In my opinion: What do we know about education in Ireland?

There are huge gaps in what we know about aspects of the Irish educational system. It is unfortunate, however, when professional researchers fail to acknowledge the existing research that has been accumulated in recent years.

In yesterday's Irish Independent, Professor Colm Harmon referred to "our extraordinary reluctance to building a comprehensive picture of the progression of students".

This statement ignores the enormous contribution of the Post-Primary Longitudinal Study, conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), for the last decade.

This study, funded by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and the Department of Education and Skills, has followed a cohort of students from their entry to second-level education to Leaving Certificate level and beyond.

The Post-Primary Longitudinal Study has been utilised by the NCCA in their current review of junior cycle education. The ESRI study highlights aspects of school practice which can ease the transition from primary to second-level schooling for young people.

In No Way Back?, information from the study is used to show the processes behind early school leaving.

New information on student progression to senior cycle and how they fare in the Leaving Certificate exam will shortly be published.

In the Leaving School in Ireland study, we are following this group of students into higher education, further education and the labour market.

This will allow us to assess the way school experiences influence young people's subsequent pathways. This study will build upon the research conducted at the ESRI on post-school outcomes and entry to higher education.

The ESRI School Leavers' Survey has repeatedly documented the strong link between educational qualifications and labour market outcomes, including unemployment risks and job quality.

Hidden Disadvantage?, from research funded by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), identified the barriers to higher education entry among young people from lower non-manual backgrounds.

Another recent study funded by the HEA explored the costs involved in taking part in higher education. These studies contribute to informing policy on issues around higher education access and student funding.

Studies of this kind provide a strong evidence base for policy development of curriculum, teaching methods, assessment and school climate.

ESRI research has indicated the processes which promote educational participation and engagement among young people.

A concern with educational inequality has been a core feature of ESRI research, indicating social class differences in early school leaving, exam performance and entry to higher education. But showing these differences, as Dr Kevin Denny has also done, is not enough.

The ESRI longitudinal study has gone further by unpacking the way in which social class plays out at the school level, indicating the concrete ways in which disadvantage is produced and reproduced.

It is vital that educational policy draws on a strong evidence base on student experiences and outcomes. This requires the accumulation of knowledge across researchers, academics and practitioners in Irish education.

Ignoring the evidence we do have makes it all the more difficult to move forward.

- Emer Smyth and Selina McCoy

Irish Independent