The ESRI is calling for a "sea change" in the way secondary schools teach after its study found that school-leavers feel under-prepared for the demands of third level and the labour market.
The think-tank says there needs to be a renewed focus on project work and meeting deadlines instead of the "teacher-directed" learning of the Junior and Leaving Cert.
Over 90 per cent of higher-education students surveyed said their learning experience was "Very Different" to school with little over a half of them saying their schoolwork prepared them for college.
Report author Emer Smyth says significant change is needed and the planned junior cycle reform is the first step towards that:
