Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputy Cannon, for taking this Topical Issue. I wish to be clear from the outset that I am raising this matter in a non-adversarial manner. Yesterday, the Educational Research Centre released National Schools, International Contexts: Beyond the PIRLS and TIMSS Test Results. The 2011 progress in international reading literacy study, PIRLS, and the trends in international mathematics and science study, TIMSS, are the world's most comprehensive studies of academic achievement in primary schools. The ERC report examines how Irish schools, teachers, classrooms and pupils compare with their counterparts in other countries. The ten themed chapters address a diverse range of topics, all of which have policy relevance for the Irish education system.

There is much to welcome in the report. Irish pupils are more likely to feel safe in school and less likely to experience bullying. Irish parents almost universally agree that their child's school provides a safe environment and that those responsible care about their children's education. However, the report had several findings which raise concerns and pose challenges. There has been a great focus on social inclusion in schools in the past decade and that is to be welcomed. However, it seems that at a personal level compared to most other countries Irish children, specifically boys, are less inclined to like or feel they belong in school. While Irish pupils are generally less likely to experience bullying, within Ireland being bullied is more common among boys and pupils in large urban and DEIS project schools.

There is an ongoing debate about the future of rural schools in Ireland and there are some interesting findings in the document published yesterday. The report states that the demographic context within which fourth class pupils in Ireland attend school has some unusual features. Ireland has a relatively low population density among countries that took part and a considerably higher proportion of pupils in Ireland compared to other participating countries live in remote rural locations. At 279 pupils, the average size of primary schools in Ireland is approximately half the international average, with almost one fifth of primary schools in Ireland having fewer than 50 pupils. Small schools in areas of low population density are not uncommon. The report points out that for pupils in other countries with sparsely populated regions this feature of enrolment is not typical. In all the comparison countries with lower population densities than Ireland the average school size was generally a good deal higher than here.

Nonetheless, the report says that "fourth class pupils in Ireland living in smaller rural areas did better on average in reading, mathematics, and science than those attending schools in more populated urban centres, whereas the opposite is true internationally". It would appear that the Irish experience bucks the international trend in this regard. The report also noted that the higher level of bullying in DEIS schools does not apply in rural DEIS schools.

The report also poses challenges with regard to science and maths. Irish pupils spend considerably less time than the international average in science lessons, regardless of whether the official curriculum or the curriculum as implemented by teachers is considered. In maths, the report found that insufficient time is devoted to teaching problem-solving, that the curriculum is out of date and that Irish pupils are not learning essential skills that are being taught in other countries. This may be a contributory factor to Ireland's below-average international standing in maths at second level. I would be interested to hear the response of the Minister of State and of the Department to this wide and extensive report, which provides us with much food for thought.

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