The influence of the school environment on pupils’ educational outcomes has long been established (Kutsyuruba et al., 2015; Mullis et al., 2013). Having a safe, structured and encouraging learning environment is associated with higher achievement and improved wellbeing (Cohen et al., 2009; Mullis et al., 2019; Thapa et al., 2013). Therefore, research on the school environment is important as it can have practical implications for educational policy. International large-scale assessments such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), which are based on nationally representative samples of pupils at the target grade at the time of the assessment, allow researchers to examine aspects of the school environment from different perspectives. Factors such as school climate and school safety and discipline can be examined in both studies. The study cycles that are of particular focus in this paper are TIMSS 2019 and PIRLS 2021. These cycles can be seen as bookending the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years, during which extended periods of nationwide school closures occurred in Ireland as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These closures resulted in disruption to in-person teaching and learning and a transition to remote learning, which could potentially have impacted the school environment in the longer term.

Due to the unprecedented disruption in education that occurred between the administrations of TIMSS 2019 and PIRLS 2021, these data, stemming from school principals, class teachers, pupils, and parents/guardians, present a key opportunity to examine whether school environments in Ireland differed substantially between these time points. While we cannot infer causation when comparing cross-sectional datasets such as these, the nationally representative findings may help us to better understand the school landscape in the wake of the nationwide closures.

This analysis uses data from two studies: TIMSS 2019 and PIRLS 2021. Each study involved a representative sample of pupils in Ireland for the year the study was conducted, with 4,582 pupils in 150 schools taking part in TIMSS 2019 and 4,663 pupils in 148 schools taking part in PIRLS 2021. For TIMSS, pupils in Grade 4 were assessed on mathematics and science, while for PIRLS, pupils at the start of Grade 5 were assessed on reading literacy. In PIRLS 2021, the decision was made in Ireland (and 13 other countries) to move from spring to autumn testing because of the nationwide closures in the academic year 2020/21; therefore, pupils who participated in PIRLS in 2021 were approximately six months older than those who participated in TIMSS 2019. Context questionnaires were completed by participating pupils, their parents/guardians, school principals, and class teachers. Data on questionnaire items relating to school climate and school safety and discipline that were common to both the TIMSS 2019 and PIRLS 2021 assessments, along with pupils’ home resources for learning (as a proxy for socioeconomic status) and achievement, were analysed. School climate indices included parents’ perceptions of their child’s school, schools’ emphasis on academic success, teacher job satisfaction, and pupils’ sense of belonging at school. School safety and discipline indices included school discipline, school safety and order, and bullying. The analysis was conducted in three phases using the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) International Database Analyzer (IDB Analyzer) (IEA, 2023). Initially, individual items comprising each index were examined. Secondly, the relationship of the indices with achievement was examined (mathematics and science for TIMSS and reading for PIRLS) with a follow-up analysis that also took pupils’ home resources for learning into account. Finally, hierarchical linear regression models were constructed to examine the extent to which the indices of interest explained achievement in each subject. In each instance, two models were tested: first, a model with only the school environment indices, and second, a model that included both the school environment indices and the home resources for learning index. The use of the IEA IDB Analyzer allowed for the adjustment of regression estimates for sampling error due to the clustered sampling design of TIMSS and PIRLS via the use of the replicate weights.

Results point to a picture of overall stability in the school environments in Ireland between TIMSS 2019 and PIRLS 2021. In terms of school climate, the proportion of parents who were very satisfied with their child’s school remained high, ranging from 77% in 2019 to 80% in 2021. Fewer pupils in 2021 had teachers who reported that their school placed a very high or high emphasis on academic success, but, these differences were slight. Also, teacher job satisfaction was largely stable between 2019 and 2021. For example, at index level, over half of pupils were taught by teachers who reported being very satisfied in both studies, while the proportion whose teachers were less than satisfied remained small (10% in 2019 and 8% in 2021).There was a small decrease in the proportion of pupils whose teachers reported being often content with their profession as a teacher and those whose teachers very often found their work full of meaning and purpose. School safety and discipline was also relatively unchanged in the bullying and the safe and orderly school indices. In the regression models, more frequent bullying was associated with lower achievement even after home resources for learning were accounted for. Higher sense of school belonging was associated with higher achievement in all subjects when only school environment indices were included. However, in 2019 it was not significant after home resources for learning were accounted for, whereas it remained significant after they were accounted for in 2021. This may suggest an increased importance of school belonging for other student outcomes post-pandemic, which should be monitored and examined further. Overall, the stability observed in relation to the school environment pre- and post-pandemic may be viewed as positive considering the significant disruption and challenges brought on by the pandemic and associated school closures in Ireland.

Cohen, J., McCabe, E. M., Michelli, N. M., & Pickeral, T. (2009). School climate: Research, policy, practice, and teacher education. Teachers College Record, 111(1), 180–213. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146810911100108 IEA. (2023). Help manual for the IEA IDB Analyzer (Version 5.0). https://www.iea.nl Kutsyuruba, B., Klinger, D. A., & Hussain, A. (2015). Relationships among school climate, school safety, and student achievement and well-being: A review of the literature. Review of Education, 3(2), 103–135. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3043 Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., & Foy, P. (2013). The impact of reading ability on TIMSS mathematics and science achievement at the fourth grade: An analysis by item reading demands. In M. O. Martin & I. V. S. Mullis (Eds.), TIMSS and PIRLS 2011: Relationships among reading, mathematics, and science achievement at the fourth grade—Implications for early learning (pp. 67–108). TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College, and International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Mullis, I. V. S., & Martin, M. O. (Eds.). (2019). PIRLS 2021 assessment frameworks. TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College, and International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Thapa, A., Cohen, J., Guffey, S., & Higgins-D’Alessandro, A. (2013). A review of school climate research. Review of Educational Research, 83(3), 357–385. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654313483907