This OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland was conducted as part of OECD Education for Inclusive Societies project (see Annex A for further details). The purpose of the review is to assist Irish authorities in identifying ways to improve support provided to students at risk of educational disadvantage in both DEIS and non-DEIS schools in the education system. This is also an area of high priority highlighted in the 2022 OECD Ministerial Declaration on “Building Equitable Societies Through Education”.
Ireland was one of the countries that opted to participate in the country review strand of the project and host a visit by an external review team. Members of the OECD review team were Lucie Cerna (OECD), co-ordinator of the review; Luka Boeskens (OECD); Cecilia Mezzanotte (OECD); Samo Varsik (OECD); and Ides Nicaise (KU Leuven, Belgium). The biographies of the members of the review team are provided in Annex B. This publication is the report from the review team. It provides, from an international perspective, an independent analysis of major issues facing support to students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland, current policy initiatives and possible future approaches.
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 (secondary) 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. Among student groups, the Irish authorities have requested to focus on students at risk of educational disadvantage, and students from Traveller and Roma communities. The analysis presented in the report refers to the situation faced by the education system in 2023, when the review team visited Ireland (virtually in spring 2023 and in-person in fall 2023). The most recent educational data used in this report reflects the situation during the 2022/23 school year though some data presented are older.
Ireland’s involvement in the OECD review was coordinated by multiple staff members in the Department of Education. The National Co-ordinator was Micheál Killilea, Assistant Principal Officer in the Social Inclusion Unit at the Department of Education. He was supported by Social Inclusion Unit colleagues; Grainne Cullen, Principal Officer; Ryan McKay, Assistant Principal Officer; Joe Briscoe, Higher Executive Officer; Karen Menton, Higher Executive Officer and Stephen Corley, Executive Officer. Maria Lorigan and Gerard Quirke of the Department of Education Inspectorate supported the team during the country visit.
A number of units across the Department of Education and other Government departments provided their time to the review team throughout the process, including informing and contributing to the report.
Thank you to Bernie McNally, Secretary General of the Department of Education and the Management Board; Yvonne Keating, Chief Inspector of the Department of Education; Anne Tansey, Director of the National Educational Psychological Service; Paul Alexander, Principal Officer Statistics Unit; Brendan Doody, Principal Officer Special Educational Needs Policy Section; Jill Fannin, Principal Officer Teacher Education and Professional Development section; Áine O’Keeffe, Director Tusla Education Support Service; Lorraine Gilleece, Research Fellow at the Educational Research Centre, officials from their teams and the many other officials across the department and its aegis bodies who provided us with information. Thank you also to the officials from the Department of Children Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Department of Social Protection, Department of Taoiseach and other Government Departments who assisted in the completion of the review.
The OECD and the European Commission (EC) have established a partnership that partly covers participation costs of countries which are part of the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme. The participation of Ireland was organised with the support of the EC in the context of this partnership.1 This report is also the first one which is part of the initiative of the Education Council “Learning Lab on Investing in Quality Education and Training”. The EC was part of the planning process of the review of Ireland (participating in the visits and providing feedback on the planning of the review visit) and offered comments on drafts of this report. The involvement of the EC was coordinated by Sylwia Sitka, Policy Officer for Ireland and Poland in the European Commission’s Education, Youth, Sport and Culture Directorate‑General (DG EAC). The review team is grateful to Sylwia Sitka for her contribution to the planning of the review and for the helpful comments she provided on drafts of this report.
The (virtual) preliminary visit review visit to Ireland took place between 27 June and 26 July 2023 and the in-person review and school visits in Ireland took place between 18 and 22 September 2023. The itinerary is provided in Annex C. The visit was designed by the OECD (with input and participation from the EC) in collaboration with the Irish authorities.
The review team met with officials from the Department of Education and its associated units; officials from other departments; representatives of national educational guidance bodies; school management board representative bodies; national school teachers’ and principals’ unions and associations; national parents’ associations; teachers’ professional learning providers, in-service training centres; civil society organisations with an interest in children; and researchers with an interest in equity and inclusion in education. The team visited six schools in different counties (Dublin, Limerick and Offaly), interacting with principals, teachers, non-teaching staff, parents and students at each school. The six schools selected for the main visit were chosen from a set of pre-specified geographic, demographic and performance criteria established by the OECD review team. The intention was to provide the review team with a broad cross‑section of information and opinions on inclusive education. Overall, the OECD review team held 36 meetings with approximately 60 stakeholders, including six schools serving 2 890 students.
The OECD review team wishes to express its gratitude to the many people who gave time from their busy schedules to inform the review team of their views, experiences and knowledge. The meetings were open and provided a wealth of insights. Special gratitude is due to the National Co-ordinator, Michéal Killilea, for his commitment and efforts to provide the review team with the best possible conditions for this work, and his willingness to respond to numerous questions throughout the review process. The courtesy and hospitality extended to us throughout our visit in Ireland made our task as a review team as enjoyable as it was challenging.
The OECD review team is also grateful to colleagues at the OECD, especially Hannah Borhan for research and editorial support, and Charlotte Baer for publication support. Daiana Torres Lima provided key administrative and layout support. Paulo Santiago, Head of the Policy Advice and Implementation Division, provided overall guidance and key feedback on the report.
This report is organised into six chapters. Chapter 1 provides the national context, with information on equity and inclusion in the Irish school system. Chapter 2 analyses the governance of policies to address educational disadvantage, while Chapter 3 examines the resourcing of schools to address educational disadvantage. Chapter 4 reviews capacity building for schools to address educational disadvantage in the Irish school system. Chapter 5 examines school-level interventions to address educational disadvantage. Finally, Chapter 6 reviews monitoring and evaluation to address educational disadvantage. Chapters 2 to 6 each present strengths, challenges and policy recommendations.
The policy recommendations attempt to build on and strengthen policies and practices on equitable education that are already underway in Ireland, and the strong commitment to further improvement that was evident among those the OECD review team met. The suggestions should take into account the difficulties that face any visiting group, no matter how well briefed, in grasping the complexity of Ireland’s education system and fully understanding all the issues. This report is, of course, the responsibility of the OECD review team. While the team benefited greatly from Ireland’s Country Background Report and other documents, as well as the many discussions with a wide range of Irish personnel, any errors or misinterpretations in this report are its responsibility.