School networks have become increasingly prevalent in education in recent decades, particularly with a focus on improving student outcomes in contexts of socio-economic disadvantage. To address the lacunae of literature and research nationally, this article presents findings from original case study research on two networks of disadvantaged…

A significant paradox of school autonomy is that it tends to constrain the autonomy of teachers, instead subjecting them to the increased controlling of their work, heightened monitoring, and greater accountability. This paper draws on interview data to show how teachers in accountability-driven and business-like schools face three different but…

This paper describes a growth mind-set intervention with Junior Cycle Coding students in a disadvantaged school in Ireland. This intervention builds on the work of O'Rourke et al. (2016) and applies findings to a computer programming setting where gamification is used to incentivise growth mind-set behaviour in students learning to code. Data…

This article explains how teachers can use educational vlogging as a tool to facilitate students' reflective practice in primary schools. Vlogging is a short duration video recording that engages the learner in critical self-reflection. The widespread accessibility of digital devices in Irish schools offer primary teachers opportunities to use…

This exploratory study considered the impact of a whole school programme to enhance relationships, promote positive behaviour, and reduce teacher stress in a secondary school. The programme was facilitated by the school's educational psychologist (EP) drawing on psychological theory and practice across a range of paradigms (ecosystemic, cognitive,…

In this paper we explore the attitudes of under-privileged secondary school pupils in Ireland towards mathematics and investigate the impact of attending a 4-week engagement programme on these attitudes. The pupils involved in this research attended schools recognized by the Department of Education & Skills as socio-economically deprived.…

Recent educational policy initiatives in Ireland have focused on improving outcomes in reading and mathematics among students, particularly those experiencing educational disadvantage. However, science achievement in Irish primary schools has received much less research attention, especially in the context of educational disadvantage. This article…

Despite a lack of conclusive evidence connecting autonomous schools and academic success, school autonomy is regularly championed as being a way of not only improving schools but as a way of improving the quality of education in socially and economically deprived areas. This research builds on a recent paper published in "Irish Educational…

Underpinning all literacy skills in English is a clear, and explicit, Knowledge about Language (KAL), including grammar and genre. This paper promotes a language-focused perspective of teaching, looking at one, distinct area of KAL within Irish schooling. This paper details an explicit English language intervention with young pupils (aged 6-7) in…

Ireland's government placed a renewed focus on the teaching and learning of numeracy with the publication of a national strategy in 2011. Whole-school planning for numeracy was already a requirement for disadvantaged schools also known as Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) in Ireland. This single site case study explored how a…

Since the formation of the Irish State, the participation and attainment in education of members of the Irish Traveller community have been low. In terms of school-related factors, research points to Travellers perceiving the curriculum as irrelevant, experiencing problematic relationships with peers and teachers, a strong sense of not belonging,…

The aim of this study was to examine secondary school students' attitudes towards and experiences of a student-centred health-related fitness test battery. A total of 795 adolescents (403 boys, 50.7%; 392 girls, 49.3%) aged 13.2 years (±0.39) from 20 secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland participated in the study. Schools were stratified…

This paper suggests that distributed leadership is a vital first step in making schools flexible enough to respond to new pressures. However, it is then argued that distributed leadership per se does not necessarily imply a commitment to a particular stance on issues of social justice, such as equality, but rather that this can only flow from…

Students who grow up in disadvantaged areas face more challenges and are less likely to complete their education than peers from non-disadvantaged areas. In response to this inequality, the Irish Department of Education and Skills implemented an intervention called Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) to address it. Before the…

The centrality of emotions in the personal and professional practice of school leaders is by now well established in scholarship. Much of the investigation that has been carried out over the years provides a strong basis and rationale for the data presented in this paper. This study sought to explore the extent to which the socio-economic context…