“It really does make me angry when I see the disparity in third level entry from affluent and working class areas. A Higher Education Authority (HEA) report released today shows breaks down participation in third level across postal codes …” (more)
[Keet Wilson, TheJournal.ie, 20 August]
“A report from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) has further pointed to disparities between wealthy and poor areas when it comes to participation in third level education …” (more)
[TheJournal.ie, 20 August]
“The introduction of post codes in Ireland next year could help track the worst geographical areas for students progressing to third-level. And identifying such areas will allow better information campaigns on higher education to be directed at certain schools …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 20 August]
“Third-level colleges could have funding cut if they do not meet new targets to improve access for disadvantaged, disabled and mature students. Despite progress in the last five years, many Higher Education Authority targets for participation by under-represented groups have not been met …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 20 August]
“It is getting on for 20 years since the Rainbow Coalition first abolished third-level fees in an honest effort to improve access to college for children from less well-off backgrounds. Since then there has been very little convincing evidence that the change has improved a poorer student’s chances of third-level education …” (more)
[Independent, 20 August]
“There is an uncomfortably familiar ring to much of what we read in the Higher Education Authority (HEA) document about advantage and disadvantage in terms of college entry. It would be easy to say, ‘sure we know that’ or that ‘some things never change’ …” (more)
[Independent, 20 August]
“Donegal and Laois are the counties with the lowest level of participation in higher education but are still well ahead of underprivileged parts of Dublin, according to new estimates published today …” (more)
[Joe Humphreys, Irish Times, 20 August]
“Those who take higher level papers in the Leaving Cert exam represent the intellectual cream of our second level education system, right? Well, no actually …” (more)
[Emer O’Kelly, Independent, 17 August]
“Believe the hype and Britain is on the verge of a great levelling. Of course it is good news to learn that 1,400 more students from disadvantaged homes will be going to university this year than last. But it is hardly the end of the class divide, as some reports have claimed …” (more)
[Will Hutton, Observer, 16 August]
“A chara, – Some of your contributors (August 14th) seem to be distinctly underwhelmed at the news of an ESRI survey that finds that students from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to go on to third level …” (more)
[Michael O’Donovan, Irish Times, 15 August]
“Students from the richest neighbourhoods are still almost 10 times more likely to go to a top university than those from the poorest areas. And they are nearly three times more likely to study for a degree at all, according to new research by the Independent Commission on Fees …” (more)
[Belfast Telegraph, 13 August]
“Speaking following a report published by the Higher Education Authority yesterday on student progression rates in third level, Sinn Féin Education Spokesperson Jonathan O’Brien TD has called on the Government to pay heed to their findings that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds find it harder to stay on at third level …” (more)
[Sinn Féin, 15 July]
“New research has laid bare the link between high dropout rates and universities that take undergraduates from low socio-economic backgrounds – and which institutions are managing to buck this trend …” (more)
[David Matthews, Times Higher Education, 9 January]
“Affluence at top US private universities has had profound consequences on tertiary education and increased the competitive challenges to public schools in the UK and US …” (more)
[Dennis Shen, British Politics and Policy, 9 September]
“Ireland offers its young people greater equality in getting a university education than almost any other developed country — and this has been paying off, according to a study on education across the OECD …” (more)
[Ann Cahill, Irish Examiner, 12 September]
“A chara, – Seán Flynn writes, ‘The new bonus points system gives a significant advantage to students who sit the higher-level maths paper’ (Front Page, June 5th). Mr Flynn also notes that career experts say bonus points for higher-level maths will push up CAO points for college courses …” (more)
[Niamh Murray, Irish Times, 7 June]
“Children from disadvantaged communities typically don’t grow up to be teachers; typically don’t return to their old schools as education leaders or beacons of educational advancement …” (more)
[Aodhán Ó Riordáin, Irish Times, 20 March]
“One of the most striking, not to say depressing, features of education everywhere is the presence of a strong socio-economic gradient: poorer kids get less education and fare worse in general than richer kids by pretty much any criterion in any country. Understanding why is a mammoth task …” (more)
[Kevin Denny, Geary Behavioural Economics Blog, 25 April]
“Bad school experiences, financial constraints and poor information are among the main barriers to prevent students from lower socio-economic groups studying at third-level. The ESRI claims many students from the ‘lower non-manual group’ also suffer from a poor understanding of the available financial supports and actual costs of going to college …” (more)
[Seán McCárthaigh, Irish Examiner, 13 April]
“About 1,000 college places a year are to be reserved for less well-off students who will have points added to their Leaving Certificate results when competing with other applicants. The scheme being operated by the seven universities, all teacher training colleges and Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), has previously been limited to students at about 300 schools …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 8 September]
