Another brick in the wall – improving statistical literacy in Ireland

Abstract

In May, 2007 the Irish Central Statistics Office embarked on an Education Outreach Programme. The programme is driven by the desire to increase the awareness and effective use of statistics in Ireland. Educating CSO data customers is seen as a key driver in this goal. Since 2007, the CSO has fostered key partnerships at a national and international level to develop and implement a number of key projects. Seminar Series, Statistical Liaison groups, Oireachtas briefings, CensusAtSchool, the John Hooper Medal For Statistics, the Professional Diploma in Official Statistics for Policy Evaluation, the International Statistical Literacy Poster Competition and YouTube video production, are some of the projects developed under the umbrella of the Education Outreach Programme. This paper outlines the rationale behind the development and implementation of the Irish Education Outreach Programme with illustrations drawn from the Irish experience to date.