Emer Smyth

19 results

On average, and all things being equal, girls generally outperform boys in Leaving Cert subjects, whether or not they have boys sitting beside them in the classroom.
Majority of schools in top flight are single-sex

Boys and girls About a third of Ireland’s post-primary school are single-sex. By international standards, this is unusual. Today’s feeder school lis(...)

Schoolchildren who are frequently reprimanded by teachers are much more likely to lose self-confidence in their ability to do schoolwork, new research shows. Photo: iStock
Schoolchildren who are ‘given out to’ often are more likely to lose self-confidence

Schoolchildren who are frequently “given out to” or reprimanded by teachers are much more likely to lose self-confidence in their ability to do school(...)

Moving on up? “It is one of the first times you are going to have your beautiful child going into a situation that you can’t really control,” says teacher Ray Silke.
Smoothing the way into secondary

“Walking school bags” is one name for them. The first-year pupils arriving at their new secondary school, barely visible underneath a huge, brand new (...)

Students taking part in group work as part of the new junior cycle.
Is our education system fit for purpose in the 21st-century?

Liam Wegimont, principal of Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Clontarf, Dublin, produces a neatly typed letter from his files. It is from a previo(...)

Secondary school students taking part in group work as part of the new junior cycle.
Are junior cycle reforms on the right track?

Every three years, half a million 15-year-olds in more than 70 countries take a two-hour test designed to measure their ability to think. The release(...)

There is plenty of evidence that co-education is a better social preparation for boys and girls. Photograph: iStock
Single-sex or mixed: what’s best for your child?

When it comes to school choice, it’s one of the biggest questions facing parents in Ireland. As a western country, we’re somewhat unusual in that abou(...)

There is no solid evidence that specific selection mechanisms produce the “best” teachers, the report states. Photograph: Getty Images
Teaching attracting high achievers despite jobs difficulty

The teaching profession is drawing accomplished people despite difficulties in getting jobs, new research shows. A report by the ESRI and the Teachin(...)

An ESRI report published on Wednesday examines the performance of the Droichead programme in which experienced teaching staff play a key role in supporting and assessing new teachers. Photograph: The Irish Times
New teachers in mentoring scheme showing reduced stress levels

New teachers who have taken part in a new mentoring programme show greater levels of improvement and lower levels of stress than other newly-qualified(...)

Of Ireland’s 732 post-primary schools, 490 (67 per cent) are co-educational.
Boys' schools dominate feeder lists for third-level colleges

Boys and girls schools are sending the same numbers of students to third-level, while co-educational schools are performing well, according to a gende(...)

There was a 25% reduction in overall funding for the Schools Completion Programme – from €32.9 million in 2008 to €24.7 million for 2015. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
School completion programme under threat due to funding cuts

Any further cuts to the School Completion Programme could “seriously compromise its viability”, and leave children in crisis situations without suppor(...)

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next ›
  • Last »