By Niall Gormley
Around 40 per cent of parents who send their children to religious ethos schools would like the schools to become multi-denominational according to the Primary School Survey.
More conservative and religious interpretations put this as 60 per cent wanting to maintain the present religious status.
However, the overall response national rate to the survey was 41 per cent in a survey that was open to all parents with school kids in the country.
A survey where only 40 per cent answer, even where everyone has been asked, still suffers from the fact that it is a self selecting survey. The overall outcome is 16 per cent for change, 24 per cent for no change and 60 per cent not all that bothered.
For such a hot-button, culture war topic as religious control of schools, it’s a poor turnout but perhaps an antidote to all the hyperventilating online.
For single sex schools, the writing is probably on the wall. Parents appear convinced that schools should really prepare children for real world experience. There are not many gender segregated areas of life left.
The overwhelming desire to keep English language instruction is a little strange. Other surveys show that up to a quarter of parents would send their kids to a gaelscoil if they had a choice.
There can’t be many schools which have actually switched language so asking parents if they want their present school to change may not be the best approach. There are strong arguments for bilingualism and the advantage that brings to learning languages in general, which might be a better approach.
