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The Transition Year (TY) programme is an optional, one-year, stand-alone, full-time programme offered in 75% of second-level schools in the Republic of Ireland. Aimed at those in the 15-16 age group, TY has a strong focus on personal and social development and on education for active citizenship. The implementation of TY in schools is seen as a case study in curriculum innovation. Evidence from the programme's history and development, from studies of attitudes to TY in six schools and among policy shapers, suggests ambiguous views among stakeholders towards the programme. Enthusiasm for aspects of the innovation is accompanied by resistance to its more challenging features. Schools' responses to the programme are examined from a range of perspectives. (Contains 9 notes.)

This paper describes the author's experience with a pilot course of Italian in SL®[superscript 2]. The course is part of a PhD research on "Exploring the potential of virtual worlds to promote Intercultural Awareness in students learning Italian as a Foreign Language." In the paper the author will justify her choice of virtual worlds for the development of language competence and Intercultural Awareness and will present some results of her activity theoretical analysis of the data. Problematic areas and potential moments for the development of Intercultural Awareness were highlighted during the analysis. [Paper presented at the European Association for Computer-Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL) Annual Conference (Nottingham, United Kingdom, Aug 31-Sep 3, 2011).]

Although there is a wealth of research addressing the association between mental health and school absenteeism, there are calls for a better understanding of how mental health difficulties might predict SAPs (Egger et al., 2003; Finning et al., 2022; Ingul et al., 2019; Wood et al., 2012). The aim of this paper was to create a more nuanced understanding of SAPs by exploring how different constellations of mental health difficulties might be predictive of absenteeism in 9-year-olds. Using a sample of Irish 9-year-olds (N = 8570) from the Growing Up In Ireland Study (GUI'98), the research used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify combinations of mental health symptoms. Twenty items from the Strengths and Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to measure a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The analysis yielded four mental health classes--"High Risk of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD)," "High Risk of Emotional Difficulties (ED)," "High Risk of Behavioural Difficulties (BD)" and "Low Risk of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD)." The study assessed whether rates of student absenteeism varied across different classes of mental health as identified through LCA and explored risk factors associated with different classes. Children in the high-risk mental health symptomology groups had significantly higher odds of absenteeism compared to the low-risk class and significantly greater odds of experiencing multiple family, school and demographic risk factors. The distinct profiles of mental health symptoms observed within the classes and their patterns of associations with risk factors and days absent indicated classes were theoretically distinct. The results illustrate the importance of recognising the relationship between mental health and school absenteeism in primary school children when developing early intervention strategies for SAPs. As one of the few studies to focus on 9-year-olds, the current study contributes to current knowledge on the complexities of emerging SAPs in primary school children.

This paper reports the findings of a study on pre-service teachers' background and confidence in music and visual arts education. The study involved 939 non-specialist pre-service primary teachers from five countries. Initially the paper identifies the students' perceptions of their background and confidence in relation to music and visual arts education. Secondly it examines any differences between the visual arts and music education background and confidence of Australian students and those from the other four countries. Results indicated that 25% of the subjects agreed or strongly agreed that they had a good background in music education and 16% indicated that they had a good background in visual arts education. In relation to confidence, 56% of the respondents indicated they felt confident teaching visual arts and 50% felt confident teaching music. There were also significant differences between countries in relation to background and confidence in the two art forms. (Contains 6 tables.)

Informal opportunities for young people to engage with science have increased in response to declining uptake in science and a shortage of science graduates. This paper is set in the context of the recent introduction of science at primary level in Ireland and the existence of a great number of science outreach programmes, in particular from universities to support this sector. The recent movement to change science pedagogy in schools towards a focus on inquiry and constructivist methods commands discussion around pedagogical practice in both spaces (education and outreach). Building on the authors' research which embraced a qualitative approach to ascertain participant perception of constructivism and understanding of conceptual and pedagogical dilemmas within science education, this paper reports a singularly quantitative insight, carried out in parallel, to facilitate a more formal and standardised comparison within and between populations and to allow generalisation to the larger population. A Constructivist Learning Environment (CLES) survey of both primary teachers (N = 148) and science outreach practitioners (N = 81) in Ireland was conducted, eliciting multiple dimension perceptions, in terms of pedagogical choice and comparative differentiators regarding sex, school size, outreach frequency in the classroom, role of outreach practitioner within their institution, outreach experience of the outreach practitioner. Results challenge beliefs presented in the literature about a deficit of science pedagogy amongst primary level teachers and therefore questions the role of science outreach in this relationship. This study provokes the necessity for a discussion of the third space, arising from the juxtaposition between science outreach and education.

