Summary

Power2Progress has had a transformative impact on the lives of 700 senior cycle students in participating DEIS schools in the Leinster region. The DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) scheme, introduced in 2005, provides additional resources to schools with high numbers of students at risk of educational disadvantage.

The provision by Power2Progress (P2P) of small-group tutorials, in subjects chosen by participating students, coupled with mentoring and career guidance support, has significantly impacted this cohort of students’ academic engagement, sense of self-efficacy, and progression to further and higher education. The provision of a dedicated laptop to all 700 students, which will remain with participating schools in perpetuity, has transformed their digital infrastructure and contributed to a more effective teaching and learning environment at a whole school level. The overall impact of P2P has had a ripple effect not only across the participating schools but also into the wider communities serving DEIS schools.

Research description

Access to and engagement in education in Ireland remains significantly shaped by social class, with students of lower socio-economic status typically attending DEIS schools. The Power2Progress team, led by Professor Judith Harford, worked with 21 DEIS schools and 700 senior cycle students during the period 2020-2024. The P2P programme comprised weekly after school tuition in small groups in subjects selected by the students themselves. It also comprised career guidance and mentoring support, a visit to the UCD campus and a dedicated laptop for all 700 students.

The design of the programme was based on authentic engagement with school leaders and guidance counsellors who were invited to UCD in 2019 and asked what they felt their students needed in order to meaningfully engage in further and higher education. The blueprint for the programme emerged from this initial meeting and was adapted according to the evolving needs of participating students. The roll out of the programme occurred from 2021-2023, followed by an evaluation of the impact in 2024. This involved questionnaires with students, focus groups with parents, and interviews with guidance counsellors, teachers and school leaders.

Key findings include higher levels of school engagement, attendance, and self-efficacy as well as significantly enhanced rates of progression to further and higher education. The research also found that the provision of a dedicated laptop to each student led to a more equitable and effective teaching and learning environment. This was particularly important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the pivot to remote learning.  The project also resulted in the fostering of a more positive, resilient culture at whole school level.

Research impact

Educational impact

Power2Progress has had a strong impact in multiples areas. The programme was launched in October 2021 by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, who commented ‘I’m delighted to be here today to help launch this incredibly important initiative which offers practical solutions to improve equality in education.’ Minister Norma Foley further commented the programme will ‘make a huge difference’ to the lives of disadvantaged students, through weekly after school tuition in small groups, career guidance and mentoring support, a visit to the UCD campus and a dedicated laptop for all students involved.

As part of the project, Minister Harris subsequently opened the UCD Shared Learning Day which welcomed all participating P2P students and their teachers to the UCD campus in May 2022. Students prepared poster presentations on their experience of the programme and two student representatives from each school presented on this to the Minister. Minister Harris then addressed circa 700 students and their teachers across two parallel sessions. A range of UCD lecturers delivered short lectures in key subject areas chosen by P2P students.

Commenting on the impact of the visit to UCD, Eithne Coyle, principal of St Mark’s Community School noted: ‘The experience and especially the speakers made a strong impression on our students. It was all so perfectly pitched and clearly the result of much careful preparation. The neuroscientist is the talk of the biology class. We all loved his inspirational presentation. The whole day exuded care and respect - this was not lost on our students.’

Political and social impact

In October 2022, Minister Simon Harris opened a Royal Irish Academy Symposium on the theme of educational disadvantage organised by Professor Harford, at which P2P students and principals engaged in a roundtable discussion on the impact of P2P. Commenting on the impact of the programme, Minister Harris noted P2P is ‘an exceptional programme, which will make a real difference to the lives of the 600 plus participating students in DEIS schools nationally, a gamechanger in allowing these students to access further and higher education pathways.’

P2P featured in several articles in The Irish Times and the Irish Examiner newspapers, two of the most widely read publications in Ireland.

ACADEMIC IMPACT

Professor Harford was awarded Irish Research Council Impact Researcher of the Year because of her role in highlighting gender and social class inequalities in education, an award which paid particular tribute to her leadership of the Power2Progress Programme. Commenting on the award, UCD President Orla Feely noted ‘Professor Harford is a really outstanding researcher doing really important work with great impact.’