The “OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland” provides an independent analysis meant to support Irish authorities in identifying ways to strengthen the resources and supports provided to students at risk of educational disadvantage in both DEIS and non-DEIS schools. The report serves three purposes: i) to provide insights and advice to Irish education authorities; ii) to help other countries understand the Irish approach to equitable education; and iii) to provide input for comparative analyses of the OECD Education for Inclusive Societies project. The scope for the analysis in this report covers primary and post-primary education. The focus areas of the review in Ireland are: i) governance, ii) resourcing; iii) capacity building; iv) school-level interventions and v) monitoring and evaluation. This report will be of interest in Ireland and other countries looking to improve the equity of students at risk of educational disadvantage in their education systems.
OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland
Abstract
Executive Summary
This OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland was conducted as part of the OECD Education for Inclusive Societies project. It analyses the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland, particularly in relation to the Delivering Equality of Opportunity In Schools (DEIS) programme. Since 2005, the programme has been the Irish Department of Education’s (DoE) main policy initiative to respond to educational disadvantage.
Key findings
Ireland demonstrates strong performance in reading, mathematics and science, and equity outcomes internationally across primary and post-primary levels. Moreover, the socio-economic gap in educational attainment is narrower than on average across OECD countries. The education system outperforms many other countries and exhibits above-average socio-economic fairness and equity. However, despite these accomplishments, differences in outcomes persist for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and Traveller and Roma students. Similar to other countries, gender gaps are also visible, particularly at the post-primary level. Despite improvements over the last decade, gaps between DEIS and non‑DEIS schools persist.
Priority areas and recommendations
The OECD review team identified five priority areas. The key strengths and challenges are summarised below and elaborated in subsequent chapters, which also contain detailed policy recommendations.
Governance of policies to address educational disadvantage
The DoE is committed to addressing educational disadvantage through the DEIS programme and other support mechanisms. The system recognises the importance of stakeholder engagement in education, and the Inspectorate assists in policy making including in the area of educational disadvantage. However, there is limited coordination and integration of services across departments to support students at risk of educational disadvantage. Furthermore, while sharing of good practices exists, it could be further promoted.
The OECD review team recommends to:
Strengthen the coordination and integration of services across departments to better support students at risk of educational disadvantage.
Promote further the sharing of good practices in the education system and across schools in the area of educational disadvantage.
Resourcing schools to address educational disadvantage
The baseline resourcing of Irish schools is a relatively stable level playing field. Earmarking and conditionality of DEIS resourcing also ensures an adequate multidimensional tackling of disadvantage. However, the right to costless basic education needs further review. Furthermore, while the DoE managed to enhance trust and support for the DEIS programme for the identification of needs, further improvements can be made in regard to enhancing the validity of the indicators used for this purpose (in particular, the HP Index), and smoothening the differences in levels of support between categories of DEIS schools.
The OECD review team recommends to:
Further strengthen access to free education.
Continue refining and validating the indicator(s) of social disadvantage underpinning the targeting of DEIS resources.
Examine scenarios to attenuate the adverse effects of key thresholds in the DEIS classification algorithm.
Extend partial additional support to all students defined as disadvantaged.
Prepare the periodic updating of the indicators of social disadvantage to develop a more dynamic resource allocation model.
Capacity building for schools to address educational disadvantage
DEIS schools benefit from additional teaching and leadership resources. Initial teacher education provides relevant preparation to support disadvantaged students, the professional learning offer is responsive to local needs and DEIS schools have priority access to training aimed at supporting students with the highest levels of needs. The consolidated professional support service, Oide, has the potential to further improve teachers’ access to relevant capacity-building activities. Furthermore, evaluations of action planning and communities of practice help strengthen capacity building. However, staff shortages are particularly affecting the most disadvantaged schools and the diversity of staff remains an area for development. Continuing professional learning, while critical to capacity building in schools, is limited by an unevenly developed culture of informal learning and appraisal in schools. Moreover, a high level of students’ needs places a strain on DEIS schools’ capacity.
The OECD review team recommends to:
Address staff shortages through targeted efforts to attract and retain diverse professionals for a career in disadvantaged schools.
Embed teachers’ continuing professional learning within a professional improvement cycle and remove barriers to participation.
Focus capacity-building efforts on priority areas both in and around DEIS schools.
School-level interventions to address educational disadvantage
DEIS supports are holistic, centre on student well-being, and are highly regarded and sought after. Initiatives to target local needs are developed and piloted, and evidence‑based programmes are at the core of the DEIS programme. However, some support measures, such as Irish exemption or reduced school day, can limit students’ opportunities. Moreover, non‑DEIS schools often do not have the means to supply additional school resources for disadvantaged students, and many rely on teachers or parents volunteering their time to ensure the provision of services. Waiting times for assessment and, in particular, service provision in the health sector creates a challenge for schools' capacity to support students. Furthermore, some schools face challenges in engaging effectively with parents and the wider community.
The OECD review team recommends to:
Strengthen equity in provision of additional resources across schools.
Strengthen the coordination of educational services with the health and therapy service provision to minimise the burden on schools and families in meeting students’ needs.
Review additional costs of education to families to improve the accessibility of provisions.
Promote promising models and examples of engagement and collaboration with parents and families.
Monitoring and evaluation to address educational disadvantage
Ireland has strong expertise in monitoring and evaluation of the DEIS programme. Furthermore, the system emphasises the role of school self-evaluation, in which the Inspectorate serves a vital role. However, limited use of granular and combined administrative data, and the absence of a control group prevent causal implications in evaluations of the DEIS programme. The system also has little capacity for data‑informed improvement planning in DEIS schools.
The OECD review team recommends to:
Implement more comprehensive data integration and analysis in education policy making.
Promote research that could provide more information on the causal effects of the DEIS programme.
Strengthen the use of data at the school level.
