DOCSLIB.ORG

Ireland In-Work Poverty and Labour Market Segmentation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ireland In-Work Poverty and Labour Market Segmentation www.peer-review-social-inclusion.eu Ireland In-work poverty and labour market Segmentation A Study of National Policies Mary Daly Queen’s University Belfast, UK Disclaimer: This report reflects the views of its May 2010 author(s) and these are not necessarily those of either the European Commission or the Member States. The original language of the report is English. On behalf of the European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities IRELAND Content Summary..................................................................................................................................................3 1. Presentation of the Current Situation – Statistical Overview .......................................................4 2. Main Causes of In-Work Poverty and Labour Market Segmentation: Literature Review .........10 3. Presentation and Analysis of Policies..........................................................................................13 3.1 In-work Poverty...................................................................................................................... 13 3.1.1 Low Net Wage ............................................................................................................. 14 3.1.2 Tax Credits for Low-wage/Income Workers ................................................................. 15 3.1.3 Social Benefits to Those on Low Wages...................................................................... 16 3.1.4 Low work Intensity ...................................................................................................... 17 3.2 Labour Market Segmentation................................................................................................. 19 3.2.1 Job Retention and Advancement................................................................................. 19 3.3 Working Conditions and “Employees' Friendly” Flexibility: Voluntary part-time, Parental leave, Atypical hours ........................................................................................................................ 19 3.4 Life-long Learning.................................................................................................................. 20 3.5 Non-Discrimination Policies and Inclusive Work Environments ............................................. 20 3.6 The Role of the Social Partners............................................................................................. 21 References.............................................................................................................................................22 2 IRELAND Summary While it hardly needs pointing out, one has to make reference at the outset to both the rapid changes that Ireland has been undergoing and the fact that there are major gaps in our knowledge about the impact of this. While official statistics are very helpful in illuminating some of these changes, there is always a time lag in getting underway the kind of detailed research needed to illuminate underlying causal relationships. Against this background, it should be noted, therefore, that much of the research reported here is based on the period of boom in Ireland and that the report was written in May 2010. Then, as now, detailed and timely research on the impact of the recession and the kinds of changes it has induced was unavailable. Ireland’s rate of in-work poverty, at 6 per cent in 2008, compares relatively favourably in the European constellation, being below average. It is a rate that has remained more or less stable over the recent period, not touched by the downward trend in financial poverty especially among the unemployed in the years preceding 2008. As regards the labour market, on the main indicators of labour market segmentation, Ireland is around the EU average. But it is clear that the Irish labour market has a significant share of low-quality employment. Gender segregation, both vertically and horizontally, continues to be a feature of the Irish labour market and has remained stable or stubborn in the face of the huge inflow of Irish women into the labour market in the last decade or so. In addition, mention must be made of the fact that the low wage traps in Ireland are higher than the EU norm for some sectors of the population (viz. one earner couples with two children). Labour market segmentation and in-work poverty have both been taken up by the policy making process in Ireland and indeed could be said to have been the subject of policy innovation. However, at the present time they are definitely not to the forefront of the policy agenda. The priority now is, first, getting the banks on a sustainable financial footing, then righting the country’s fiscal situation (with particular emphasis on cutting expenditure and public services) and, some considerable distance after that, reducing unemployment (although the unions accuse the government of not being sufficiently concerned about unemployment). To take an overview of the current general policy direction of the Irish government, it could and has been depicted as inclined towards an ad hoc ‘slash and burn’ approach to cutting public spending (Dobbins 2010). The Irish government shows few signs of following the US, UK, or continental European ‘Keynesian’ stimulus option of borrowing to invest in areas such as public works programmes or infrastructure, in order to ‘pump-prime’ the economy and inject much needed demand at a time of recession. Concerns about debt levels weigh heavily on the government framing of debate about the state of the economy. In particular, the response to unemployment has been muted. The trade unions and Ireland’s main employer organisation, IBEC, have jointly called for a €1 billion plan to maintain jobs; however, the government has initially only committed to a small-scale €250 million jobs plan aimed at maintaining 30,000 existing jobs. Furthermore, issues of job quality have received relatively little attention and have generally been downgraded in priority since the onset of the recession. The fact that social partnership is in limbo does not help here since it was the trade unions and the social pillars which championed issues of job quality and in-work poverty during the 20+ years of social partnership. 