Drumcondra Summer School – September 19-23, 2011
Drumcondra Summer School
Maximising the Use of Existing Data Sources to Inform Policy and Practice around Children’s LivesSeptember 19th –23rd, 2011
VENUE: St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9
BOOKING FORM
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Fee €50
Payment must accompany booking form by Friday 16th September.
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Payable to:St Patrick’s College
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Phone: (01)8065226 or (01) 8373789 / Postaladdress:
Drumcondra Summer School
Educational Research Centre
St Patrick’s College
Drumcondra,Dublin 9
TO ASSIST US IN PROVIDING SESSIONS THAT MEET THE NEEDS OF PARTICIPANTS, PLEASE ALSO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING:
- How would you describe your overall proficiency in data analysis? (Tick one)
Beginner / [ ]
Intermediate / [ ]
Advanced / [ ]
- Are you familiar with the following? (Tick all that apply)
Descriptive analysis / [ ]
Exploratory factor analysis / [ ]
Regression analysis / [ ]
Multi-level modelling / [ ]
International educational survey datasets (e.g. TIMSS, PISA) / [ ]
- Have you used the following analysis software?(Tick all that apply)
SPSS / [ ]
SAS / [ ]
WesVar / [ ]
MPlus / [ ]
HLM / [ ]
Other (please specify:) / [ ]
- Please add any additional information that might be of relevance here, including special accommodation or dietary needs:
Please email or post this form to the contact details shown on the previous page.
Drumcondra Summer School – September 19-23, 2011
Aims and objectives
The school, made possible by funding from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, aims to introduce participants to the range of publically available research and data related to children and their education, to introduce them to key elements of research methodology and data analysis, to provide hands-on experience of data analysis, and to integrate the results of research with policy.
The objective is to provide participants with the key concepts and skills necessary to plan, undertake and evaluate research in this area. Participants will be able to take away and use copies of the software they have been working with during the school so as to enhance their research and engagement with existing data.
Target participants
The school is aimed at postgraduate students in education or other social sciences, as well as staff from charitable organisations and NGOs who are not professional researchers but who may want to conduct research or critically evaluate existing research and data sources.
Cost
The summer school will cost €50. This will cover morning and afternoon coffee and a light lunch for participants on-campus. Up to 40 participants will also be given a free 1-year user licence of SPSS and a free copy of HLM software.
For those who are interested in taking part in the school but who cannot travel to Dublin there will be webaccess to some of thesessions.
Presenters and topics
Professor James Williams (Economic and Social Research Institute) is Principal Investigator and Co-director of the National Longitudinal Study of Children in Ireland (NLSCI). James will talk about the longitudinal study, the data publically available, and its use and value in guiding public policy decisions.
Dr Colin Cooperis Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the Queen's University of Belfast. He spent six years (2003-2009) as Director of Education in the School of Psychology. Colin will present a hands-on workshop dealing with exploratory data analysis (EDA), factor analysis and psychometrics.
John Dunne is a Senior Statistician whose responsibilities include managingthe Administrative Data Centre at Central Statistics Office. A key part of John’s role is to develop links with other organisations with a view to identifying new opportunities to exploit data for statistical purposes. John will cover his work with the Department of Education and Skills and the Office of the Minister of Children. He will also detail current CSO data holdings and activities.
Dr Peter Archer is the Director of the Educational Research Centre, St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin. He began his career at the Research Centre but worked from 1988 to 1999 for the Education Office of the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI). Much of his work has been concerned with issues of inequality and disadvantage and he has a particular interest in the relationship between research on the one hand and policy and practice on the other. Peter will talk about the Centre’s work related to the assessment of levels of disadvantage in schools for ‘DEIS’ (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the evaluation of the School Support Programme (SSP) under DEIS, as well as other aspects of the Centre’s work.
Dr Gerry Shiel is a Research Fellow at the Educational Research Centre. He has extensive experience working with data from national and international assessments,. Gerry will present a day-long hands-on computer workshop designed to familiarise participants with analysis using data from the 2009 National Assessments of mathematics and English reading literacy. It will include: structure of the survey, data cleaning, exploratory data analysis using SPSS, application of design weights, and analysis using specialised software (WesVar). Practical activities, based on participants’ research questions, will focus on analysing mean score differences; profiles of high and low performers; computing and evaluating correlations; performing regression analysis; and presenting data using graphs and charts. The workshop will draw on the World Bank text series, National Assessments of Educational Achievement.
Dr David Millar is a Research Associate at the Educational Research Centre. David has worked on data from a number of agencies including the National Education and Welfare Board, the ESRI, the State Examinations Commission, and An Garda Síochána. David will present two sessions on empirical research; sampling, measurement and quality assurance in data collection; randomised controlled trials; and systematic reviews. In advance of Gerry Shiel’s day-long computer workshop dealing with 2009 national assessment data David will provide a session introducing participants to the SPSS statistical package.
Dr Jude Cosgrove and Dr Lorraine Gilleece are Research Associates at the Educational Research Centre. Jude is Ireland’s representative on the governing board for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). She has previously been project manager for a number of international and national studies. She also worked at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER; 2006-07). Lorraine has worked on recent international comparative assessments including the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (2009) and the OECD's Teaching and Learning International Survey (2008). Jude and Lorraine will present a session introducing participants to multi-level modelling using Irish data from recent international projects.
Programme Outline
Monday 19th September
Morning – Lecture, Peter Archer on DEIS.
Afternoon – Lecture, David Millar on Empirical Research.
Tuesday 20th September
Morning – Lecture, John Dunne on CSO Data Holdings.
Afternoon – Computer Lab, David Millar, Introduction to SPSS.
Wednesday 21st September
Morning – Computer Lab, Gerry Shiel, Data Analysis.
Afternoon – Computer Lab, Gerry Shiel, Data Analysis.
Thursday 22nd September
Morning – Lecture, James Williams on Growing Up in Ireland.
Afternoon – Lecture/Workshop, Colin Cooper on Exploratory Data Analysis.
Friday 23rd September
Morning – Computer Lab, Jude Cosgrove & Lorraine Gilleece, Multi-level Modelling.
Afternoon – Lecture, David Millar on Randomised Controlled Trials and Systematic Reviews.
Queries
Further information on the content and location of the sessions will be made available at
For queries, phone (01) 8065226 or (01) 8373789.
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