Off to a Good Start? Primary School Experiences and the Transition to Second-level Education

Dr Katherine Zappone, T.D., Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, launched a new Growing Up in Ireland report titled Off to a Good Start? Primary School Experiences and the Transition to Second-Level Education by Professor Emer Smyth, ESRI. Professor Smyth presented the key findings from the report.

Emer Smyth's presentation is available to download here.

Off to a Good Start? Primary School Experiences and the Transition to Second-Level Education is available to download here.

Growing up ireland

The transition to second-level education has been identified as a major landmark in young people’s lives: moving to a new school involves exposure to new teachers and ways of learning, as well as a new peer group. This report draws on Growing Up in Ireland data collected when children were 9 and subsequently 13 to explore the factors shaping their experiences of the transition period.

About Growing Up in Ireland 

Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) is the national longitudinal study of children. It is funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, with a contribution from The Atlantic Philanthropies in the current phase. The study is managed and overseen by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in association with the Central Statistics Office. It is carried out by a consortium of researchers led by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Trinity College Dublin.