The OECD report PISA 2018 Results: Effective Policies, Successful Schools, once again underlines Ireland’s poor track record for investment in education. Based on data for 2018, the report, published today, shows significant disparities between Ireland and OECD comparator countries:
• 44.8% of Irish students were in schools where the principal reported that the school’s capacity to provide instruction is hindered to some extent or a lot by lack of teaching staff compared to the OECD average of 27.1%.
• 44.6% of Irish students were in schools where the principal reported that the school’s capacity to provide instruction is hindered to some extent or a lot by a lack of physical infrastructure (e.g. building, grounds, heating/ cooling systems, lighting and acoustic systems) compared to the OECD average of 33.1%.
• 40.7% of Irish students were in schools where the principal reported that the school’s capacity to provide instruction is hindered to some extent or a lot by inadequate or poor quality physical infrastructure (e.g. building, grounds, heating/ cooling systems, lighting and acoustic systems) compared to the OECD average of 32.5%.
The report provides data on schools’ digital infrastructure and again students in Ireland are less well-served than comparator countries. Most importantly the report found that equity in education, as measured by PISA performance scores in core subjects, is related to equity in access to an effective online learning support platform.
• 56.5% of Irish students were in schools where the principal agreed or strongly agreed that the number of digital devices connected to the internet was sufficient compared to the OECD average of 67.2%.
• 45.3% of Irish students were in schools where the principal agreed or strongly agreed that the number of digital devices for instruction was sufficient compared to the OECD average of 59%.
• 45.4% of Irish students were in schools where the principal reported that an effective online learning support platform was available compared to the OECD average of 54.1%.
• 47.4% of Irish students were in schools where the principal agreed or strongly agreed that professional resources were available for teachers to learn how to use digital devices instruction compared to the OECD average of 64.7%.
Commenting on these findings, ASTI President, Ann Piggott, said the OECD report has confirmed many of the ASTI’s claims about under-investment in education: “Covid-19 has brought to the forefront the importance of school infrastructural capacity and digital learning capacity. The Government must prioritise funding for education in the October budget to upgrade school buildings and facilities so as to ensure that students and staff are protected and that every school has the capacity to revert to partial or full remote learning during this pandemic. A key demand of the ASTI has been the provision of laptops for students and teachers so that no individual is disadvantaged by lack of access to online learning if they are required to self-isolate or if their school is required to close due to Covid-19.”
Today’s report follows the publication earlier this month of OECD Education at a Glance 2020 which ranked Ireland in last place out of 36 countries for investment in second-level education as a percentage of GDP.
ENDS
Note: OECD PISA
The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the achievement of 15-year-olds in the three domains of reading literacy, maths and science. Effective Policies, Successful Schools (http://www.oecd.org/education/pisa-2018-results-volume-v-ca768d40-en.htm) analyses findings from the most recent OECD PISA 2018 test, involving around 600,000 15-year-old students in 79 countries and economies.