This paper examines attitudes to pedagogical change, among teachers within a second level science department in Ireland. It explores the beliefs and contextual constraints that mediate diversification from a primarily didactic pedagogical approach towards more student-led pedagogies. Using a multi-method approach incorporating observations of teaching, focus group interviews, one to one interviews and open-ended questionnaires, findings were analysed inductively to generate a number of themes. The findings suggest that a teacher's sense of identity and beliefs are significant influences on their predisposition towards pedagogical change. Interestingly, the middle class, academic context of the school and the terminal Leaving Certificate state examination, were both identified as latent contextual barriers to pedagogical change. The implementation of curricular reform at Junior Cycle level in Ireland is ongoing, with a new science specification in place since September 2016. This specification has a significant student-led and skill-based emphasis and varied pedagogical approaches are necessary to effectively deliver this new curriculum. Professional development is available to assist teachers with the curricular reform. However, findings in this paper suggest that intrinsic beliefs and contextual constraints may limit access to, or meaningful engagement with such training, negating pedagogical change for some teachers and their students.

There has been extensive research internationally describing teachers' homogenous socio-demographic backgrounds and critiquing the associated equity and diversity issues, most especially with regard to ethnicity and gender, and to a lesser extent, social class and disability. Yet, teachers' religious affiliations and/or convictions have rarely been explored. Since 96% of state primary schools in Ireland are denominational, considering religious diversity in teaching is both critically important and a complex undertaking. This paper examines primary initial teacher education (ITE) applicants' religiosity, and views of teaching religion, in Ireland. Our data suggest low levels of religious practice and religiosity among ITE applicants, many of whom would prefer to teach religion using a non-confessional approach. The paper raises critical questions regarding the experiences, constitutional rights and professional practice of increasingly secular and/or non-practicing Catholic teacher cohorts in a predominantly Catholic primary education system that has survived the trend towards progressive "unchurching" of Europe.

Teaching programming to novices has proved challenging for both learner and lecturer due to the abstraction and complexity of the subject matter. The work described in this paper is part of an EU funded Minerva project called TUPULO (Teaching Undergraduate Programming Using Learning Objects) which aims to address the challenges faced by novice programmers by providing them with an innovative learning tool. This learning tool that is currently under development and rollout incorporates a set of Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) based on sound pedagogical principles and encapsulated in a Constructivist Learning Environment (CLE), which includes a meta-cognitive interface. The subject matter experts and instructional designers in the local academic partner institutions designed these learning objects. The outputs and findings of the TUPULO project will not only benefit learners in the partner institutions involved, but by being disseminated to the wider educational community, they will also help learners in the domain on a broader scale. This paper describes the preparatory work undertaken in order to establish a set of potential LOs for development based on the student's main areas of weakness. When attempting to build learning objects for use in any domain the primary consideration should always be the needs and abilities of the learners. This paper describes the work done by the authors in conducting a user needs analysis in order to establish the key problem areas facing learners of introductory programming. A methodology for user needs capture and analysis was produced based on the set of user groups available at the Institutions and the needs of the users were captured and analysed. The methodology was devised to incorporate both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the information available to us regarding students. Exam scripts and corresponding results together with focus group discussions were used in order to ascertain perceptions regarding the course content, delivery, level of difficulty and areas of difficulty in programming. Additional institutional information such as students' leaving certificate points and Maths grade together with students' overall performance in other subject areas were used to investigate possible correlations. The analysis of this data provided some preliminary information on the ways in which students interpret various questions and their conceptual difficulties in understanding certain topics. This analysis leads to the final selection of programming topics for potential development as reusable learning objects.