3 IRELAND However it is not just a matter of being pushed in the background. While Ireland has many of the right approaches in place, there are gaps and weaknesses also. Existing policies on job quality and in-work poverty need to be reframed in several respects. Furthermore, there are real gaps as regards monitoring, information and knowledge. Quality of employment has not been as important in Ireland as quantity of employment and this is reflected in the available information and the lack of clear definitions and indicators of in-work poverty and job quality indicators. 1. Presentation of the Current Situation – Statistical Overview In-work Poverty At the time of writing, the most recent available figures are from the EU-SILC 2008 (CSO 2009a). The overall in-work at-risk-of-poverty rate in Ireland1 in 2008 was 6.7 per cent – this is equivalent to over 110,000 persons. The overall at-risk-of- poverty rate was 14.4 per cent. The in-work poverty rate was unchanged from the 2007 figure. At that stage Ireland was considerably below the 2007 EU-25 average (8 per cent). In fact, the 2007 figures placed Ireland among the 9th lowest in the EU-25, along with Austria, Cyprus, France and Hungary (ibid: 86). It is relevant to note that the 2007-2008 period saw a decline in the overall at-risk-of-poverty rate in Ireland of 2.1 percentage points and a decline of some 15.7 percentage points for those whose principal economic status was listed as ‘unemployed’. A relatively static in-work poverty rate is notable in this context, although looked at in the longer term the rate has been on a downward curve. Looking at the poverty population overall in 2008, those in employment had the lowest risk of poverty of any group – however overall they made up nearly one fifth (19 per cent) of persons at risk of poverty and comprised the largest single group of persons at risk of poverty. There are no significant gender differences. No breakdowns by age, educational level or household type for the in-work poor are published. Looking at the changes in income and risk of poverty more broadly, the risk of poverty was closely related to the number of people working in a household. In 2008, the at risk of poverty rate for households with no workers was 32.7 per cent, for those with one worker it was 15.7 per cent, for those with two it was 5.1 per cent and for those with three or more workers it was 4.2 per cent (ibid: 48). Somewhat less than a half of those at risk of poverty in 2008 lived in households where at least one person was in employment. 1 Defined as those individuals who are classified as employed (according to their most frequent activity status) and whose equivalised disposable income is below 60% of national median equivalised income. 4 IRELAND Tax Rate on Low Wage Workers: Low Wage Traps The low wage trap (as defined for Table 19.M6, European Commission 2009) in Ireland in 2008 was 88 for a one earner couple with two children and 50 for a single person with no children. Around the EU average for the latter, it was considerably above the EU average for the former, suggesting work disincentives for this family type. In both cases the low wage trap has gone up considerably over the course of the decade. The unemployment trap as measured
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Q3central Bank Quarterly Bulletin
    JULY 11 JULY Q3 Central Bank Quarterly Bulletin Central Bank of Ireland Quarterly Bulletin 03 / July 11 © Central Bank of Ireland 2011 Contents Section 1 Forecast Summary Table 6 Comment 7 The Domestic Economy 9 Box A: The Impact of the Car Scrappage Scheme on Retail Sales Box B: Relative Trends in Irish Services Producer Prices An Timpeallacht Gheilleagrach 33 Financing Developments in the Irish Economy 35 Box 1: Developments in Retail Interest Rate Margins Developments in the International and Euro Area Economy 53 Box 1: Recent Developments in Euro Area Housing Markets Box 2: A Study of Irish Trade with China Recent Economic Research Publications 68 Section 2 The Rise and Fall of Sectoral Net Wealth in Ireland 70 Mary Cussen and Gillian Phelan Using the Bank Lending Survey to Understand the Recent Disruption to Financial Markets: An Overview 83 Bernard Kennedy Meeting the Statistical Challenges of Financial Innovation: Introducing New Data on Securitisation 109 Brian Godfrey and Clive Jackson Section 3 Statistical Appendix Notes 1. The permission of the Government has been obtained for the use in this Bulletin of certain material compiled by the Central Statistics Office and Government Departments. The Bulletin also contains material which has been made available by the courtesy of licensed banks and other financial institutions. 2. Unless otherwise stated, statistics refer to the State, i.e., Ireland exclusive of Northern Ireland. 3. In some cases, owing to the rounding of figures, components do not add to the totals shown. 4. The method of seasonal adjustment used in the Bank is that of the US Bureau of the Census X-11 variant.
