Study of Disadvantage in Rural Schools
Overview Assessment of Disadvantage in Schools for 'DEIS' Evaluation of the School Support Programme Study of Disadvantage in Rural Schools Programme for International Student Assessment International Civics and Citizenship Education Study Teaching and Learning International Survey National Assessment of English Reading National Assessment of Mathematics Achievement Standardized Test Development Early Screening and Diagnostic Reading Tests Early Screening and Diagnostic Mathematics Tests An Evaluation of 'Early Start' Irish in the Leaving Certificate Examination Points for Leaving Certificate Subjects Summer Learning Loss Staying in education: A new way forward	The Educational Research Centre has embarked on a study of disadvantage in rural primary schools.  The study was prompted by a belief, supported by some empirical evidence (e.g., from the evaluation of the Breaking the Cycle scheme and from the modelling exercise with the data from the 2005 survey of disadvantage for DEIS) that the relationship between socioeconomic factors and educational outcomes is weaker in rural than in urban settings. The following are among the questions that the study is designed to address. Do pupils in rural SSP schools perform better than pupils in urban SSP schools (and how do both groups compare with the national norm)? If rural pupils perform better than urban pupils, to what extent are these differences due to the fact that disadvantage is less concentrated in rural than in urban schools? the fact that so many rural SSP pupils are in small schools? the fact that so many rural SSP schools are located in the west of Ireland? the idea that rural pupils’ achievement is less affected by poverty than urban pupils’ achievement? a statistical artefact related to the volatility of, or a lack of stability in, achievement data in small schools? Are the patterns of differences between urban and rural pupils similar for mathematics and reading? It was decided to use test data collected from rural schools as part of the evaluation of the School Support Programme (SSP) under DEIS to examine the nature of disadvantage in rural areas. Data from schools in the SSP were augmented by data collected at the same time from some schools participating in an earlier scheme for disadvantage (Giving Children an Even Break).  While the study represents an important first step in arriving at an understanding of disadvantage in rural areas, a fuller understanding will not be possible without also collecting comparative test data from rural schools that do not have high concentrations of pupils from poor backgrounds.
St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, Ireland     -     Telephone: +353 1 8373789     -     Fax: +353 1 8378997     -     Email: info@erc.ie

Programme Of Work

Study of Disadvantage in Rural Schools

The Educational Research Centre has embarked on a study of disadvantage in rural primary schools.  The study was prompted by a belief, supported by some empirical evidence (e.g., from the evaluation of the Breaking the Cycle scheme and from the modelling exercise with the data from the 2005 survey of disadvantage for DEIS) that the relationship between socioeconomic factors and educational outcomes is weaker in rural than in urban settings.

The following are among the questions that the study is designed to address.

1. Do pupils in rural SSP schools perform better than pupils in urban SSP schools (and how do both groups compare with the national norm)?
2. If rural pupils perform better than urban pupils, to what extent are these differences due to
   
   1. the fact that disadvantage is less concentrated in rural than in urban schools?
   2. the fact that so many rural SSP pupils are in small schools?
   3. the fact that so many rural SSP schools are located in the west of Ireland?
   4. the idea that rural pupils’ achievement is less affected by poverty than urban pupils’ achievement?
   5. a statistical artefact related to the volatility of, or a lack of stability in, achievement data in small schools?
3. Are the patterns of differences between urban and rural pupils similar for mathematics and reading?

It was decided to use test data collected from rural schools as part of the evaluation of the School Support Programme (SSP) under DEIS to examine the nature of disadvantage in rural areas. Data from schools in the SSP were augmented by data collected at the same time from some schools participating in an earlier scheme for disadvantage (Giving Children an Even Break).  While the study represents an important first step in arriving at an understanding of disadvantage in rural areas, a fuller understanding will not be possible without also collecting comparative test data from rural schools that do not have high concentrations of pupils from poor backgrounds.