The changing social and economic landscape across European Member States and beyond has had a disproportionate effect on older adults. Nowhere is this more keenly felt than among the "buffer generation" of men caught between the silent, strong, austere masculinity of their forefathers and contemporary society--progressive, open and individualistic (Wyllie et al., 2012). In most countries, men have shorter life expectancies than women and higher mortality rates from most common causes of death. This imbalance arises from issues broader than disease related mortality, with post-industrial society seen to have reduced opportunities for men with regard to work and full time employment, further compounded by dispositional barriers to learning (European Commission, 2011). This paper presents findings from a mixed methods study of 297 older men participating in community-based Men's Sheds in Ireland and particularly explores the contributions generativity through Men's Sheds makes to the well-being of older men. The findings show men giving back to the community in different ways, including through the sharing of skills and experiences. It is argued that community-based Men's Sheds provide opportunities for generativity, with identifiable health benefits for older men, holding important lessons for policymakers to enable greater visibility of men's perspectives.

The relative lack of research about postgraduate education, and especially from a widening participation (WP) perspective, is noteworthy in a context of an increasingly expanding and important postgraduate sector internationally. This paper draws on the findings of a study about the "impact" of WP initiatives at an Irish university, exploring the undergraduate, postgraduate, and employment experiences of two groups of former access students. A mixed-methods research design (employing a self-completion questionnaire sent to all relevant individuals (N = 195), and 26 in-depth semi-structured interviews) was employed. This paper examines these individuals' postgraduate progression in relation to a number of factors, with a particular focus on their views about progression, the programmes pursued, and their related motivational orientations. Many of the research participants were altruistically motivated in their selection of postgraduate programmes and related careers, and this motivational orientation is explored in terms of its genesis and implications in a WP context.

This paper explores connections and disconnects between identity and literacy for a group of adolescents in a second level classroom setting. We build on Mead and Vygotsky's conceptualisations of identity formation as an intricate emergent happening constantly formed/reformed by people, in their interactions with others [Mead, G. H. 1999. "Play, School, Society". Edited by M. J. Deegan. Oxford: Peter Lang; Vygotsky, L. 1978. "Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes". Cambridge, UK: Harvard University Press]. This paper will set to explore the impact of this on adolescent literacy practice, student choice and agency [Lewis, C., P. Ensico, and E. M. Moje. 2007. "Reframing Sociocultural Research on Literacy: Identity, Agency, and Power." "The Electronic Journal of English as a Second Language" 12 (3): 1-205]. The concept of figured worlds plays a fundamental role in our theorisation of adolescent literacy and identity. Literacy and identity remain interwoven in very complex ways for adolescents as they attempt to make sense and meaning from in and out of school experiences [Burnett, C., J. Davies, G. Merchant, and J. Rowsell. 2014. "New Literacies Around the Globe: Policy and Pedagogy". New York, NY: Routledge; Davies, J. 2013. "(I'm)Material Girls Living in (in)Material Worlds: Identity Curation Through Time and Space." Presentation at UKLA Conference, Liverpool]. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research was used in carrying out this exploration with a thematic approach to data analysis. The findings of the exploration identify that there is a disconnect between identity in and out of school. We then see the struggle students have in coming to terms with their various figured worlds, and varying identities in given scenarios. There is an emphasis on the dated nature of some prescribed texts for study on the English course and the need for a review of these to bridge the scholastic and social divide evident from the findings. This paper explores the literacy and identity experiences of one group of adolescents alongside their opinions about the English literacy curriculum.

The research reported in this paper sought to determine the level of awareness among school principals in primary schools in Ireland where homophobic bullying is concerned. International research has previously shown that school leaders as animators of school climate are often lacking in their responses to this type of bullying [Walton, G. 2004. "Bullying and Homophobia in Canadian Schools: The Politics of Policies, Programs, and Educational Leadership." "Journal of Gay and Lesbian Issues in Education" 1 (4): 23-36; Pizmony-Levy, O., and J. G. Kosciw. 2016. "School Climate and the Experience of LGBT Students: A Comparison of the United States and Israel." "Journal of LGBT Youth" 13 (1-2): 46-66; Taylor, C. G., E. J. Meyer, T. Peter, J. Ristock, D. Short, and C. Campbell. 2016. "Gaps Between Beliefs, Perceptions, and Practices: The Every Teacher Project on LGBTQ-Inclusive Education in Canadian Schools." "Journal of LGBT Youth" 13 (1-2): 112-140]. We sought to ascertain whether school principals in Ireland have had experience of dealing with this type of bullying, whether they believe it is a significant issue and what they perceive their role to be in relation to addressing homophobic bullying. The research focused on the views of school principals because of the critical role they play in policy implementation and school organisation. The research revealed that one in every two school principals had responded to homophobic bullying and that these same principals did not always consider the use of homophobic pejoratives to constitute homophobic bullying. The paper points to the need for further education and training for school leaders on the topic of homophobic bullying otherwise their perspectives will contribute to the many silences that surround this topic in primary schools in Ireland.

In this paper we report on the outcomes of two surveys carried out in higher education institutions of Ireland; one of students attending first-year undergraduate non-specialist mathematics modules and another of their lecturers. The surveys aimed to identify the topics that these students found difficult, whether they had most difficulty with the concepts or procedures involved in the topics, and the resources they used to overcome these difficulties. In this paper we focus on the mathematical concepts and procedures that students found most difficult. While there was agreement between students and lecturers on certain problematic topics, this was not uniform across all topics, and students rated their conceptual understanding higher than their ability to do questions, in contrast to lecturers' opinions.

This paper considers the role of Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in mainstream post-primary schools (12-18 years) in Ireland. Little is known of the role in the Irish context and it is hoped that this research will inform policy. The Irish educational landscape has witnessed seismic change recently with further transformation imminent. The SENCO role is a recent phenomenon in Irish schools and while much is known of the role internationally, Irish SENCOs tend to operate in a policy vacuum. This paper draws on research with a purposive sample of twenty-seven SENCOs. A lengthy postal questionnaire served as the method of data collection, where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Findings reveal the complexity of the role in an evolving education system. SENCOs continue to fulfil largely operational roles and are limited in their capacity to effect change in inclusive practice from a whole-school perspective. Lack of formal recognition of the SENCO role has led to its ad-hoc development. This research makes the case for the formalisation of the role at policy level and recognition of the need to develop the SENCO as strategic leader, firmly situated within school management. Otherwise, Irish SENCOs risk being victims rather than agents of change.

This paper examines possible psycholinguistic mechanisms governing stem vowel changes of irregular verbs in intermediate English learners of German as a foreign language (GFL). In Experiment 1, nonce-infinitives embedded in an authentic fictional text had to be inflected for German preterite, thus testing possible analogy-driven pattern associations. Experiment 2 explored the psycholinguistic reality of the so-called apophonic path by prompting two inflections for one given nonce-word. Data were analyzed using generalized mixed effects models accounting for within-subject as well as within-item variance. The results of Experiment 1 and 2 support the notion of a pattern associator and yield only scarce evidence for the psycholinguistic reality of a universal apophonic path. Therefore, the organization of irregular verb morphology in the mental lexicon of intermediate GFL learners might best be captured by the linguistic notion of structured lexical entries as well as the psycholinguistic mechanism of an analogy-based pattern associator.

The concept of children's rights evolved during the 1980s giving prominence to the role of children as active participants in the construction of their lives. The rhetoric of children's rights has emerged as an important consideration in all policy and practice relating to children. Implementation of children's rights in practice is necessary to maximise their potential to improve the lives of children. This paper presents an argument for the importance of giving meaning to the implementation of children's rights in the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in Ireland. The study, on which this paper is based, was conducted in two stages using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The first stage focused on the development of a set of indicators for the IEP process based on a children's rights framework and informed by the perspectives of children, parents and teachers, alongside the literature on best practice on IEPs. In the second stage, a survey questionnaire was designed, based on the children's rights indicators, to evaluate current IEP practice in Ireland for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder. This article outlines the development of a set of indicators for the IEP process. It also presents findings of the survey which evaluates current practice in relation to the IEP process for pupils with ASD in Ireland. The article focuses specifically on Article 3(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which stipulates that in all actions concerning children, "the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration". (Contains 2 figures.)