    [Show full text]
  • Health Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan 2019-2024
    Health Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan 2019-2024 Prepared under the National Adaptation Framework Prepared by the Department of Health www.gov.ie/health Health Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan 2019-2024 1 Contents Foreword 5 Executive Summary 7 Development of a Plan for Ireland’s Health Sector, 2019 – 2024 7 Six climate scenarios with profound health implications 8 Predicted climate risks and health impacts for Ireland include: 10 1. Introduction 11 Mandate and vision 12 Health context and the case for adaptation 13 Mainstreaming climate change adaptation 14 Limitations – more research, better data 15 Development of this Plan 16 2. Scene-setting: climate change, health, and Ireland 21 2.1. Health in Ireland, climate in Ireland 22 2.1.1 Health of the population 22 2.1.2 Climate in Ireland 23 2.1.3 Climate change projections for Ireland 23 2.2. Effect of climate change on human health 24 2.3. Health implications of climate change in Ireland 24 2.3.1 Health impacts of temperature changes 24 2.3.2 Health impacts of drought and flooding 29 2.3.3 Health impacts of storms 32 2.3.4 Mental health impacts 32 2.3.5 Risks to health services 32 3. Prioritisation 35 3.1. Climate Impact Screening 36 3.2. Developing Priorities 38 3.3. Climate scenarios – Priority Impacts 41 3.3.1 UV / Sun exposure 41 3.3.2 Air pollution 41 3.3.3 Windstorms 41 3.3.4 Heat / Heatwaves 42 3.3.5 High precipitation / Flooding 43 3.3.6 Extreme cold snaps 43 2 Contents 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Evaluation of the Irish Referendum on Lisbon Treaty, June 2008
    Evaluation of the Irish Referendum on Lisbon Treaty, June 2008 Markus Schmidgen democracy international is a network promoting direct democracy. Our basic goal is the establishment of direct democracy (initiative and referendum) as a complement to representative democracy within the European Union and in the nation states. We also work on the general democratisation of the European Union, democratic reform and more direct and participatory democracy worldwide. http://www.democracy-international.org Written by Markus Schmidgen Layout: Ronald Pabst Proof-reading (contents):, Gayle Kinkead, Ronald Pabst, Thomas Rupp Proof-reading (language): Sheena A. Finley, Warren P. Mayr Advice: Dr. Klaus Hofmann, Bruno Kaufmann, Frank Rehmet Please refer all questions to: [email protected] Published by democracy international V 0.9 (4.9.2008) Evaluation of the Irish Referendum on Lisbon Treaty, June 2008 I Introduction This report examines the process of the Irish CONTENT referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. The referendum was held on June 12, 2008 and was the only referendum on this treaty. The evaluation is I INTRODUCTION .......................................... 3 based on the criteria set by the Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe (IRIE). These criteria are internationally recognized as standards to II SETTING...................................................... 4 measure how free and fair a referendum process is conducted. This enables the reader to compare the II.1 Background ................................................... 4 Irish Lisbon referendum to other referendums and to identify the points that could be improved as well II.2 Actors ............................................................. 4 as those that are an example to other nations. II.3 Evaluation...................................................... 7 We at Democracy International and our European partners have already published a series of reports on the EU constitutional referenda of 2005: Juan III CONCLUSION.........................................
    [Show full text]
  • Psychiatry in Ireland
    36 programmes in Canada. Another is currently doing her intern- virtually non-existent. The services are restricted to the main ship at Harvard Medical School. All of them completed the psychiatric hospital, albeit with some out-patient clinics in 1-year internship at the psychiatric hospital before proceed- general and specialist hospitals. The provision of services at ing abroad for higher psychiatric training. The recruitment primary health and community level is absent. of suitable supervisory senior staff and the documentation of general psychiatry and its sub- specialty training posts should lead to the development of a local postgraduate training Psychiatric research in Kuwait scheme in the country. The Department of Psychiatry, together with the hospital staff at the MOH, has largely been responsible for psychiatric research in the country. It has generated more than 50 Current status of services publications in peer-reviewed international journals during The psychiatric services took a quantum leap with the com- the past 10 years. The research areas have varied with epi- pletion of a new extension to the hospital in 2005. A new demio logical, social and biological psychiatry constituting the block with 262 beds (bringing the hospital’s total to 691) was dominant themes. added and the old drug addiction treatment centre with 100 beds was replaced by a newly built facility with 225 beds. In addition to the existing forensic psychiatry and rehabilitation Outlook units, child and family, and old age psychiatry out-patient services were set up. The hospital staff offers advisory, super- The past decade has witnessed substantial development of visory and consultancy services to the Min istries of Social psychiatric services in Kuwait.
