Opinions of the Irish public on the goals of education

In a survey of a representative sample of the Irish adult (aged 15+ years) population (n:1,511), respondents were asked in interview their opinion about the emphasis which primary schools placed on 13 goals. In this paper, results are provided for respondent gender, age, socioeconomic level, school leaving standard, and whether or not the respondent had children in the education system. While the findings indicate broad public support for the objectives, there were considerable differences in the approval given various objectives and between categories of respondent. Male and female respondents differed for only three goals. Differences relating to age, socioeconomic status, and school leaving standard were much more common. Younger and better educated respondents were most critical of the current system.