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Category: Stranmillis News

‘Professional Buddies’: the role of Home-School Community Liaison Coordinators and Parent Officers in tackling educational underachievement across Ireland

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

A new report from CREU which seeks to gain a clearer understanding of the role of Home-School Community Liaison Officers (HSCLs) across the Republic of Ireland in comparison with the similar Parent Officer role in Northern Ireland, was recently launched at the 2022 SCoTENS Annual Conference, which took place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dundalk on 20-21 October 2022.

‘The BUDDIES Study’ was one of two research projects funded by the Shared Island-SCoTENS Research Partnership, announced by the Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD in December 2021.

Led by CREU’s Assistant Director and Stranmillis University College’s Head of PGCE Early Years, Dr Glenda Walsh supported by Stranmillis colleagues Dr Jill Dunn, Dr Ken Gibson, Dr Karen Orr and Dr Franka Winter, the cross-border project was undertaken in collaboration with Dr Seaneen Sloan of University College Dublin and Clíohdna Martin of Dublin’s Marino Institute of Education.

The HSCL scheme in the South and Parent Officer role in the North aim to support families in areas of high deprivation whose children are at risk of educational disadvantage. The purpose of the study was to learn more about the ‘lived reality’ of these roles across the island, at pre-school, primary and post-primary levels.

Some of the main findings of the study were that:

  • In terms of the policy context, the role of the Parent Officer in the North is much less formalized than that of the HSCL Coordinator in the South, where the role is clearly defined with a long history and high profile at a national level. While both are targeted to benefit pupils and families from disadvantaged social groups, pre-school and rural schools are excluded from the HSCL scheme in the South, while school phase and geographical location are not distinguished by the funding streams in the North. However, in the North it is at the discretion of the Principal/Senior leader whether they invest in the role of Parent Officer or something else.
  • In terms of practice, the study found that being warm, sensitive, caring, approachable and empathetic, as well as genuine, trustworthy and a good communicator, were deemed essential characteristics for the HSCLs/Parent Officer to ensure success in their role – a ‘professional’ buddy. HSCLs/Parent Officers also engaged in similar activities, such as relaxed events to nurture healthy relationships between teachers and parents as well as between parents themselves, to more structured activities to familiarize parents with the school and upskilling them to support their children’s learning at home. The range of activities carried out in both jurisdictions across all settings was found to be in line with best practice in the literature.
  • In terms of the value of the role, the study highlighted that HSCLs/Parent Officers were seen as essential North and South to making family engagement a success. HSCLs/Parents Officers improved communication between schools and familie, reducing barriers to learning by ensuring ‘the best school experience possible’ for the children, while increasing attendance and enhancing academic outcomes.
  • In terms of tackling educational disadvantage, it was found that one of the main impacts of HSCLs/Parent Officers was in helping to break down barriers and changing mindsets to address parents’ own negative recollections of schooling. HSCLs/Parent Officers were considered “vitally, vitally important” by families for the support they provided as the direct link to the schools. The study also showed that those in the role also helped teachers to fully appreciate the challenges of disadvantage, enabling all children, irrespective of their background, the opportunity to reach their full educational potential.

The full report The BUDDIES Study – BUilding BriDges, DimInishing Educational DiSadvantage: Examining the Role of Home-School Community Liaison (HSCL) across the island of Ireland can be accessed here.

Stranmillis plants Survivor Trees – a symbol of caution and hope

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

On Thursday 24 November, Stranmillis University College was thrilled to welcome Yukari Norris, Chair of the Japan Society of Northern Ireland and David Dowd from Greenmount College, for a very special tree planting ceremony as part of the College’s Centenary Celebration – the planting of three Hiroshima survivor trees, a Maidenhair Tree (Gingko Biloba) and two Oriental Plane Tree (Platanus Orientalis).

On 6 August 1945, an atomic bomb was exploded over the city of Hiroshima in Japan. The blast and resultant firestorm devastated the city, with the death toll estimated at up to 146,000 and over two-thirds of the city’s buildings completely destroyed. Only 170 trees within a 2km radius of the blast’s hypocentre survived.