    [Show full text]
  • Workplace Equality in Ireland 2008
    www.ictu.ie/equality Workplace Equality in Ireland 2008 This publication is supported by the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of the European Commission. Foreword by Congress 3 Congress Equality in Ireland 2008 Workplace Introduction 5 1. Equality in Ireland today 6 1.1 Low employment rates 6 1.2 The equality pay gap 8 1.3 Occupational segregation 9 1.4 Inadequate flexible working 9 possibilities and childcare 1.5 Experience of Discrimination 10 1 1.6 Conclusion 10 2. Key issues 11 2.1 Access to the workplace and 11 promotions 2.2 The equality pay gap 12 2.3 Work-life balance 16 2.4 Childcare 17 2.5 Workplace culture 21 2.6 A broader approach to equality 23 3. Recommendations 26 3.1 A positive duty to achieve equality 26 3.2 Access to the workplace and 27 promotions 3.3 The equality pay gap 28 3.4 Work-life balance 30 3.5 Childcare 31 3.6 Workplace culture 32 References 34 Workplace Equality in Ireland 2008 Congress 2 Congress Equality in Ireland 2008 Workplace Foreword 3 Congress believes in equal rights for all Unfortunately, that debate is now needed workers and is committed to combating more than ever before as things have all forms of discrimination and promoting changed dramatically since 2007. The equality. We were therefore very pleased unprecedented economic difficulties the to be an active national partner in the country now faces have resulted in an Irish activities for the European Year of attack on our equality infrastructure with Equal Opportunities for All in 2007.
    [Show full text]
  • Design, Instrumentation and Procedures for Cohort '98 at 17/18 Years Of
    TECHNICAL SERIES NUMBER 2019-5 Growing Up in Ireland National Longitudinal Study of Children COHORT ’98 (FORMERLY CHILD COHORT) Design, Instrumentation and Procedures for Cohort ’98 at 17/18 years of age Growing Up in Ireland National Longitudinal Study of Children Design, Instrumentation and Procedures for Cohort ’98 at 17/18 years of age Daráine Murphy, James Williams, Aisling Murray, Emer Smyth Name Title Institution Daráine Murphy ESRI (Alumna) James Williams Research Professor ESRI (Alumnus) Aisling Murray Senior Research Officer ESRI Research Professor and Joint Principal Emer Smyth ESRI Investigator, Growing Up in Ireland The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders or of either of the two institutions involved in preparing the report. GROWING UP IN IRELAND • DESIGN, INSTRUMENTATION AND PROCEDURES FOR COHORT ’98 AT 17/18 YEARS OF AGE Copyright © Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, June 2019 Department of Children and Youth Affairs Block 1 Miesian Plaza 50-58 Baggot Street Lower Dublin 2 D02 XW14 Tel: +353 (0)1 647 3000 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.dcya.gov.ie All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holder. For rights of translation or reproduction, applications should be made to the Head of Communications, Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Block 1, Miesian Plaza, 50-58 Baggot Street Lower, Dublin 2, D02 XW14, Ireland.
