You are here: Home 9 Ireland’s Education Yearbook 2022 9 Primary

Primary

Ireland’s Education Yearbook 2022

THEMES AND TRENDS IN 2022

The dramatic change effected by Covid-19 provided the opportunity to re-think the purpose of education.

Amazing resilience was demonstrated by teachers and schools in responding to the pandemic and to the inward migration of children seeking refuge from crisis.

Teacher supply concerns posed a threat to the high standard of education in our schools.

Contemporary Perspectives on Primary Education

A time for change?

Education has changed dramatically because of Covid-19. We are learning to live and work with levels of precariousness that we never thought possible. How prepared are our children and our system for this fast-changing world? This overview of primary education looks at the key themes in the sector and how the landscape is set to continue changing in the coming years.

Mathias Urban

Teresa O’Doherty

President of Marino Institute of Education, Dublin

download article

Forum on Patronage and Pluralism a 10-Year Review

What has been achieved?

This article reviews the progress to date on the recommendations of the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism, chaired by Professor John Coolahan, which submitted its report in April 2012 to the then Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn. The Forum made a number of recommendations on how the Irish education system could provide a sufficiently diverse number and range of primary schools catering for all religions and none, and on how this could be achieved.

Mathias Urban

Prof Áine Hyland

Emeritus Professor of Education, University College Cork

download article

Supporting the Wellbeing and Mental Health of Primary School Pupils

The importance of schools in fostering children’s positive mental health

Recent years have seen schools rise to global challenges, including pandemic and war, offering safety and security to children. These events have brought wellbeing to the fore for everyone, highlighting the importance of schools in the lives of our children. This article examines that role and describes how schools can help children develop vital skills and resilience through a supportive environment and relationships.

Mathias Urban

Sharon Eustace

Regional Director, National Educational Psychological Service, Department of Education

Mathias Urban

Deirdre Mc Hugh

Regional Director, National Educational Psychological Service, Department of Education

download article

The Rise of Teaching and Learning Outdoors in Irish Primary Schools

This article sets out the context and rationale for teaching and learning outdoors in primary schools, and highlights various ways of incorporating its use by schools, including exemplars of practice. It also discusses system-wide supports that are needed. Ultimately, it argues that the best time to start using the outdoors for teaching and learning is now and that teachers should ‘just do it’.

Mathias Urban

Paul O’Donnell

Principal, Slane National School, Co. Meath

download article

How Networking Can Support DEIS Schools

The case for widespread introduction of DEIS school networks

Drawing on PhD research on the PLUS and Oscailt networks of DEIS schools, this article outlines the importance of networking as a practice for DEIS schools, and highlights the opportunity provided by the DEIS expansion in 2022 to consider the widespread introduction of DEIS school networks in Ireland.

Nicola O’Reilly

Dr Ruth Bourke

Coordinator, Transforming Education through Dialogue Project, Mary Immaculate College

download article

Global Village
A new strategic partnership for Global

Citizenship Education in the primary school sector in Ireland

Global Citizenship Education (GCE) facilitates and encourages educators and learners to engage actively in critical thinking, discussion, exploration, and action on global themes such as injustice, inequality, and sustainability. This article introduces Global Village, a new programme for GCE in primary schools in Ireland.

Catherine McHugh

Claire Glavey

Project Officer, Global Village

Catherine McHugh

Elisha Kelly

Project Officer, Global Village

download article

The DICE Project

Development and intercultural education in initial teacher education at primary level

The DICE project is a national education initiative that promotes the integration of development education and intercultural education in initial teacher education across four partner institutions. This article outlines the project’s work, aims, and values, and describes some of its recent events and activities.

Toby Wolfe

Helen Concannon

DICE Coordinator, Dublin City University

download article

Trauma-Informed Schools

Tackling the impact of trauma on teaching, learning, and behaviour

Trauma is an important topic in the education world in Ireland in 2022, as a result of Covid-19 and the refugee crisis from the war in Ukraine. But we have always had children and adults in our schools who have experienced trauma. So what does ‘trauma-informed’ mean, and how does it look in practice? This article examines the types of trauma in our schools, how they manifest, and what training and knowledge are needed to create a trauma-informed school community where everyone can thrive and learn.

Toby Wolfe

Marie Delaney

Director of Trauma Responsive Education

download article

Primary School Leadership –
A Roadmap to Sustainability

The article details the Sustainable Leadership project of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network and synopsises the findings of our research and the conclusions we have drawn. It outlines the recommendations for action that we have made, which, if implemented, will better ensure school leadership that is both effective and sustainable.

Kate McDonnell

Brian O’Doherty

President of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network

download article

Is Tusa an Múinteoir

Introducing peer tutoring to Irish language lessons

This article describes a research project, Is Tusa an Múinteoir (You Are the Teacher), that aims to create meaningful domains for primary-level children to use the Irish language and to tutor it to their peers and parents. It outlines the structure and findings of the project and concludes with reflections and recommendations.

Kate McDonnell

Jane O’Toole

Primary school teacher at Scoil Chrónáin Senior National School, Swords, Co. Dublin; PhD in Language Education from the School of Education, Trinity College

download article

Other Chapters Ireland's Education Yearbook 2022

Ireland’s Education Yearbook 2020

Complete Yearbook

Introduction - Ireland’s Education Yearbook 2020

Introduction

Early Childhood - Ireland’s Education Yearbook 2020

Early Childhood

Primary - Ireland’s Education Yearbook 2020

Primary

Second Level - Ireland’s Education Yearbook 2020

Second Level

FET - Ireland’s Education Yearbook 2020

FET

Higher Education - Ireland’s Education Yearbook 2020

Higher Education

Research - Ireland’s Education Yearbook 2020

Research

Ireland's Education Yearbook 2022 is supported by: