Month: June 2023

The framework for the evaluation of teachers’ professional learning in Ireland is the result of a major four-year study commissioned by the Department of Education (DoE). It represents an important step towards meeting commitments made by the DoE to evaluate and enhance the professional development activities of teachers and school leaders. The TPL evaluation framework comprises four components for consideration in any TPL evaluation. These were selected for inclusion following detailed desk-based research; empirical research with teachers, pupils and TPL providers; and input from the project’s Steering Group. The four components of the TPL evaluation framework are:

• Context;
• Key features of TPL;
• Teacher outcomes; and
• Student, school or system outcomes.

Full details of the framework can be accessed here.

The ERC is pleased to have launched three new reports about the achievement of primary school pupils in Ireland. The reports draw on two large-scale studies that took place in 2021: the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER).

• PIRLS 2021: Reading results for Ireland describes the reading achievement of pupils at the start of Fifth class in Ireland, with results presented in an international comparative context (57 countries took part in PIRLS 2021). The report can be downloaded here.
• The National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading 2021: Performance Report describes the reading achievement of Second class pupils and the mathematics achievement of Sixth class pupils on tests tailored to the national curriculum in Ireland. The report can be downloaded here.
• Ireland’s National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading 2021: A focus on achievement in urban DEIS schools draws on NAMER data to examine the reading and mathematics achievement of pupils attending Urban DEIS Band 1 and Band 2 schools. The report can be downloaded here and an infographic summary is available here.