    [Show full text]
  • Ireland: From
    How to Prevent tHe next Crisis: Lessons from Country experienCes of the GLobaL finanCiaL Crisis Ireland: From . Good example to . major WarnInG . Declan Dineen, Julie Kennedy and Donal Palcic. PAGE 1 THE NORTH-SOUTH INSTITUTE Ireland – From Good example to major WarnInG Declan Dineen, Julie Kennedy and Donal Palcic IntroductIon While it could not have been fully understood at the time, few countries entered the global recession as poorly positioned as Ireland. This was an economy where gross national product (GNP) grew at a rate in the range of 5–15 percent every year from 1991 to 2006 (Kelly, 2010), and this sustained growth achievement had been widely admired. Yet Ireland, once seen as a good example, now serves notice of a major warning. Kelly (2010) describes the Irish economic growth performance during the past two decades as a sequence of transitions “from basket case to superstar and back again – or almost”. The story is certainly compelling, and is character- ised by what appears to have been a remarkable economic transformation, followed by a very pronounced and ongoing contraction. This paper explains Ireland’s economic rise and reversal. The key to understanding what happened to Ireland lies in realising that the recorded surge in macroeconomic growth stemmed from two very different phases, and the transition between them attended a significant change in the structure of the Irish economy. Ireland is a textbook small open economy, where exports represent over 90 percent of gross domestic product (GDP),1 and the move from boom to bubble mirrored the dynamic in the country’s growth in exports.
    [Show full text]
  • Central Bank of Ireland 75Th Anniversary Brochure
    75 YEARS OF CHANGE 75 Years of Change: The Story of the Central Bank of Ireland. From its foundation in 1943, and throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Central Bank of Ireland was tasked with specific, if initially limited, powers and functions, the most important of which was to “safeguard the integrity of the currency”. Based in Foster Place, in Dublin city centre, the Central Bank guided Ireland through the difficult post-war years. As the economy improved and strengthened, so the institution grew in importance as it was delegated new roles and responsibilities. 75 YEARS OF CHANGE | PAGE 1 Foster Place was built as a house of parliament by Edward Pearce in the 1700s, and subsequently extended at different stages by architects James Gandon, Robert Parke and Francis Johnston. It was originally home to the Central Bank’s predecessor, the Currency Commission, and ownership passed to the Central Bank upon its establishment. The building was later sold to its current owners, Bank of Ireland. PAGE 2 | 75 YEARS OF CHANGE 75 YEARS OF CHANGE | PAGE 3 “ Some people imagine that central banks, if their powers are wide enough, and if they are used, can almost create a new heaven and new earth. I do not know that that has been tried anywhere.” Seán T. O’Kelly, Tánaiste & Minister for Finance, 1942. PAGE 4 | 75 YEARS OF CHANGE 1943 “Creating Heaven and Earth” The Central Bank was established in the former Currency Commission’s offices in Foster Place. Dr Joseph Brennan, previously chair of the Currency Commission, was appointed the first Governor.
    [Show full text]
  • Migration and Asylum 2008:Ireland
    EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK ANNUAL POLICY REPORT ON MIGRATION AND ASYLUM 2008: IRELAND CORONA JOYCE 2009 Research Study Prepared for the European Migration Network The opinions presented in this report are those of the Irish National Contact Point of the European Migration Network and do not represent the position of the Irish Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform or the European Commission Directorate-General Freedom, Security and Justice. EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK ANNUAL POLICY REPORT ON MIGRATION AND ASYLUM 2008: IRELAND CORONA JOYCE 2009 ISBN 978 0 7070 0291 0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report has benefited greatly from comments on an earlier draft by Hilkka Becker, Catherine Cosgrave of the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI); Emma Carey, Robin Hanan, Jyothi Kanics, Michael Quinlan, Caoimhe Sheridan of the Irish Refugee Council (IRC); Raluca Anucuta and Siobhan O’Donoghue of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI); staff members of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform; staff members of the Office of the Minister for Integration, and by my colleague Philip O’Connell. Thanks are also due to Deirdre Whitaker, Mary Cleary and Regina Moore for preparing this manuscript for publication. This report is the fifth in a series of Annual Policy Reports, a series that is intended to provide a coherent overview of immigration trends and policy development during consecutive periods beginning in January 2003. Many thanks to my colleague Emma Quinn for her valuable comments and input into this report. Assistance with analysis of significant legal occurrences during 2008 was provided by John Stanley, independent consultant. IV CONTENTS Page Abbreviations and Irish Terms ix Executive Summary x 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Irish Economists in Irish Public Discourse in the Great Recession
    Technological University Dublin ARROW@TU Dublin Other School of Marketing 2017-7 The Evolution of an Enduring Expertise: Understanding Irish Economists in Irish public discourse in the Great Recession Joe Fitzgerald Technological University Dublin, [email protected] Brendan O'Rourke Technological University Dublin, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/buschmaroth Part of the Journalism Studies Commons, Modern Literature Commons, and the Sociology of Culture Commons Recommended Citation Fitzgerald, J. & O'Rourke, B. (2017) The Evolution of an Enduring Expertise: Understanding Irish Economists in Irish public discourse in the Great Recession, 24th International Conference of Europeanists, University of Glasgow, UK July 12-14, 2017. This Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Marketing at ARROW@TU Dublin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Other by an authorized administrator of ARROW@TU Dublin. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License The Evolution of an Enduring Expertise: Understanding Irish Economists in Irish public discourse in the Great Recession Conference paper for the 24th International Conference of Europeanists University of Glasgow, UK July 12-14, 2017.. Joseph K FITZGERALD & Brendan K. O’ROURKE, School of Marketing / Business, Society and Sustainability Research Centre , Dublin Institute of Technology, Aungier St, Dublin D02 HW71, IRELAND. Email: [email protected] / [email protected] . www.brendanKORourke.com Outline of Presentation 1. Introduction 2. Theoretical Understandings. 3. Economics’ Order of Learning in Ireland 4.
