabulary score at age 3. The benefits from parental reading, ECCE and exposure to school are broadly similar for boys and girls, though there is some evidence that boys benefit more than girls from longer exposure to school.

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Understanding differences in children's reading ability by social origin and gender: The role of parental reading and pre- and primary school exposure in Ireland

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Given growing concerns about disadvantaged boys' achievement and disengagement from learning, this paper investigates differences in reading ability b...

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This article encapsulates why streaming is not beneficial to students on the lower end of the social class scale. They are not pushed to challenge themselves. 

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Benefits and Disadvantages of Streaming Practices to Accommodate Students by Ability

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Discover the benefits and drawbacks of streaming practices in Malaysian schools. This study reveals how streaming can enhance lesson planning and motivation while hindering socialization and self-esteem. Find strategies to overcome these challenges.

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This article highlights to teachers and schools the costs put on parents when kids are returning to school and should encourage support from schools. 

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The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) have recently released their findings from the annual survey on Back To School costs. You can read about the findings below, with much of it discussed in the media recently. As many would expect the rising cost of living is having an impact on families.

Two thirds of Irish parents (66%) say the cost of Back to School is a financial burden

Parents spending €1,518 per secondary school child - up €27 on last year

At primary school level, parents are spending €1,195 - up €9 on last year

29% are getting into debt compared to 24% in 2021 - average debt of €339

1 in 10 (10%) of parents with school children are considering using an illegal moneylender, while 33% don't know whether legal or illegal

Use of credit cards to purchase back to school items is up 6% to 23%

Significant jump in number of parents cutting back on extracurricular activities, rising to 67% from 46% last year

Voluntary contributions up on last year - €124 for primary schools and €146 for secondary

Many parents shopping online to save petrol, up to 31% from 17% from last year

Two thirds of Irish parents (66%) say the cost of Back to School is a financial burden, up from 63% last year. Parents getting children ready for secondary school are spending €1,518 per child. This is up €27 on the €1,491 being spent last year. Parents of primary school children are also spending more; €1,195 this year compared to €1,186 last year. Understandably, more parents of secondary school children are finding costs a struggle, seven in ten (72%) compared with 66% of parents at primary level.

The findings were revealed in a national survey of 764 parents of school children (out of a sample size of 2,460) by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU). The survey was carried out by independent market research company, iReach Insights in June 2022. The number of parents in debt over back to school costs has increased by 5% to 29%. Of these, over one fifth (21%) reported debts of over €500. The average debt parents find themselves incurring is €339 which is up (up €3) on last year's figure.

The increased costs of living are evidently having an impact on school items with the most expensive secondary school item this year being transport at €213, up from €195 last year, reflecting rising fuel costs. School books and uniforms are also high at €210 and €195 respectively. After-school care is the top expense for primary school parents at €184, up €27 on last year, followed by extracurricular activities at €167.

Of considerable note in the survey is the sharp increase in parents saying they will deny their children extracurricular activities because they can't afford them, rising to 67% from 46% in 2021. The survey also revealed that 65% of schools are still seeking so called 'voluntary contributions' at €124 for primary schools and €146 for secondary, an overall average increase of €11 on last year.

When it comes to funding back to school costs, the majority of parents (74%) use their general monthly income, with just over a third relying on their savings. The use of credit cards to purchase back to school items is up 6% to 23% from 2021 as is the number relying on a bank loan - 1% to 3%.

While there is a slight decrease in the amount of parents shopping online for school supplies (65%, down 3% vs 2021), two thirds of these parents do so to access better deals. Saving on petrol as a reason for shopping online has seen a significant jump to 31%, up 17% from last year.

89% of parents say income or household costs affected by rising costs of living including 92% of parents with children in school

Over 90% seeing additional costs to groceries and utility bills

More than 1 in 3 (36%) of parents say they are struggling to make their household budget stretch to cover the additional cost of living increases

One in ten of those struggling falling into debt in an effort to cover household costs

61% say increasing costs of food for children for school lunches is the biggest effect of the rising cost of living

This year's survey also looked at the rising costs of living in general. 89% of respondents say their income or household costs have been affected by rising costs of living since the start of the year including 92% of parents with children in school. Over 90% are seeing additional costs for groceries with a similar number experiencing increased costs on household utility bills.

More than 1 in 3 (36%) of parents say they are struggling to make their household budget stretch to cover the additional cost of living increases. When school going costs are added the number who are struggling increases to 42%. One in ten (11%) of this cohort are falling into debt in an effort to cover household costs.

When asked what options they were considering to help with costs, 65% of this group said they are cancelling or reducing non-essential services and activities such as gym membership and subscription TV packages. Other options include trying to earn additional income (29%), taking a personal loan (18%), borrowing from family or friends (14%), or seeking debt and budgeting advice (8%).

