Category: Research & Scholarship

Stranmillis University College’s Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement (CREU) has been appointed by the government in the Republic of Ireland to undertake an independent review of its Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. 

The ECCE programme offers up to two years of free pre-school education and, since it was first introduced in 2010, more than 800,000 children have benefitted from it.  

The core objectives of the programme are:  

• to provide children with their first formal experience of early learning prior to commencing primary school; 
• to promote better cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes for children; and  
• to narrow the gap in attainment between more and less advantaged children. 

The review is being led by Head of Early Years at Stranmillis and Assistant Director at CREU, Dr Glenda Walsh, in collaboration with Dr Thérèse Farrell from Dublin City University.  

The project will assess whether the ECCE Programme is meeting its core objectives and will identify any changes or improvements that can be made, informing work to introduce a universal legal entitlement to pre-school in the Republic of Ireland. 

The appointment was made by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman. 

Stranmillis project lead Dr Glenda Walsh said: 

“I am absolutely delighted to be leading this significant research project where the end product is all about getting it right for our youngest children. The key stakeholders i.e. early years educators, parents and the young children themselves, will play a huge part in every aspect of this study, informing the way forward on what works already and what aspects of ECCE need to be developed.” 

Dr Noel Purdy, Director of CREU, said: 

“Stranmillis has a long history of teaching and research expertise in the Early Years, and I welcome this latest funding awarded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to Dr Walsh and her team.  I wish them well as they embark on this important review of the ECCE programme.” 

The Review will be completed towards the end of 2023. 

Dr Noel Purdy, the Director of Stranmillis University College’s Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement (CREU), has been appointed as Chair of the Irish Government’s Steering Committee to review its 2013 Action Plan on Bullying.

The Steering Committee met for the first time today at the Department of Education in Dublin, where the review was launched by the Irish Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD. It is intended that the review will take account of developments and relevant research since the 2013 Action Plan, considering areas such as cyber-bullying, gender-based bullying and sexual harassment.  The Steering Committee will comprise senior Department of Education officials, external experts and representatives of advocacy organisations.

Speaking of his appointment, Dr Noel Purdy said “I am very honoured that Minister Foley has invited me to chair this important review of the 2013 Action Plan on Bullying.  I look forward to working with colleagues in the south over the coming months to ensure that the revised Action Plan serves as a research-informed blue print to protect all children and young people from all forms of bullying.”

Dr Purdy is a longstanding member and former chair of the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum and has led a number of significant research projects on bullying, including cross-border studies on bullying and special educational needs, and a recent five-nation European project on cyberbullying among young people, the Blurred Lives Project.  He recently chaired the Expert Panel for Educational Underachievement in Northern Ireland whose final report and action plan A Fair Start was published on 1 June 2021.

To find out more about the Steering Committee, read the Department of Education’s press release here.

A significant new research report into educational underachievement in controlled schools – commissioned and funded by the Transferor Representatives’ Council – has been launched by Stranmillis University College.

Beyond the Stereotype is based on group interviews with principals, teachers and pupils in eight primary and post-primary schools in suburban, town and rural areas, and also with school governors and other leaders in those communities.  The study aims to go ‘beyond the stereotype’ of the well-documented challenge of underachievement among Protestant working class boys in inner-city areas, and to ‘cast the net wider’ to provide a broader and more representative picture.  It raises important questions about the purpose of education and how we measure success.

The study finds that while pupils view educational achievement as largely related to success in external exams (such as GCSEs and A-levels), many school and community leaders (including employers) place greater value on a wider range of skills and abilities, and pupils’ mental and physical health, self-confidence, happiness and willingness to learn.

Particular challenges in rural communities, which have not been reported extensively to date in previous studies, are identified with some school leaders speaking of the difficulty in motivating boys to work hard towards GCSEs.  Disadvantage across generations and a lack of educational aspiration, often associated with inner-city working-class contexts, are also reportedly strong features of many rural communities.

Beyond the Stereotype also finds that schools lack support in terms of sourcing standardised tests for pupils, which are bought in from private companies in the absence of government-funded tests.  A resulting variety of approaches in testing at primary level mean that post-primary schools often test pupils within their first few days at their new school; this, in turn, adds to an impression among pupils that post-primary education is about tests and scores.

School leaders are doing “sterling work” in keeping education going throughout the pandemic with one positive consequence of this crisis being that “schools and families are often now better connected than ever before” due to the increased use of remote technology.

Many community leaders speak of their passion for supporting schools and helping local children to succeed.  A range of perspectives – supportive and critical – on the role of Protestant Churches in education is heard; the study affirms that where school leaders are open to church involvement (which cannot be assumed) and where a local church engages meaningfully, tangibly and unconditionally in its local school, “there is enormous potential to improve educational outcomes.”

Download the report here.