Dr Brian Mooney
Editor, Ireland’s Yearbook of Education
As we enter the 20th year of the 21st century, it is time to reflect on how we have managed the Irish education system in this millennium to date.

Dr Brian Mooney
Editor, Ireland’s Yearbook of Education
As we enter the 20th year of the 21st century, it is time to reflect on how we have managed the Irish education system in this millennium to date.
Recently published data from Pisa (Programme for International Student Assessment) showing that Irish 15-year-olds are among the top performers in the world in reading literacy, and perform above average in Science and Maths, is a very positive indication that overall we are getting a lot right.
The pace of change in how technology is affecting every aspect of our daily lives is breathtaking, and the extent to which we are using it across our entire education system needs to be explored.
This year’s Pisa results indicate that Irish students up to age 15 are less likely than students from other developed countries to use digital devices for classwork in school or while doing homework.
Given the constant struggle between the very human desire to live within our comfort zone and the need to respond to an ever-changing world, this finding may indicate nervousness around the use of technology among educators due in part to a lack of technological skills or of sufficient access to technical support or assistance.
Another issue of concern in this year’s Pisa results is that Ireland has significantly fewer high-achieving students in Maths and science subjects than other developed countries. Over the past five years, growing numbers of Irish students have been taking advantage of the availability of degree programmes taught through English in continental European universities. The biggest barrier they are experiencing is in their level of competency in Maths and the sciences – even among those who secured H1s in these subjects.
In adopting new curricula in Maths (Project Maths) and the sciences, we have pitched their level to encourage more students to participate at higher level, thus enabling many schools to offer these subjects for the first time, as they now have a viable class group and can allocate a teacher to teach this subject.
The negative Pisa findings may indicate two important constraints on improving our performance in STEM subjects. Firstly, very few graduates in Maths, Physics, and Chemistry seek positions as teachers due to far higher remuneration opportunities in the wider economy. Secondly, our brightest STEM students don’t get to engage with curriculum content which is core in other developed countries. There are no easy answers to this dilemma, but a good place to start may be a State-funded online course in the more advanced elements of STEM which could be accessed by those considering third-level progression in STEM disciplines.
Early Childhood Education
Minister Zappone, in her article in this publication, outlines how she is consolidating the growth and development of the early childhood sector through the implementation of First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families.
The key issue is the quality of training provided to those who will teach our youngest learners during these formative years. Under the Workforce Development Plan, the government is facilitating the creation of a collective professional identity. To make this a reality they will have to integrate early childhood teachers into the State’s mainstream salary structures, which will not come cheaply. But unless we do, we will never properly resource this vital sector. Peanuts and monkeys come to mind.
The primary sector over the past twenty years has carried out a Herculean task of integrating huge numbers of non-traditional new Irish into our society, while at the same time dealing with a population bulge of over 50,000 additional children who will progress through our second-level schools over the next six to eight years.
The challenge for our primary school system over the coming years will be to effectively manage contraction in numbers of students and therefore teachers as our population of children drops in line with that of our EU neighbours. This can often be a more difficult task than dealing with growing numbers.
Alongside this task, our primary schools dealt with the ever-changing nature of religious beliefs and practices in Irish society, leading to the emergence of new models of trusteeship and management. Bishop Diarmuid Martin’s decision in December 2019 to consider moving sacramental preparation in the Dublin archdiocese from primary schools to parish-based catechetical preparation is truly revolutionary.
Sophia Maher’s appearance on the Late Late Toy Show and her discussion with Ryan Tubridy about her experience of bullying at school raised an issue which had received a huge airing on Liveline with Joe Duffy in November. The potential for using social media as a channel for such activity, alongside the more traditional face-to-face activity, is a constant in the lives of all human beings where they engage with each other.
As educators we must accept that bullying is and always will be present among our pupils and adults in our schools. It’s part of the human experience. The only way to address it is to accept that reality and to build in an anti-bullying strategy as part of school policy from 1 September each year.
We cannot depend on a reactive strategy and a determination to pretend that the problem is solved or, even worse, that it does not exist. Sophia’s bravery should be marked by the adoption of a ‘Sophia strategy’ in every school in Ireland, outlining what the school does as part of its daily activities to address bullying. This is essential to meet the needs of those experiencing bullying as well as those carrying it out, who have their own difficulties that drive their behaviour.
Seeking promotion in one’s profession is a natural instinct of all ambitious persons. The fact that so few teachers are now seeking appointment as school principals indicates that the current model of school management is under severe s