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 presents the first cycle of an Action Research project aiming to assess the potential of using a three-dimensional virtual environment (3DVE) as a platform for task-based learning of Irish in the primary school. The action phase of the cycle consisted of an intensive pilot of a language learning intervention using a 3DVE (n = 25 children aged 9-10 years). The reflection component was multiphase, involving analysis of pilot outputs, re-evaluation of the literature and an in-depth user consultation (n = 15 children aged 10-11 years), inspired by Student Voice methodology. The user consultation findings indicated goal orientation as the primary driver for children learning in a 3DVE with social connectivity understood as a given in any such environment. This paper offers a novel classification of games and virtual worlds for language learning which serves to integrate the two research literatures in a meaningful way.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of enterprise education on students' understanding of and attitudes to entrepreneurship and enterprise education in initial teacher education. Design/methodology/approach: This paper builds on current literature by introducing student teachers to the theory and practice of entrepreneurship and enterprise education, with a particular focus on experience-based approaches. Quantitative and qualitative data are used to evaluate student understanding and attitudes. Findings: Findings indicate that exposing student teachers to entrepreneurship and enterprise education specifically targeted at their subject area greatly increases their understanding of its importance and relevance. Students developed their ability to think and act in enterprising ways while recognising the benefits of incorporating enterprise education into their classrooms of the future. Originality/value: While literature on the value of entrepreneurship and enterprise education outside of business contexts is widespread, relatively few studies have been conducted which examine the impact of interventions in initial teacher education. This paper provides a unique look at the implementation of an entrepreneurship in education module and its impact on student teachers.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the creation of realistic, engaging entrepreneurial competencies in second-level students in the Republic of Ireland through the Student Enterprise Awards (SEA) programme. The focus of the paper will be on the interaction of teachers with the programme. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods approach was adopted, with an e-mail questionnaire fully completed by 101 of the population 300, resulting in a 34 per cent response rate, which was regarded as acceptable. The qualitative approach was 29 semi-structured interviews with teachers and nine principals/head teachers. Findings: The findings suggest that there was strong endorsement by the teachers of the benefits accruing to students in all three areas of knowledge, skills and attitudes. This clearly reinforces the strength of the SEA programme which will become increasingly important for students who are facing uncertain career paths. The programme will help engender students with increased self-confidence, better communication and presentation skills. Better skilled students make them more employable. This programme was primarily delivered by teachers and completed by students who did it on a voluntary basis and have no official recognition of participation. Research limitations/implications: The research has identified a notable lack of enterprise-related teacher training in the current education system in the Republic of Ireland. Such training is necessary to ensure effective teaching of entrepreneurship and could bring consistency to the quality of enterprise education received by students in different schools. Students enjoy participating on the programme and see lifelong benefits from doing it, therefore it would be beneficial to incorporate it as a mandatory subject in the curriculum. Originality/value: Integrating the theoretical principles underpinning entrepreneurship education, which were presented in the paper, with the empirical teacher findings leads to a number of recommendations that can be adopted by the teacher, principal/head teacher and school board.

The purpose of this paper is to quantify, review, and analyze published research output of academic librarians from 21 higher education Institutions in Ireland. A mixed approach using an online survey questionnaire, supplemented by content analysis and extensive literature scoping were used for data collection. Factors inhibiting and predicting the likelihood of research publication are identified. Motivations, barriers, and collaboration are examined. Qualitative perspectives from survey respondents are offered. The survey response was 30%. The main findings are presented and contextualized. There is evidence of moderate research growth and publication rates among the Irish LIS community; Open Access pathways are increasingly accepted. The paper has original value with both exploratory and analytical perspectives. This is the first comprehensive national study of this cohort; it adds value and a new perspective to the existing literature on academic librarians' participation in scholarly endeavours and communication.

In line with recent developments in inclusive practice in Ireland, children with sensory needs are increasingly educated in mainstream rather than specialist provision. Educational supports are provided by a range of practitioners and include input from the visiting teachers service for children with hearing and visual impairment. This paper reports on findings from the first national review of the service. The review process included desktop research, meetings with a range of key stakeholders as well as a national invitation for written submissions (n = 1372). The findings serve to illustrate the multi-faceted nature of the role of the specialist teachers who work in the service and the range of influences that impact on their work in facilitating inclusive educational practice. To support a holistic analysis of their role, an ecological systems theory is drawn upon as a lens through which to examine the inclusive educational "supports" identified within the review. Mapping the array of educational supports onto an ecological systems theory enables an appreciation of the multiple sources of influence and interconnections in relation to the role. The paper has significance for service providers seeking a theoretical framework that affords potential for comparison of activities across professional roles, settings and contexts.

