Does Ireland need Freedom Riders?

Those born outside of Ireland now account for almost 10 per cent of the population of Irish primary schools according to figures which became available this week.  This ten per cent is roughly evenly divided between those who are described as nationals of an EU state other than Ireland, and those who are described as ‘non-EU nationals’.  The data is based on estimates by school principals.

This diversity is not spread evenly across Irish schools.  While about a quarter of schools have more than 10 per cent of their population drawn from such minority ethnic groups, as many as 20 per cent have no children from such ethnic minority backgrounds in their school at all.

This data re-emphasises the extent to which the large number of small, independently-operated schools facilitates a segregation within Irish education.  As far back as the 1950s other countries put in place policies to challenge segregated education.  Ireland has never had such policies.  And, while a de facto segregated system has long operated in Ireland at a cost to working class children and those from the Traveller community, it seems that other ethnic minorities are now being added to that list.

In the early 1960s a group of civil rights activists took buses from Washington bound for New Orleans as part of a campaign against racial segregation.  They were known as the Freedom Riders.  Maybe now, fifty years later, it is time for Ireland to at last step on the bus.

137 years worth of education lost each day

According to figures from the National Education Welfare Board (NEWB), more than 50,000 Irish students are absent from school each day.  This translates into the equivalent of 137 years worth of school days lost every day.  Prior research has established that absenteeism from school is more prevalent among students from working class backgrounds and members of the Traveller community than among other students. Those who have high rates of absenteeism are more likely to leave school early, to do poorly in exams and have difficulty getting work after school.

These figures hardly come as a shock; they are consistent with patterns that have been observed over a period of years. What should be shocking is the fact that we have done so little to deal with this issue, despite the fact that we know so much about how schools and teachers contribute to absenteeism.

In 2007 the NEWB published an Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) research report into absenteeism. It identified that:

• ability-based streaming or banding appears to contribute to absenteeism among those in lower streams
• attendance is higher in contexts with more positive teacher-pupil interaction (such as students being told their work is good, students being asked questions and being praised for answers)
• attendance is lower in contexts with more negative teacher-pupil interactions
• students who feel that teachers don’t care about them and that they can’t talk to their teacher if there is a problem are more likely to have high rates of absenteeism

The report’s authors conclude: “There are many broader socio-economic factors shaping attendance in school, which to a large extent are outside the influence of the educational system… However, there are also many things that can be done at the school level to help tackle the problem of poor attendance… [A] more positive school climate, especially in terms of creating a happy, supportive, interesting learning environment and promoting positive interaction with teachers is likely to have positive benefits in terms of student attendance and retention”

Will this week’s shocking figures spark a change in the way in which we do business in Irish education or will they illustrate, once more, that while one day lost is a tragedy, 50,000 days lost are a statistic?

The ESRI report for the NEWB can be found on http://www.newb.ie/downloads/pdf/ESRI_NEWB_Report.pdf

Only 2,000 days left…

Queen Rania of Jordan delivered a stark message to the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, held this week in Bonn, Germany: we are already half way through the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) 2005 -2014. We have little more than 2,000 days left to achieve the goals of the decade.

The conference was told that 97 countries had participated in the global process for monitoring of progress in the Decade. Ireland was one of the very few European countries that had not participated. Many countries (Ireland included) do not yet have a National Strategy on ESD despite the fact that European countries had agreed to develop a strategy by 2007. At the same time, in many countries, progress has been made, and the fact that 50 Government Ministers from around the globe (none from Ireland) had travelled to the conference suggests a commitment to the goals of the Decade is shared by many at the highest levels of government. “The glass is half full”, the conference was repeatedly told; the world has made progress during the Decade and can still achieve more. But the clock is ticking: 2,000 days and counting.

The European Regional Strategy for the Decade (agreed by European Ministers in 2005) can be found on: http://www.unece.org/env/esd/welcome.htm
The draft first report of the Deacde Monitoring and Evaluation Team can be found on: http://www.esd-world-conference-2009.org/fileadmin/download/background/DESD_key_findings_and_way_forward_23March09__4.pdf

UNESCO is the lead UN organisation for the Decade. Their Decade website can be accessed on: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=27234&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html