• Shaping educational expectations: the perspectives of 13-year-olds and their parents

    Educational expectations and the way in which they shape actual outcomes act as an important vehicle for the intergenerational reproduction of social inequality. This article draws on rich information from the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study to explore the factors influencing the educationa…

  • The transition to primary education: Insights from the Growing Up in Ireland Study

    This study uses Growing Up in Ireland data to examine how 9,000 children adjusted to primary school. It finds that the vast majority of five year olds are positive about school, look forward to going to school and say good things about school. The study showed that children start school with differe…

  • Arts and Cultural Participation among Children and Young People: Insights from the Growing Up in Ireland Study

    This major study, conducted by the ESRI on behalf of the Arts Council, draws on Growing Up in Ireland data to assess arts and cultural participation specifically among 3, 5, 9 and 13-year-olds

  • Wellbeing and School Experiences among 9- and 13-Year-Olds: Insights from the Growing Up in Ireland Study

  • Social relationships and the transition to secondary school

    International research has pointed to the social and academic adjustment required of young people moving to secondary education and the importance of social support in easing this transition. However, studies have rarely looked at the simultaneous impact of different social networks on this process…

  • Attitudes to Irish as a School Subject among 13-year-olds

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of background and school factors on second-level students’ attitudes toward Irish as a school subject drawing on the Growing Up in Ireland study. The study focuses on the perceptions of the core subjects, English, Mathematics and Irish, and p…

  • Understanding Parental Influence on Educational Outcomes Among 9 Year Olds in Ireland: The Mediating Role of Resources, Attitudes and Children’s Own Perspectives

    The relationship between parental background and children’s educational outcomes has been a dominant theme within the sociology of education. There has been an on-going debate as to the relative merits of explanations which focus on the role of socio-cultural reproduction and those which focus on ra…

  • The Effect of Pandemic-Related Economic Disruption on Young Adolescents in Ireland

    The sudden health and economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic affords an opportunity to examine the impact of economic disruption to children and families. Any negative effects on the well-being of children are important to consider in relation to both short- and long-term outcomes. U…

  • Arts and cultural participation among 17-year-olds

    New research, conducted by the ESRI and funded by the Arts Council, shows that young people become less involved in cultural activities as they prepare for the Leaving Certificate and leave school. Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland study, the report charts a decline in reading for pleasure a…

  • Risk and protective factors in adolescent behaviour: The role of family, school and neighbourhood characteristics in (mis)behaviour among young people

    This report uses data collected on Cohort ’98 of the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study at 9, 13 and 171 years of age to examine the individual, family, peer, school and neighbourhood factors associated with adolescent behaviour patterns. The study adopts a multidimensional approach and draws on mult…

  • Inequalities from the Start? Children’s Integration into Primary School

    None of the many critical moments in Ireland’s often tumultuous history was more significant or defining than the Easter Rising of 1916. Central to the Rising was the Proclamation of Independence, in which Pádraig Pearse declared the new nation’s resolve to cherish all its children equally. CHERISHI…

  • Physical activity parenting practices in Ireland: a qualitative analysis

    Worldwide, children do not meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity (PA) and a unified approach is required to increase children’s engagement in PA. Parents, are increasingly regarded as playing a key role in children’s PA behaviours. Physical activity parenting (PAP) is growing as a re…

Cohort ’24

Cohort ’08

Cohort ’98