An ESRI study of second-year secondary students, to be published shortly, has found that one in four has never been praised by their teachers for their school work.
The study also finds high levels of misbehaviour among the students, with 17 per cent skipping school and 33 per cent admitting they had broken school rules three times or more.
Ten per cent had been suspended "at least once during the course of the year".
The study is based on detailed research in 12 case-study schools. Its findings on Irish are striking.
The subject was found to be the least popular among the students and was singled out as the most difficult.
A remarkable 22 per cent of the students in lower streams did not take Irish. Overall, 8 per cent of students had gained exemptions.
Last year the Department of Education expressed concern about the dramatic recent increase in exemptions in Irish in the State exams.
In terms of student morale, the report finds that the students' attitude to school and teachers became dramatically more negative over the course of first and second year, with the greatest decline among male students in coeducational schools.
The report, to be published in March, also highlights a marked increase in the amount of bullying in second year "with an increase in the amount of jeering and a decrease in physical bullying".
Students "are more likely to misbehave in second year for a variety of reasons, including adolescence, greater self-confidence, increasing desire to challenge the system and having no exam focus," the report says.
The ESRI also found that students from a working-class background were more likely to have been suspended.
A significant minority of students - especially those in lower-stream classes - report serious difficulties with their teachers.
"Negative interaction tends to be greatest in schools with a concentration of working-class students," the report finds.
In general, students who were above average academically enjoyed much better relations with teachers.
The study is also critical of the practice of "streaming " students according to their academic ability.
"The practice may benefit the more able students, but does not benefit students in the lower streams," it says.
The report is the second of a series in which the institute examines the experiences of students in each year of second-level schooling.
The group which advised Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), has been asked to respond to the report's findings.