This paper examines the purpose of higher education (HE) for students in Ireland in the context of the dominant narrative of the knowledge-based economy (KBE). It argues that the KBE is one of the most recent of economic imaginaries devised by governments to manage the population [Hay, S., & Kaptizke, C. (2009). "Smart" state for a knowledge economy: Reconstituting creativity through student subjectivity. "British Journal of Sociology of Education," 30(2), 151-164; Jessop, B. (2008). A cultural political economy of competitiveness and its implications for higher education. In B. Jessop, N. Fairdough, & R. Wodak (Eds.), "Education and the knowledge-based economy in Europe" (pp. 14-39). Rotterdam: Sense; Loxley, A., Seery, A., & Walsh, J. (Eds.) (2014). "Higher education in Ireland: Practices, policies and possibilities." Basingtoke: Palgrave Macmillan; Rose, N. (1999). "Governing the soul; the shaping of the private self" (2nd ed.). London: Free Association Books]: HE institutions have been assigned a key role in promoting economic growth in the competitive space of the global economy. HE is also represented as an insurance against the risk of under-employment or unemployment from a student perspective. The paper examines to what extent students "buy" into this official imaginary and how it affects their decision to go to college and select a particular course. The research methodology involved a large-scale survey of three major HE institutions in Ireland. Questionnaires were completed by 4265 students. The results challenged the prevailing assumption that students' decisions to go to college or select a particular course are driven solely by economic goals. The findings indicate that while the majority of students attributed a great deal of importance to market (employment) considerations, their employment imaginary was balanced against an affective imaginary, showing high levels of concern about care relations at an individual level. Risk is not only framed in terms of securing an economic future but also securing a relational future, the risks and opportunities for care and love relationships that particular careers or jobs entail are part of students' imaginary. HE students, especially female students, can be conceptualised as affective consumers of risk, offering a counter-narrative to the market ideology.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a national survey that examined the extent of implementation of Health Promoting Schools (HPS) in Ireland. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research design was adopted. A questionnaire was administered to all post-primary schools in the country (n = 704). Data were analysed with the support of the software packages, SPSS and MaxQDA. Findings: A response rate of 56 per cent (n = 394) was achieved. Over half of these schools (56 per cent) self-identified as health promoting. Schools reported success in the areas of environment and curriculum and learning, however, partnerships and policy and planning required more attention. Some models of good practice emerged from the data but these were in the minority. Many schools, when asked to describe health promotion in their school, placed emphasis on physical health (diet and exercise) and curriculum predominately rather than the broader whole school conceptualisation. Only 35 per cent of HPS schools had a team supporting HPS developments. Only 36 per cent identified the existence of a school policy to support HPS. This suggests that further coherence for sustained and comprehensive implementation of HPS is necessary. Research limitations/implications: The research was conducted with school staff, in the first instance who self-reported their school's level of HPS engagement. Originality/value: This paper offers the first national baseline data available in relation to engagement in HPS in Ireland. It provides a valuable starting point from which further research with schools in this field can be conducted.

This paper explores primary to post-primary transitions for students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) within mainstream schooling in an Irish context. A questionnaire was distributed to a cohort of sixth class students (n = 58) from four different primary schools in advance of their transfer and results were then compared with a similar cohort of first year students (n = 63) from two post-primary schools following the transfer. The perspectives of the key stakeholders involved in the transition process were gained through questionnaires (n = 10) and semi-structured interviews (n = 5). Findings indicate that while a minority of first-year students experience transition difficulties, students with SEN encounter greater obstacles during this crucial time of transfer with increased anxiety and are more vulnerable and prone to bullying than their typically developing peers. Schools should place greater emphasis on transitions involving those with SEN due to their increased vulnerability.

The Irish education system is unique in an international context as it sets aside a full school year for a transition and youth development programme in the middle of secondary education. The Transition Year (TY) programme is an optional, full time programme offered in the majority of secondary schools. Each school designs its own programme, within set guidelines from the Department of Education and Skills. Within these guidelines, schools have considerable freedom and, in practice, the structure and content of the year varies substantially from school to school. There have been recent concerns regarding the amount of time allocated to core subjects such as mathematics in TY and also whether some schools are using the year as a lead-in to the final state examinations. This paper investigates these concerns further through the distribution of mixed methods questionnaires to deputy principals and mathematics teachers in 400 Irish secondary schools. The findings reveal that despite recommendations from a number of national reports, the time allocated to mathematics in TY remains low with wide variations between some schools. There are also an increased amount of schools now using TY to begin the upper secondary mathematics syllabus.

