Census 2011 Schools resources

Welcome to our School Resources page.

The census is a key source of information for everyone in our country. It provides information in relation to who we are, what we do and how we live our daily lives. This in turn provides the knowledge that we all need to make decisions and plan for the future. The Census is used by people all over the country including the government, local authorities, businesses, local communities and students who use it for a wide variety of purposes. You can explore these uses in more detail by clicking on the following link “Why do it?”

General Information for Students and Teachers

Why is the census of interest to students?

The information that we get from the census pervades our daily lives. It provides us with: 

• the data we need to understand who we are and what we do, and

• the ability to use the information to create knowledge about what we need and how to best go about acting on the information to achieve the best outcome for everyone.  

It describes the society in which we live and helps us to understand that society better, whether in the make up of our ages, origins, activities or any of the other key attributes for which data is collected in the census.

Learning about the census and about how to effectively use census and other statistical data is a key part of our education. It helps us to understand our society and our role as responsible citizens in participating in that society.

You may not realise it but, as a student, the census is relevant to several different subject areas that you study in primary and secondary school. 
  

Census 2011 Schools resources

 
It helps us to learn some very important skills. For instance learning how data is collected, analysed and reported in a meaningful way not only helps our maths, presentational and descriptive skills but it helps us to understand the data that is presented to us. It gives us the skills to ask questions to find the facts to support our understanding of what is happening in the world around us in a meaningful way. As students you will use these skills in many of your future studies whether these are in the areas of maths, business, economics, history, geography or in conducting scientific projects.

Census information is available for Ireland as a whole or by region, for our cities, by county, electoral division and for the first time in 2011 by small areas. This allows us to view and compare the results compiled for different geographical areas, whether we want to compare Ireland as a whole with our own local area or own local area with neighbouring areas.

It also helps us to understand our past. The availability of old census returns from 1901 and 1911 on the National Archives website has been hugely popular with Irish people all over the world, who want to find out about their ancestors and about how we as a nation lived at the start of the last century. The availability of these returns provides us with endless opportunities to study and analyse our past, to view the development of our society at a national or local level over time, to view trends and to gain an appreciation of our past. Just think, the census forms that we complete in 2011, although they won’t be available to see until 2112 under the 100 year confidentiality rule, will show us as we are in 2011 and allow our descendants to get to know us better and to see how things have changed over the course of the 21st century.

The census is also of course an important source of socio-enonomic data and provides the basis for the analysis of much other socio-economic statistical data that we see and use in our daily lives. The skills that students learn from studying and analyzing the census will be relevant in their study of economics and business in addition to providing very useful information for their research into various aspects of these fields of study and in the decision making that they will make in their future careers.

Census data is available for everyone to use. The results of Census 2011 will be published online on the CSO website at www.cso.ie/census, where you can also find extensive interactive data from the census held in 2006, 2002 and 1996. All of this data is searchable and is free for use by anyone.
 

Primary Schools Resources

This series of topic-based lessons was designed by primary teachers for first to sixth classes to help children understand what the census is about and to learn how and why a census is conducted.

Each lesson has been developed specifically to incorporate the principles of the Primary School Curriculum.

The lessons resources were designed by practicing teachers and those involved in curriculum development and have been piloted in classroom situations. The Central Statistics Office wish to extend particular thanks to Carmel Burns for developing and producing this resource.
The Census Lesson Packs include: 

• Comprehensive teacher notes and lesson plans
• Census information    
• Census flashcards/fact cards
• Sample Census forms  
• Integration ideas
• Assessment tasks
• Home/school links  
• Extension activities

Download the resources and material for the class/group that you require below:

Lesson Resources for First and Second Classes:
 Lesson Overview
 Lesson 1
 Lesson 2
 Lesson 3
 Lesson 4
 
Lesson Resources for Third and Fourth Classes:
 Lesson Overview
 Lesson 1
 Lesson 2
 Lesson 3
 Lesson 4
 
 Lesson Resources for Fifth and Sixth Classes:
 Lesson Overview
 Lesson 1
 Lesson 2
 Lesson 3
 Lesson 4
 

Secondary Schools Resources

 Resources have been developed for use in the following 2nd level subject areas: 
 History Resource
 This history resource for secondary schools is aimed at both teachers and students of senior history. It addresses the use of old census records and the information these contain. The resources have been designed to be used by students at the following levels: 