Post COVID 19 Concerns
When asked about the impacts of home schooling during the pandemic lockdown on their children, 82% of parents said that the biggest impact was that children missed their friends and social activities. Almost half said their child's physical health had suffered with two thirds worried about their mental health. As regards their child's education, the biggest concern for parents is the pressure on their children to catch up on missed teaching over the past two years. There was a marked drop from 2021 in parents' concern of their child being exposed to COVID 19 as a result of returning to the classroom, down from 41% to 27%.

Commenting on this year's findings, ILCU Head of Communications, Paul Bailey said, "The costs of sending children to school this September are the highest since the ILCU started its annual survey in 2017. This, on top of the rising costs of living and high inflation, will heavily impact on households across the country. What is particularly concerning is the increase in the amount of parents reporting that they will go into debt to send their children to school.

"While two in three parents believe that schools don't do enough to keep school going costs down, many are cutting back on extracurricular activities for their children to balance the books. Others are relying on savings or turning to family and friends for loans. We are also seeing a huge increase in the number of parents using their credit cards to purchase back to school items. As we know this is an expensive form of finance and I would urge parents to consider cheaper forms such as a credit union or bank loan.

"When it comes to moneylenders, it is concerning that 10% of those in debt know they are using an illegal moneylender, while another two thirds don't know if their moneylender is regulated or not. Again, I would urge parents who feel they have no alternative to a moneylender to talk to their local credit union about accessing more affordable and ethical forms of finance."

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The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) have recently released their findings from the annual survey on Back To School costs. You can read about the findings below, with much of it discussed in the media recently. As many would expect the rising cost of living is having an impact on families.

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This poster displays difficulties children in DEIS school regions are more likely to face, that can impact on their education, like having access to devices. 

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Class and education in Ireland: Disadvantaged students cannot thrive Reading extracts like these real life stories highlight how real social status issues are. 

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Despite official efforts at combating disadvantage in Irish schools, a huge class chasm remains. While middle-class girls thrive, working-class boys struggle. We recently invited readers to give their perspectives on this issue. Here is a selection of your responses.

Dr Catherine Rossiter

I believe that class is an issue in Irish society from before a child is born. If the parents of the child, and particularly the mother, are not well nourished and in good health the child enters the world already at a disadvantage. This disadvantage, once started, will statistically continue in pre-school, primary and secondary school. It will also impact on whether the adult child will consider third-level education. Thus I believe that the question of whether class is an issue in education is actually asking the question too late in a child's development.

In my experience working in third-level education, students from any social-class grouping can find accessing and continuing in education challenging for a myriad of reasons, such as financial reasons, peer and family expectations, health and family difficulties, low self-confidence and learning self-esteem. Social class can in some instances help educators to identify students who may need more support than others. However, in the midst of the need to label students by social class we must not forget that education is a right for all children. And finally, we in society and those in Government must never forget that all children can and will benefit from the opportunities of education. This will only happen if we focus on the student and their education rather than viewing them and their educational needs through the prism of their social class label.

Patrick O'Connor

Since its implementation in 2005, the Deis action plan has managed to successfully tackle disadvantage by significantly improving student attainment and attendance, as well as pedagogical practices that underpin teaching and learning overall. It has brought communities together and it has successfully traversed the class divide in many Irish communities. However, one of the first things I learned when I studied educational disadvantage during teacher training was that disadvantage is faceless. The majority of children that will experience educational disadvantage here in Ireland will not attend a Deis school. Therefore, a needs-based system of delivering equality of opportunity in schools must be considered if we are to progress in tackling inequality.

Kate Ahern

The issue of class in the Irish education system is difficult to deny. Look at teachers themselves and how they came to be in their position. I'm a Montessori teacher in an affluent area of Cork city and I'm working simultaneously towards my masters in primary teaching. This is a privileged position I find myself in, as the masters alone costs €15,000, with an inclusive €100 registration fee and two stints in Irish college at €750 a go in addition to the paid fees. Financing a loan of this sum requires certain assets which the majority of people in their mid-20s don't have.

So before it even begins the system has eradicated a huge proportion of potential teachers through sheer cost. The remaining are white, middle class, predominantly women, such as myself (with an increasing number of men, thankfully). This fails to reflect the diversity of Irish classrooms. Students from all backgrounds are exposed to one class of person for the entirety of their education.

Examining the route to becoming a teacher highlights even more clearly the inequalities in education. How can child A, who works hard, goes to school every day, but comes from a lower-income family, compete with Child B, the middle-class child who works equally as hard but has access to grinds, intensive Easter/summer courses, trips to Irish college etc? When the CAO points are released, who is more likely to get the spot at the teacher training college?

