The ERC publishes today a new report: Trends in students’ school experiences and attitudes towards mathematics and science: TIMSS 2015-2023.
This report presents data for Fourth Class (primary) and Second Year (post-primary) students from the TIMSS 2023 study, and identifies trends relative to previous cycles of TIMSS in 2015 and 2019). It examines the experiences of students in relation to their attendance at school, sense of belonging, and experiences of bullying. Also presented in the report are students’ attitudes towards mathematics and science; in particular, the extent to which students like learning, feel confident, and value mathematics and science.
Key findings include:
· Increasing rates of student absence from school between 2019 and 2023.
· A gradual decline between 2015 and 2023 in liking mathematics and science and confidence in mathematics and science.
· Boys liked learning mathematics and were more confident in mathematics than girls.
· At primary, boys and girls reported similar levels of confidence in science, while at post-primary boys were more confident than girls.
· At Fourth Class, more students in DEIS Urban schools very much liked learning mathematics compared to students in other schools.
The findings are discussed in the report with reference to the broader national policy context and related national and international research.
The report is authored by Sylvia Denner, Aidan Clerkin, Vasiliki Pitsia and Gráinne McHugh. It can be downloaded here, with an infographic summary here.