• Junior cycle: Using the 1901 and 1911 census. This resource is aimed specifically at First and Third year groups. students can benefit in two areas from the use of census materials.  In first year, the work of the historian is introduced, and students should find that the 1901 and 1911 census material is easy to engage with. In third year, the census material can be used to illustrate changing life-styles in Ireland from 1901. The single units on the 1901 and 1911 census returns of the family of Thomas Bateman (Dublin), and the 1901 return for Mary Anne Collins (County Cork) are suitable for use in first or third year
• Transition Year : Using the 1901 and 1911 Census, students can undertake a more detailed examination of census materials, prior to undertaking a personal project based in part or in whole on the 1901 and 1911 census. The section on Evidence and Enquiry: Using the 1901 and 1911 census in the History classroom is suitable for use in whole or in part in the transition year classroom. Transition Year students will also draw on a series of exercises based on the census taken for Dunlavin, County Wicklow.
• Leaving Certificate. Students have the opportunity to use the 1901 and 1911 census materials for the research study report. Students can base their study on the 1901 and 1911 materials. Advice is given on how to proceed with a research study report using census materials, and some exemplars are given how evidence from the census can be used in the presentation of the “extended essay” using census information, including the 1901 census

Download the History resources:

 Using the 1901 and 1911 Census (Main File)
 Using the 1901 and 1911 Census (The Collins Family in 1901)
 Using the 1901 and 1911 Census (The Bateman Family in 1901)
 Using the 1901 and 1911 Census (The Bateman Family in 1911)
 Using the 1901 and 1911 Census (Images)
 Using the 1901 and 1911 Census (Leaving Certificate - 1)
 Using the 1901 and 1911 Census (Leaving Certificate - 2 - Dunlavin)
 Using the 1901 and 1911 Census (Dunlavin Exercises)
 
 Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) Resource
This module has been written to enable students and teachers of Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) to explore the use of a Census in general and to raise awareness about Census 2011, in particular, in schools. It focuses on the concept of development and how census information enables local authorities and central government to plan future developments. It also includes an Action Project - students can carry out their very own Class/Year Group Census and present the results.
The resource aims to:   

• Raise awareness about Census 2011.  
• Enable students to understand a census.
• Show students how census information is used.  
• Take part in a Census action Project 
• Duration 6-10 classes.

  Download the CSPE resources
 
Geography Resource
This material has been developed to enable Geography students and teachers to explore the use of the Census in the context of the geography curriculum.  The first lesson gives an overview of the census and introduces the student to mapping in the context of the census. The subsequent lessons will guide students to explore the census reuslts in the context of analysing data for different geographical areas. This guides students through the use of the SAPMAP mapping tools, which is available along with extensive census publication data on the Census Publications page of the CSO website, to find census data geographically and to analyse, compare and contrast data and report on selected population attributes. Outputs from the exercises include population pyramids, graphical representation of data and reporting of analyses and conclusions. 

Download the Geography resources:

Teacher resource handout

Student Activities
The Census - student handout
Graph Paper 
 
We hope that you enjoy these lessons with your students.
 

Census 2011 Results

The census provides a range of recent and in-depth data about the people of Ireland, their characteristics and their circumstances. This data has been published in a variety of formats including:
 

Census Reports

These include:

• 2 volumes of census highlights addressing the demographic and socio -economic highlights of the results
• 10 profile reports each addressing a census theme in greater depth.    

including:

• Population distribution and movements (Profile 1)
• Age(Profile 2)
• Employment, occupations and industry (Profile 3)
• Housing (Profile 4)
• Living arrangements (households and families)(Profile 5)
• Diversity (Profile 6)
• Ethnic and cultural background (Profile 7)
• Health, disability and carers (Profile 8)
• Education and skills (Profile 9)
• Commuting (Profile 10)

 Each of these reports are available in hard copy and include: 

• Interpretation and analysis of the data accompanied by illustrative presentations, thematic maps and easy to read commentary
• Statistical tables
• Appendices which include explanatory information relevant to the report e. g. the 2011 Census form, notes on how the census was conducted, changes to census questions, definitions of terms and methodologies, listings of classifications and coding used.

Interactive Tables

In addition to hard copy publication each of these reports are available online, accompanied by a range of interactive web tables, allowing users to build their own tables by selecting the data they are interested in and downloading it in an easy to use format for their own analysis.

Small Area Population Statistics (SAPS)

The Small Area Population Statistics (SAPS) are available for 14 different types of geographical area, including Small Areas comprising 80 - 100 households approximately. These are available online and can be searched and downloaded using an interactive mapping tool (SAPMAP). The complete set of results for a range of geographic areas - from the State right down to province, county, town, electoral division and  small local areas – can be accessed free online through an easy to use interactive mapping application on the CSO web site.

Data Visualisation (in association with AIRO)

Finally, in co-operation with the All Ireland Research Observatory (AIRO) summary census data is also available in thematic maps for Electoral Districts and all Small Areas.

How to Access and Use Census 2011 Results and Data Online.

The following documents have been prepared to assist users in navigating through the census data available on the CSO website and give step by step instructions on how to access and download the data.
How to Access Census 2011 Results on the web. This guide takes the user through the different formats of the published results and shows how to access, search and download the data.
Guide to using SAPMAP. This guide takes the user through the SAPMAP application which allows users to view census data for a range of geographical areas, showing how to use the application and the functions available.