This paper reports on a study to predict students at risk of failing based on data available prior to commencement of first year. The study was conducted over three years, 2010 to 2012, on a student population from a range of academic disciplines, n=1,207. Data was gathered from both student enrollment data and an online, self-reporting, learner-profiling tool administered during first-year student induction. Factors considered included prior academic performance, personality, motivation, self-regulation, learning approaches, age, and gender. Models were trained on data from the 2010 and 2011 student cohort, and tested on data from the 2012 student cohort. A comparison of eight classification algorithms found k-NN achieved best model accuracy (72%), but results from other models were similar, including ensembles (71%), support vector machine (70%), and a decision tree (70%). However, improvements in model accuracy attributable to non-cognitive factors were not significant. Models of subgroups by age and discipline achieved higher accuracies, but were affected by sample size; n<900 underrepresented patterns in the dataset. Factors most predictive of academic performance in first year of study at tertiary education included age, prior academic performance, and self-efficacy. Early modelling of first-year students yielded informative, generalizable models that identified students at risk of failing.

This paper focuses on a generational change taking place in the Polish academic profession: a change in behaviors and attitudes between two groups of academics. One was socialized to academia under the communist regime (1945-1989) and the other entered the profession in the post-1989 transition period. Academics of all age groups are beginning to learn how tough the competition for research funding is, but young academics ("academics under 40"), being the target of recent policy initiatives, need to learn faster. Current reforms present a clear preferred image for a new generation of Polish academics: highly motivated, embedded in international research networks, publishing mostly internationally, and heavily involved in the competition for academic recognition and research funding. In the long run, without such a radical approach, any international competition between young Polish academics (with a low research orientation and high teaching hours) and their young Western European colleagues (with a high research orientation and low teaching hours) seems inconceivable, as our data on the average academic productivity clearly demonstrate. The quantitative background of this paper comes from 3704 returned questionnaires and the qualitative background from 60 semi-structured in-depth interviews. The paper takes a European comparative approach and contrasts Poland with 10 Western European countries (using 17,211 returned questionnaires).

Bridge21 is an innovative approach to learning for secondary education that was originally conceptualised as part of a social outreach intervention in the authors' third-level institution whereby participants attended workshops at a dedicated learning space on campus focusing on a particular model of technology-mediated group-based learning. This paper analyses the current expansion of the Bridge21 project to mainstream schools against a backdrop of government-led reforms for lower secondary education in Ireland. The "key skills" central to the proposed reforms aim to make education more relevant to the challenges of twenty-first-century living and, among other goals, to empower students to think critically, communicate effectively and work collaboratively. This paper investigates the viability of the Bridge21 model in facilitating the promotion of a selection of these key skills within the context of two case study schools.

Collaborative practice between health and education professionals is considered central to the implementation of inclusion policies and best practice to support children with special educational needs (SEN). However, in Ireland, barriers to collaborative practice between occupational therapists and teachers include limited contact in practice settings and lack of interagency collaboration structures. This paper investigates the process of collaborative practice using findings of a study involving 46 children with Down Syndrome (DS), their teachers and an occupational therapist in the collaborative application of a handwriting teaching method. While teachers reported finding the collaborative approach useful, conflict arose regarding how to differentiate the curriculum to meet complex individual needs. Findings are discussed in the light of current resource constraints, the agenda for inclusive practice, and amalgamating differing professional perspectives to ensure appropriate curriculum differentiation. This paper concludes that ongoing occupational therapy (OT)-teacher collaboration is essential in developing appropriate educational goals and curriculum differentiation strategies for children with DS. Joint collaboration in educational policy development is advised. OT involvement in initial teacher education and continuing professional development, and joint pre-/post-qualification education opportunities are recommended to enhance shared professional understandings. Government commitment to resourcing and developing structures to facilitate interagency collaboration is crucial.