The Green Legacy Hiroshima project was established to safeguard and spread seeds of Hiroshima’s A-Bomb survivor trees. Set up by two friends, Nassrine Azimi and Tomoko Watanabe, seeds from the “Hibaku-jumoku” (Japanese for survivor trees) are entrusted to partner organisations around the world. The saplings, grown from the seeds, carry a message of caution and hope; the caution of the destructive power of war but also the hope, resilience and regenerative power of mankind and nature. Trees from the Hibaku-jumoku are now growing in more than 30 countries worldwide. The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise CAFRE), Greenmount Campus, is one of the partners of the Green Legacy Hiroshima project, and through our Senior Gardener, Aodhan Donaghy, a graduate from Greenmount, the College is delighted to be partnering with CAFRE on this wonderful initiative. When at Greenmount, Aodhan actually planted the seed and tended the growing sapling of Gingko tree planted today

Speaking at the planting ceremony, Stranmillis Principal and CEO, Prof. Jonathan Heggarty said: “It is a real honour and privilege for the College to be partnering with Greenmount on this important project, and to be planting three trees with such a history. For the past one hundred years, Stranmillis’ mission has been the transforming of the lives of children and young people. It is particularly poignant that two of the trees being planted here today comes from a Plane tree originally planted by students of Tenma Elementary School to celebrate their graduation. Fourteen years later, the school was destroyed by the bomb and 13 staff and 280 students died. The Plane trees have become symbols of love and peace, held in high affection by students in Hiroshima today. As with the other the trees planted from seeds of the “Hibaku-jumoku” around the world, the three new trees here at Stranmillis will serve as a living symbol of hope and peace for our students, staff, graduates and visitors for generations to come.”

About the trees

Ginkgo Tree 
Species: Ginkgo Biloba
Distance from the hypocenter: 1370m
Location: Shukkeien Garden

Shukkeien Garden was created in 1620 by one of the greatest tea masters of that time and the tea school  originated by him has continued for 16 generations. There are three A-bombed trees in the garden: a ginkgo, a black pine and a muku. The ginkgo tree is more than 200 years old. It slants towards the blast’s hypocenter because after the blast moved outward from the city center, the air then gushed back in. The trunk of the tree is about 4 meters in circumference and it is about 17 meters tall. After the atomic bomb, many people fled to the garden and died there.

 

Plane Tree
Species: Platanus Orientalis
Distance from the hypocenter: 1270m
Location: Tenma Elementary School

There are four A-bombed plane trees at Tenma Elementary School. They were planted in 1931 by the students who were graduating that year. The school buildings were all destroyed by the bomb, and 13 teachers/staff members and 280 students died. Students wrote the words of the song, “Winds Blowing the Plane Trees.” The plane trees have become symbols of love and peace and held in affection by students and local people alike.

Better Futures for All – CREU goes to Stormont

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

As part of the University College’s Centenary celebrations, the Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement (CREU) held a symposium event at the Long Gallery in Stormont on Wednesday 23 November.

The event invited educators/practitioners, MLAs and guests to explore the question ‘How can civil society maximise educational opportunities for all and reduce educational underachievement?’.
Introduced by Principal Jonathan Heggarty MBE, the symposium began with some of the latest insights from CREU research, presented by Dr Noel Purdy, Dr Glenda Walsh and Dr Karen Orr.

This was followed by two panel discussions.

The first panel of education practitioners featured Joyce Logue (Longtower PS, Derry/L’Derry), Stephanie Gillespie (Shaftesbury Nursery School), Mary Montgomery (Belfast Boys’ Model School), Jackie Redpath (Greater Shankill Partnership), Máire Thompson (Hazelwood Integrated College) and Pilib Mistéil (Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh).

The second panel, chaired by Stranmillis Governor Peter Weil, featured Robbie Butler MLA (UUP), Connie Egan MLA (Alliance), Matthew O’Toole MLA (SDLP), Emma Little-Pengelly MLA (DUP) and Pat Sheehan MLA (Sinn Fein).

This  was the first major event organised by CREU outside of the College campus, and was attended by 80 delegates from partner and stakeholder organisations.

To find out more about the work of CREU, visit the website here: https://www.stran.ac.uk/research/creu/

Dr Éamon Phoenix (1953-2022)

Posted on by L O'Sullivan

It is with sadness that Stranmillis University College learned of the passing of our friend and  distinguished former colleague Dr Éamon Phoenix. During his long career at Stranmillis, Éamon was a much loved Principal Lecturer and one of the pre-eminent historians of our time, with the ability to bring history to life. Éamon’s enthusiasm for his subject and dedication to his students marked him out as an exceptional educator.

Éamon will be greatly missed by colleagues, former students, the wider Stranmillis community and so many within Northern Ireland and beyond. At this time, the staff and Governing Body of Stranmillis University College would wish to extend our deepest condolences to the Phoenix family circle.