The answer is not to criticise the middle-class parent for providing the best possible opportunity for their own children: it is to question why the CAO is the only direct route. Changing a system involves substantial money and risk. What government would be willing to do this, especially as those in power are the same individuals whom the system is built for. The exam-passers and middle class.

Conor Byrne

Is class an issue in the Irish education system? Class is THE issue in the Irish education system. The student from the school in Dublin 5 is not innately inferior to their counterpart in Dublin 6 - believe me, I've shared classrooms and lecture halls with them both. By the time sixth-year rolled around in my Deis school, most of my fellow classmates were disheartened and had set their sights low. University was never spoken about, because people like us didn't go to university. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Despite being inculcated with low expectations and a fear of failure, I quietly decided I wanted to go to college shortly after the beginning of sixth year. With the help of Susi, I made it to DIT. I graduated last year with first-class honours. I'm currently studying towards a masters in DCU and have upcoming interviews with some of the biggest companies in the world. I feel compelled to write this because most of my friends from secondary school are locked out of this experience, while others who attend schools a mere 15-minute drive away consider it a rite of passage. I believe our Deis schools need a radically new approach.

While I don't have much room here to propose ideas, some changes could include the following: intervention programmes aimed at students who have disengaged with school, developed at a Department of Education level; transition-year work-shadowing programmes developed in partnership with the plethora of MNCs on our doorstep; replications of the excellent Project SUMS initiative. Speaking as the first member of my family to get a degree, I know change is possible.

Elizabeth Notaro

I'm a sixth-year student who plans to study economics in TCD or UCD, but getting there is tough. I went to a Deis school up until fifth year.

When I was doing my Junior Cert, only four or five out of 60 students in my year opted for higher level in each subject. I felt this false sense of intelligence.

On my first day in a non-Deis (yet still a community) school I felt left behind. I was in a maths class where the students around me had been taught higher-level maths five or six times a week for their Junior Cert, when I had only been taught it for 30 minutes during one lunchtime a week because 95 per cent of my class was ordinary level.

I honestly am so grateful that the teacher bothered with the few of us who really wanted to do well.

I am completely intelligent enough for maths, and I had a lot of making up to do to get on par with the rest of my class. That is not fair. Talented kids are being stripped of their worth due to their financial and geographical backgrounds.

I believe if I had been given the opportunity since the beginning of secondary school I would have done so much better in school. Kids can't thrive when they are from disadvantaged areas, and when they do it's worth a lot more. We can't afford grinds, we don't get after-school study, we can't do revision courses.

Laura Bambrick

I was born into homelessness and poverty, which would persist for the rest of my childhood, and I am one of the rare few to have been schooled in Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, and to hold a first-class degree from Trinity College and a masters and PhD from the University of Oxford. Where did it all go right for me? A job working as a shop assistant in Trinity opened my eyes to a world I'd never have known otherwise. You can't be what you can't see.

Greg Foley

If you listen to the language of, say, university presidents, you'll notice how middle class it is. "Jobs that don't exist", "complex problem-solving", "leadership", "creativity", "teamwork", "empathy", "emotional intelligence", "people management": this is all middle-class stuff, and school kids are bombarded with it and told that the key attribute to have is adaptability because they'll have at least 12 (white-collar) careers in their lifetime. There's never anything about work ethic, reliability, craftsmanship etc. And the problem is that the universities are now addicted to students - we need more and more of them so we keep our heads above water. Secondary school is seen now as no more than prep for higher level. We need to somehow decouple the senior cycle from entry to university before any of these issues around parity of esteem can be addressed.

James Dunne

As somebody who has experienced many challenges with education in my early childhood and late teens, and is currently studying in university having left school after transition year, I can say with certainty that I believe the Irish education system benefits the more advantaged and middle-class students. I returned back to education at age 21, completing part-time access at Maynooth University and full-time access with DIT (currently at City Campus in Technological University Dublin). My success in these programmes would not have been possible without access to the internet and my inquisitive nature to learn via YouTube and Google. Furthermore, applying for internships now, and realising how big companies perpetuate this divide after school in terms of the points requirements for summer work programmes, it clearly shows me the divide between working- and middle-class students.

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Class and education in Ireland: 'Disadvantaged students cannot thrive'

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No Child 2020: We invited 'Irish Times' readers to give their views on the issue

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This paper explains how young people understand social class and echoes challenges like social class play on young peoples egos. 

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How young people understand social class | Social Theory Applied

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This is another post linked to the event: BERA 2013 Conference: Social Theory and Education SIG papers – the paper is entitled:

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Sick or unhealthy children will struggle to concentrate and get the best from school. This image highlights issues like hunger which are prevalent in schools. 