    [Show full text]
  • From a Dream to a Nightmare
    From a Dream to a Nightmare It was supposed to mark the beginning of a new era in Irish politics. The Green Party entered into a coalition government with Fianna Fail in 2007 bringing with it the ideas of a new greener economy and all the hopes and aspirations of environmentalists, but instead their time in power turned out like a comedic tragedy. One person near the epicenter of that government is the author of Without Power Or Glory, The Greens In Government. Dan Boyle was a senator for the Green Party in the Irish senate during those short yet turbulent years that his party was in government, and through this book he attempts to piece together what went wrong and how it all ended so brutally. Unlike long established parties like Labour (1912), Fine Gael (1922), Sinn Fein (1905) and Fianna Fail (1926), the Irish Green Party was founded in 1981. It was a political party unaffected by civil war politics and infused with fresh ideas for a new generation. It took time for the Greens to evolve into a parliamentary party; in its infant years they represented the voice of the protester and the young radical, but in 2002 during the boom of the Celtic tiger era they won six seats in Dail Eireann including the author Dan Boyle, who represented the Cork South Central constituency. By 2006, the 25th anniversary of the party, Boyle informs us that the Greens were moving in the direction of carving out a governmental image. “Election efforts were ongoing to change the party from one of protest and opposition to a party of government.” (16) By spring 2007 morale within the party was at its highest as all eyes were on taking advantage of Prime Minster Bertie Ahern’s lurking problems at the Mahon tribunal where he tried in vain to explain his corrupt dealings while the public was also growing somewhat tired of Fianna Fail which had been in power since 1997.
    [Show full text]
  • Measuring the Mathematical Problem Solving and Procedural Skills of Students in an Irish Higher Education Institution – a Pilot Study
    European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education Vol. 8, No. 2, 2020 , 92-106 Measuring the mathematical problem solving and procedural skills of students in an Irish higher education institution – A pilot study Fiona Faulkner1, Cormac Breen2, Mark Prendergast3* and Michael Carr4 1School of Hospitality, Tourism and Management, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland 2School of Mathematical Sciences, Technological University Dublin , Dublin, Ireland 3School of Education, University College Cork, Ireland 4School of Multidisciplinary Technologies, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. For correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: In 2010 the Irish second level mathematics curriculum underwent a period of significant change when a new mathematics curriculum was introduced. Some preliminary research has been carried out into the impact, if any, that this mathematics curriculum is having on students mathematics performance which have suggested that students’ procedural skills are declining year on year however their problem solving skills may have improved (Treacy and Faulkner 2015). Additional research in this area also highlighted that students willingness to engage in problem solving activities may have improved (Prendergast et al 2017). However preliminary analysis on the impact of the reformed mathematics curriculum, if any, on students’ performance in higher education noted that further research was needed in this area to definitively establish what is happening. This research therefore aims to explicitly determine whether the procedural and problem solving skills of beginning undergraduates are changing over time as a result of the reformed mathematics curriculum introduced in second level education. A paper based diagnostic test designed and developed is used in an attempt to determine this. This paper will detail the piloting of this diagnostic test with a group of higher education students in the Irish context.
    [Show full text]