Author: Jude Cosgrove
Digital Technologies in Education – Ireland in the International Context: Trends and Implications from PISA 2012-2018
Teachers’ understanding of the concept of ‘embedding’ digital technology in education
Published in: Irish Educational Studies
Abstract:
The task of effectively embedding digital technology use in classrooms is among the challenges currently faced by educators in Ireland and internationally. This paper builds on analyses conducted as part of a longitudinal evaluation of Ireland’s Digital Learning Framework. Findings suggest that many teachers – especially at the post-primary level – have a somewhat restricted view of what ‘embedding’ means in this context. Such responses indicate a focus on using digital devices for activities that would be happening in the classroom already, rather than embracing more flexible and constructivist pedagogical approaches to take advantage of the range of options provided by digital technology for teaching, learning and assessment. This implies that even if all of the infrastructure and connectivity needs of schools in Ireland are met over the coming years – itself a substantial task – there is a risk that teachers may not use these devices as effectively as could be. We argue that digital technology in the classroom can open up new possibilities for how education (teaching, learning, assessment) is carried out. We explore how teachers’ understanding of the concept of ‘embedding’ can be strengthened and the envisaged impact on children’s education of doing so.
Feerick, E., Clerkin, A., & Cosgrove, J. (2022). Teachers’ understanding of the concept of “embedding” digital technology in education. Irish Educational Studies, 41 (1), 27-39. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03323315.2021.2022521
Digital Learning Framework (DLF) national longitudinal evaluation: One year on – Wave 1 report
The Educational Research Centre has been asked by the Department of Education and skills to carry out an evaluation of the Digital Learning Framework (DLF). The new framework, for primary and post-primary schools, was published in September 2017. The framework is a key part of the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020. The evaluation uses a longitudinal design, and runs from 2018-2022. It was preceded by a field trial phase which ran from 2017-2018. Nationally representative samples of primary (150), post-primary (100) and special (30) schools are followed longitudinally from 2019 to 2021 through surveys of school staff, and focus groups of staff and students in a small subset of these schools. Wave 1 results were published June 2021
Developing an evaluation framework for teachers’ professional learning in Ireland: Phase 2 Survey of teachers and principals
Beyond achievement: home, school and wellbeing findings from PISA 2018 for students in DEIS and non-DEIS schools
This report is a follow-up to the ERC’s 2020 report Reading, Mathematics and Science Achievement in DEIS schools: Evidence from PISA 2018 (Gilleece, Nelis, Fitzgerald, & Cosgrove, 2020) which detailed the reading, mathematics and science achievement of students in DEIS and non-DEIS schools. Achievement levels of students in DEIS schools were examined with reference to the targets set out in the national strategy to improve literacy and numeracy (DES, 2011). Findings show that in PISA 2018, the average reading score in DEIS schools was at the level of the OECD average. Although average reading achievement was lower in DEIS than in non-DEIS schools, the difference between the two was smaller in 2018 than in 2009. In PISA 2018 mathematics and science, students in DEIS schools scored below the OECD average. Average mathematics and science scores of students in DEIS schools were also significantly below those of students in non-DEIS schools. This report builds on the earlier work by providing a detailed examination of differences in the home backgrounds of students in DEIS and non-DEIS schools. Also, we give consideration to some school contextual factors and examine broader student outcomes and dispositions, such as wellbeing, the value that students place on education, their motivation, and aspirations for future learning and employment. In focusing on the wider picture, we recognise that while achievement in reading, mathematics and science represent important outcomes of schooling, they offer a partial view of the purposes and outcomes of education.