Infographic of Survey on Inclusiveness
I developed an infographic based on the data received from my survey on how inclusive are Irish Catholic Primary Schools. I’ll be publishing my thoughts in the coming days.
Opinion
How inclusive are Catholic Schools?
Recently, The Irish Independent carried an article with the headline, Catholic Schools are as inclusive as any other type by Father Tom Deenihan, during Catholic Schools’ Week. However, not everyone would agree with this sentiment. What does being inclusive mean in the 21st century? We surveyed Irish primary teachers to ascertain exactly what happens in their schools. … Read more
Is it ethical to publish League Tables?
The Irish Independent published, what they called, a definitive league table of the best schools in Ireland, based on 7 years of data. It was based on the percentage of students that went on to third level from secondary school. Schools where close to 100% of their students went on to third level over the 7 years, were … Read more
The Mathematics of Patronage and Pluralism
Between 96% and 98% of Irish primary schools are denominational in patronage, which means that one or two particular religions are taught as truth as part of the school day. There is a lot of focus in the media about Catholic schools and non-baptised children. I believe this is very unhelpful as it pitches Catholic schools … Read more
2016 Predictions
As we come to the last day of year, it is traditional at Anseo.net to make predictions for what we think will be the big stories for the following year. 2015 was the year where inequalities in the country were highlighted. The historic vote for marriage equality in Ireland has raised awareness that there are still many inequalities … Read more
What will removing Rule 68 actually do?
One of the rules of National Schools that has been causing much debate over the last few years is Rule 68, developed in the 1960s. Last night, the Minister for Education, Jan O’Sullivan announced she was going to repeal it in January. This announcement sparked a number of radio debates about the role of religion … Read more
Multidenominational: A long word, long-abused
The education landscape used to be an easy one to maneuver. Between the 1920s and 1978, you could go to a primary school and it would be easy to identify it: Catholic, Church of Ireland (or some branch of Protestantism) and then there was a Jewish school. Everything changed when Educate Together came along in … Read more
Which dark stain will be removed in 2016?
Ask most teachers who the best education minister was and you’ll most likely hear the name, Donogh O’Malley. He has gone down in education folklore most notably for announcing free secondary education in Ireland. The timing of the announcement coincided with Ireland’s 50 year commemoration of 1916 and O’Malley is quoted as saying that the … Read more
Can the new NCCA Ethics Curriculum work in Ireland?
It always strikes me as odd the stories about primary education that get noticed by the media. The majority of primary schools are wonderful places and have been through a terrible time over the last number of years with severe cuts to resources for children and yet primary schools seem to be able to achieve fantastic … Read more
What are teachers for?
Michelle McBride writes about healthy eating in schools in her article called “It is not teachers who sneak chocolate in kids’ lunchboxes.” in the Independent on the 21st October 2015. I agree with her that not every new social concern can be foisted on to the teacher’s desk but there are some issues within her … Read more