 

2022 Student Research Conference

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

For the first time since 2019, the Stranmillis Student Research Conference took place in person, and was attended by well over 100 B.Ed. and B.Sc. research methods students.

Dr Noel Purdy opened the Conference by welcoming Dr Rory McDaid, Director of Research, Marino Institute of Education, Dublin, as this year’s keynote speaker.  Dr McDaid spoke of the growing recognition of the importance of students and educational practitioners as researchers and also highlighted some of his own and his institution’s recent research work.

There followed four short presentations by some of last year’s top research students: Lucy Millar (B Ed Primary) began by presenting her study entitled “Ready to share our very selves: An investigation into the nature and prevalence of church partnerships with controlled primary schools in Northern Ireland.”  This was followed by Ellen King (BA ECS) who spoke on the theme of “Parents’ and Practitioners’ Perspectives on the Benefits of and Barriers to Effective Outdoor Play”.  The third presentation on the “experiences of relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in light of criticisms of its heteronormative delivery” was delivered by Jessica Orr (B Ed post-primary) before Patricia Philips’ final presentation on her PGCE research assignment entitled “An evaluation of the appropriateness of play as a learning medium for young children.”

The Conference concluded with a panel Q&A session chaired by Dr Glenda Walsh and Dr Karen Orr, with questions submitted to all 5 presenters via Mentimeter from the audience.  All agreed that it was a stimulating afternoon which showcased a wide variety of outstanding student research but also provided valuable support and guidance for current students about to undertake their own research for the first time.

How is Vocational Education and Training Assessed? CREU reviews European policy and practice in report

Posted on by Andrew McAteer

In Northern Ireland the debate around skills and rebalancing the economy has been the focus of policy over an extended period of time, leading to the publication of a series of significant policy papers by the Department of Employment and Learning (DEL) including Success Through Skills – Transforming Futures (2011) and Structured to Deliver Success (2015).  More recently in 2021 the Department for the Economy (DfE)’s 10x Economy vision reminds us of the importance of drawing upon our rich heritage of business innovation and entrepreneurialism to recover, rebuild and rebound the Northern Ireland economy as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and embark on an ambitious ‘decade of innovation’. This vision highlights the importance of Vocational Education and Training (VET) and the central role of Northern Ireland’s FE sector working in partnership with schools, employers and the HE sector in addressing a significant skills deficit in key areas.  Within this VET context, consideration of the relative merits of various assessment methods has been limited with a recognised need for greater consideration of policy developments beyond Northern Ireland.

A recent research report published by CREU (2022), The Assessment of Vocational Education and Training Qualifications: a review of European policy and practice, responds to that need and aims to assess policy developments in vocational education and training across the four jurisdictions of the UK, but also across Europe, to provide understanding and insight into assessment methodologies used for vocational qualifications and their perceived value.

The review addresses the following areas: different types of assessment and differences in how they are used in vocational qualifications (both levels and products); international best practice for assessment in vocational qualifications; views on the attractiveness and value of each assessment type; benefits or challenges of particular assessment types on progression and preparedness for higher education; views on the value or usefulness of different assessment types to determine occupational competence; and views on the usefulness of different assessment methods to meet employer need and provide confidence in vocational qualifications.

This review of research and policy highlights a range of key areas of debate: the role of BTECs in widening access; the tension between widening access and educational attainment in HE; the relative equivalence of BTECs and A-Levels; barriers to recruitment and retention of BTEC students in HE; the role of, and challenges for, universities in facilitating the entry and retention of students; comparative student performance in HE; the tensions between vocational and academic qualification pathways; and employment outcomes. The current educational landscape in England is also marked by the recent introduction of T Levels alongside A-Levels.

At assessment level the policy debate has addressed the relative merits of the BTEC assessment system; advocates defending the ‘older style’ BTEC system in terms of the reliability of internal assessment, progression and employability; critics viewing BTECs as over-valued, in need of re-evaluation, and requiring external assessment to both counter grade inflation, and ensure equivalence with A levels.

Comparisons are drawn from leading European VET models such as the dual-track VET approach found in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark and the Basque Country, and other school-based models evident across the rest of the UK, Ireland and Finland.

While much can be learnt from our European neighbours, significant questions remain around the transferability of particular models which tend to reflect the particular national and/or local conditions in different regions or countries.  The review highlights both the complexity of the assessment and policy landscape locally, nationally and internationally, and also the need for much more extensive research in this often overlooked educational arena.

Read the full report here.