In line with the increasing policy emphasis on inclusive education, there is now a greater focus on how best to provide for students special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools. However, there is little consensus internationally as to the most equitable way in which to support these students. Despite ongoing evaluations of the existing funding structures, there has been little discussion to inform future changes and ensure an equitable distribution of resources. This paper examines the system of SEN funding in Ireland during a period of policy change. Using data from a National Survey of Schools, we examine the profile and distribution of students across different school contexts to assess the extent to which the existing funding model targets those most in need. Findings show that the current through-put funding system broadly targets students with SEN but in any new model, there is room for greater differentiation in the allocation of funding, particularly within disadvantaged school contexts. The paper highlights the need for further discussion around how we conceptualise special education in mainstream education. We argue for greater emphasis on student outcomes and school accountability where SEN funding is received to support students.

This paper reports research into developing digital storytelling (DST) to enhance reflection within a specific professional learning context--that of a programme of teacher education--while concomitantly producing a transferrable design framework for adaption into other, similar post-secondary educational contexts. There has been limited substantive, evaluative design-based research investigating empirically the potential of digital storytelling for reflection in professional, post-secondary education. Consequently, there has also been a lack of robust and reusable models to guide and inform design-based research in this context. This paper illustrates the development of a repeated study, undertaken on a longitudinal basis, over 3 years, and on a large scale, involving 323 pre-service teachers. The design-based research developed at the three key stages along the triadic spectrum of maturity: from (1) analysis and exploration, through (2) design and construction, to (3) evaluation and reflection (Kopcha, Schmidt, & McKenney, 2015). The innovation reported here is now a mature intervention, constituting a core part of the professional educational formation of pre-service teachers within a two-year, graduate teacher education programme. Further, the R-NEST design framework, which emerged from this longitudinal design-based research, enumerates key criteria and principles for designing, implementing and evaluating DST to enhance reflective practice in post-secondary professional education.

The provision of some level of Mathematics Learning Support (MLS) is now standard in the majority of Higher Education Institutions in Ireland, the UK, and in many other countries. This provision is, in part, a response to the large numbers of students entering Higher Education who do not have the mathematical skills required and this cohort includes a significant number of adult learners. Research indicates that these students have different motivations and approaches to learning than traditional age learners. This paper considers the analysis of a large scale student evaluation of Mathematics Learning Support in Ireland. In particular, it presents the responses and engagement levels of adult learners and compares these to those of traditional students. The findings are key to ensuring best practice in the provision of MLS for the wide variety of students who engage with it.

This paper describes the findings of a one-year collaborative research project funded by the Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS). The paper is derived from a Short Report on this study prepared for SCoTENS on 16th May 2012. The study examined the role of physical education (PE) teachers as mentors to new members of the PE teaching profession. Research participants comprised 6 university tutors and 10 PE mentor teachers across three national research sites (Republic of Ireland, England and Northern Ireland). A range of qualitative data collection methods were employed, and the data were analysed thematically using a constructivist version of grounded theory. The paper reports two key findings: (1) Mentor teachers had a shared perception of the need to be selected on the basis of suitability; i.e. disposition and expertise and the need to be trained to mentor pre-service teachers effectively. (2) Mentor teachers perceived that they should provide a safe learning space for the pre-service PE teacher where he/she is free to take risks and explore praxis (theory-informed practice) in a variety of contexts. (Contains 1 figure, 4 tables and 3 notes.)

Despite a wealth of international research indicating the importance but also the dearth of explicit reading comprehension instruction in classrooms, current classroom reading pedagogy does not appear to have acknowledged and addressed this shortcoming to any significant degree. This is cause for some considerable concern, as today's students require effective, metacognitive reading comprehension strategies in order to succeed in a vastly expanding multi-literate textual environment. This paper will discuss a recent study, involving a survey (n = 278) and interviews (n = 12), which examined current beliefs and understandings regarding reading, as well as reading pedagogy and practice among teachers at primary level in Ireland. The findings revealed that current reading pedagogy, as indicated by the surveyed teachers, relies heavily on decoding instruction and an affective approach to reading while explicit comprehension instruction practice remains secondary and more the exception rather than the rule. The paper will attempt to examine possible reasons as to why current reading pedagogy remains "un-balanced" in this manner while also exploring possible avenues for improvement. (Contains 2 figures and 1 note.)