28.01.2015
New Research to Shed Light on Lives of Small Irish Primary Schools
A new collaborative study into small Irish primary schools will focus on their communities, cultures, benefits and challenges. The research programme, which is overseen by the Church of Ireland College of Education, is being funded collaboratively between the Church of Ireland General Synod Board of Education (RI), the Church of Ireland Primary Schools Association, the Governors of the Church of Ireland College of Education and Dublin City University. It will be carried out between January and July 2015 and published in the autumn.
The study was launched in Church of Ireland House, Rathmines, yesterday evening (January 27). Among those present were representatives of each of the funding bodies as well as INTO President, Sean McMahon.
Aimed at addressing the gaps in our understandings of small Irish primary schools, it will provide specific insights into the culture of small schools from a range of perspectives, including those of principals, teachers, members of Boards of Management, patrons, children, parents and education policy–makers. It will examine both the challenges and benefits of teaching and learning in a small school context. This will enable comparisons to be made between the Irish experience of teaching and learning in small schools and research published in Finland and the UK where similar studies have been conducted.
Speaking at last night’s launch, the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson, said that both the General Synod Board of Education and the Board of Governors of CICE were aware of the vital role small schools played in Church of Ireland communities across the country. However, he said less was known about the lives of small schools and it is this that the research will delve into enabling an understanding of the enormous contribution small schools made to society.
President of DCU, Professor Brian MacCraith, described the launch as a milestone event for DCU and CICE. He said small schools were an integral part of Irish education and formed an intrinsic part of their communities. He said the details emerging from the research would inform education policy.
Speaking on behalf of school patrons, the Bishop of Tuam, the Rt Revd Patrick Rooke, welcomed the initiative said that in the west of Ireland all Church of Ireland schools were small schools. “We don’t see them as a problem, we see them as a bonus and we see them providing for the whole community not just the Church of Ireland. We have got to look after them,” he stated.
Principal of CICE, Dr Anne Lodge, who is leading the research, thanked all the funding bodies for supporting the study and her research advisors on the project. The current study arises from a survey of 1,500 parents carried out by Dr Lodge, Dr Ken Fennelly and David Touhy SJ in 2011. The new research aims to add the views of principals, teachers members of Boards of Management, patrons and children to that work.
“Too often the rhetoric surrounding small schools is negative but the experience of learning in small schools is positive and enriching,” Dr Lodge commented. She said that 29 percent of Irish schools were small schools and well over half of Church of Ireland schools were small schools but little is known of life in small schools.
Initially the research team will contact the entire network of Protestant schools and later will engage on a deeper level with about 15 schools. They also plan to engage with the Department of Education and Skills. It is planned to complete the study by July and launch the report in the autumn. “The danger is that if we don’t tell our story we won’t have a story to tell,” Dr Lodge concluded.
Sean McMahon spoke of the increasing pressure on small schools. He criticised the focus on pupil numbers when deciding whether a school should lose a teacher and said that the department should look at the work which may have been carried out on a school building, the ethos of the school and its place in the community. He said currently 38 primary schools had been reduced to one teacher schools which was in conflict with the rest of Europe where the number of single teacher schools was falling. He predicted that there would be an explosion of one teacher schools on the western seaboard. He said the new research would be vitally important.
The study will be based in the Church of Ireland College of Education and will be overseen by the College Principal and guided by an expert advisory board which will include experienced practitioners and teacher educators as well as drawing on international expertise.
Photo captions:
Top – INTO President Sean McMahon; Chairman of the Church of Ireland Primary Schools Management Association, the Revd Brian O’Rourke; Principal of the Church of Ireland College of Education, Dr Anne Lodge; Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson; President of Dublin City University, Professor Brian MacCraith; Secretary to the General Synod Board of Education (RI), Dr Ken Fennelly at the launch of the research into small Irish primary schools in Church House, Rathmines.
Bottom – Dr Anne Lodge outlining the research to be carried out.