Showing papers by "Merike Darmody published in 2008"

Full-Time Students? Term-Time Employment among Higher Education Students in Ireland.

Abstract: A good deal of research has focused on part‐time employment among full‐time students in higher education. However, little attention has been paid to the way in which these patterns may reflect societally specific processes rather than universal trends. This paper examines ways in which the higher education system itself can influence variation in student employment, using the Republic of Ireland as a case study. The Irish case is interesting because of the presence of rapid economic growth side by side with marked increases in educational participation rates. This paper reports on a national survey of 3900 higher education students. It indicates the way in which employment levels vary according to course requirements and funding arrangements as well as socio‐demographic factors. In addition, the paper places student involvement in part‐time work in the context of their overall workload and its impact on levels of life satisfaction, an area largely neglected in international research. It is argued in this ...

Acting up or opting out? Truancy in Irish secondary schools

Abstract: This paper explores the way in which truancy levels are structured by individual social class and the social mix of the school within the Republic of Ireland, where limited research is available on...

Field of Study and Students' Workload in Higher Education: Ireland and Austria in Comparative Perspective

Abstract: There is a growing recognition of the importance of `field of study' in social research. However, few of the existing studies explore the extent to which different fields of study facilitate or constrain opportunities to engage in employment and students' perceptions of their work load in higher education. This article aims to explore the workload of higher education students across different fields of study in comparative perspective. Contrasting Ireland and Austria enables us to explore the way in which the institutional context influences student workload. Analyses of the survey data were conducted to explore the extent to which field of study influenced time spent at formal classes, on personal study and in term-time employment. Regression models were used to estimate the effect of field of study, controlling for a number of factors, including higher education institution, personal characteristics and other potential constraints on student time. Finally, we analyse the effect of student workload on ov...

Changing Times, Changing Schools? Quality of Life for Students

Abstract: Public opinion of the Irish educational system is broadly positive. The vast majority of the adult population report high levels of confidence in the educational system and the public are generally satisfied with the performance of schools and teachers (Fahey Hayes and Sinnott, 2005; Kellaghan et al., 2004). In fact, the strength of the educational system has been identified as a key factor in recent economic growth (Fitz Gerald, 2000). Public discussion has focused more on academic outcomes, especially examination grades, than on young people’s broader development. Perhaps paradoxically, given the level of public confidence in the system, the pursuit of academic grades would appear to be a driving force behind the increasing number of young people attending ‘grind’ schools and other fee-paying schools. The proportion of students going on to higher education has increasingly been used in newspaper reports as an indicator of a school’s ‘success’. But what impact do schools have on the actual quality of life of young people in contemporary Ireland? This question is all the more important given the significant transformation in the lives of Irish young people brought about by broader social and economic changes over the past 15 years. Economic growth since the 1990s has led to rising living standards within families and has meant a reshaping of the boundaries between work and school for young people. Teenagers have been given more autonomy within the family and increasing freedom in their social lives. Over fourfifths of young people are now staying on in school until Leaving Certificate level. To what extent has the school system responded to these changes? The 1970s and 1980s had seen the transformation of secondlevel education from one serving an elite group of students to a system of mass education.