Maeve Thornton

Persistent absenteeism among Irish primary school pupils

A growing number of international studies document the importance of regular school attendance. There is a consensus among authors that absenteeism has negative implications for academic achievement as well as the social development of the child and may put them at a disadvantage in terms of their position in the education and labour market. Most of the existing studies have focused on school absenteeism among adolescents with studies on poor school attendance among young children relatively rare. This paper addresses this gap in research by exploring factors that are related to school absenteeism in Irish primary schools. Drawing on a nationally representative study of nine-year-olds, it demonstrates the complexity of the issue. The findings indicate that a combination of institutional and individual factors shape patterns of poor school attendance in Irish primary schools. While the data relate to the Irish situation, the paper raises a number of issues of interest to an international audience.

Adolescent Substance abuse among young people excluded from school in Belfast

The lifestyles of young people excluded from school have received much attention recently, particularly in relation to illicit drug use. Commentators have acknowledged that they constitute a high-risk group to social disaffection and substance abuse. This paper reports on a group of 48 young people living in Belfast aged 13–14 years who are considered to be at a particularly high risk to substance abuse because they are excluded from school. The evidence in this paper suggests that many are already exhibiting potentially high-risk behaviours to problem drug use compared with their contemporaries in mainstream education. This paper examines the evidence within the context of a limited existing literature base on this group of young people. It suggests that a more focused approach is required for the development of appropriate drug-prevention strategies to meet their needs.

Emerging Patterns in Adolescent Drug Use: The Belfast Youth Development Study 2000-2002

This paper reports the findings from the first 2 years of the Belfast Youth Development Study. The Belfast Youth Development Study is a 5-year longitudinal investigation of the onset and development of adolescent drug using behaviours, the findings of the first 2 years from the study in relation to drug use patterns among the young people participating in the research are reported here. The findings show that while the majority of young people have not yet used an illicit substance, the study has seen a substantial increase in the numbers using such substances between year 1 and year 2. Boys still make up the majority of drug users in this period but there has been a substantial increase in the number of girls using illicit drugs and, more generally, an increase in the frequency of use among all those using such substances during this period.

What predicts disaffection in Irish primary schools

Internationally there is now a growing body of research on student school engagement. Much of this research highlights the association of school engagement with a range of social, behavioural and academic outcomes. Less attention is paid to factors predicting disaffection among young children across various dimensions using nationally representative data-sets. This paper addresses this gap in research by exploring factors that are related to school disaffection in Irish primary schools. Drawing on a nationally representative study of nine-year-olds, the multivariate analysis reveals that disaffection is associated with a number of personal and institutional factors. While the data relate to the Irish situation, the paper raises a number of issues also of interest to an international audience.

Anti-Drugs Policies of the European Union: Transnational Decision-Making and the Politics of Expertise:

impact the social lenses of the majority of the general public to push against the legalization of illegal drugs within society. Furthermore, it serves as a wake-up call to return to traditional values and behaviors that counter the countercultural revolution, which has led to the decay of civil society and the weakening ofAmerican democracy and makes it vulnerable to nontraditional morality. The book will not impact the social lenses of staunch pro-drug legalization supporters and will indeed entrench their continued ill-conceived philosophies concerning drug policies. The greatest strength of this book is that it challenges the assumptions behind Americas war on drugs. The book can help criminal justice students and the general public to have an understanding of Americas failed drug policy. It is only through this understanding that the United States and other world governments, and their political apparatus, can truly address drug politics, dirty money, and democracies. Although appropriate as a supplementary textbook for upper-level criminal justice classes, this work could also prove to be an effective primary text in introductory-level drug-related criminal justice courses because it indicates how complicated and interwoven drug politics are globally. Furthermore, this book is appropriate for criminal justice practitioners involved in all phases of the criminal justice processes. Finally, this book should be given to media outlets in the U.S. and the world because they can influence attitudes and perceptions about the current status of the drug war and its politics.