Category: Irish Journal of Education

Preface This special issue of The Irish Journal of Education contains a report of the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) reading literacy study, which was carried out in 32 countries, including Ireland. International reports of the study have already been published (Elley, 1992; Postlethwaite and Ross, 1992; Lundberg & Linnakylä, 1993).Read more…

GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN IRISH SECOND-LEVEL SCHOOLS Gerry Shiel and Mary Lewis The paper begins with a description of guidance and counselling in second-level schools in the Republic of Ireland, tracing development of the service from its introduction in the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. The role of the guidance counsellor is considered in theRead more…

Preface This issue of The Irish Journal of Education contains a report of The Second International Assessment of Educational Progress in Mathematics and Science (IAEPII) which was carried out in 20 countries, including Ireland, in 1990-1991. International reports of the study are available (Lapointe, Askew, & Mead, 1992; Lapointe, Mead, & Askew, 1992). In theRead more…

IRELAND’S RESPONSE TO AFRICA’S EDUCATIONAL NEEDS Paud Murphy An examination of educational provision in sub-Saharan Africa reveals many problems: access, low completion and achievement rates at primary level, maintaining quality while increasing access at second level, and the cost, and relevance of tertiary education. The development of Ireland’s official aid programme and current features areRead more…

PUBLIC FUNDING OF THEOLOGY IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY Michael Nolan An account is given of the provision of public funds for the teaching of Theology at third-level institutions in the countries of the European Community. Note is also taken of public grants to young people who have chosen to take a degree in this subject.Read more…

BEGINNING TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING JHC Vonk The process of becoming a teacher is considered to be a part of teachers professional development. The first section of the article describes the general nature of this development which is used as the framework for a longitudinal study on beginningRead more…

EDUCATIONAL REFORM AND MENTOR-TEACHER PROGRAMMES IN THE UNITED STATES John R Curley A steady increase in the number of school age children, many of them from disadvantaged backgrounds coupled with a decline in the number of new teacher graduates and considerable loss from the teaching profession will pose major problems through the 1990s for educationRead more…

VOCATIONALISM IN IRISH SECOND-LEVEL EDUCATION Mary Lewis and Thomas Kellaghan Growth in vocationalism in second-level schools in Ireland between the late 1960s and the 1980s is examined in the context of four expressions of such a trend: enrolment in vocational schools, the percentage of students in senior cycle enrolled in vocational courses, the take-up ofRead more…

THE CONTEXT AND COURSE OF THOMAS ORDE’S PLAN OF EDUCATION OF 1787 James Kelly By the mid-1780s, the inadequacy of the existing tiers of education in Ireland had become a matter of common knowledge. Proposals for their reform were not quite as forthcoming; however, spurred on by the revelations of John Howard and Jeremiah FitzpatrickRead more…

ACCESS TO SCHOOL MEALS: THE CONSTRAINTS OF PERMISSIVE LEGISLATION Claire Carney School-meals schemes in Ireland were examined to ascertain how and why the schemes came into being, how they were administered in the past and are being administered at present, and what needs they were set up to meet and are meeting today. Basing theRead more…