A Guide to Teaching Practice in Ireland

SECTION ONE

– THE SCHOOL SYSTEM

1

The Irish Education System: Practice and Process

Brendan Walsh

INTRODUCTION

This chapter explains the development, operation and contemporary status of post-primary schooling in Ireland. The authors assume that the aspiring teacher, wishing as s/he does to become part of the teaching community, is anxious to understand the historical and sociological evolution of that community. Teaching is an ancient profession and has profound historical antecedents. Becoming a teacher is not simply about amassing a set of ‘skills’ or ‘methods’ that will somehow, magically, enable someone to operate ‘effectively’ in a classroom.

There is wide-ranging scholarly discussion concerning what, exactly, the decision to teach entails. Is it, for example, a commitment to a way of living? A commitment to the promulgation of one’s discipline? A desire to work with and see adolescents flourish as moral and civically minded individuals? The decision to teach entails entering into a community of practitioners as old as humankind. Just as the practice of teaching has developed over millennia, so too have systems and structures of education. It is significant that some contemporary elements of teaching and schooling differ little from those of ancient Rome, or medieval Europe; this is because teaching is a profoundly human activity.

Instruction to the young is part of the DNA of humankind; it is, as Michael Oakeshott reflected, an initiation into the conversation between the generations. It is, ultimately, about learning how to become human within the human family.

Deciding to teach, therefore, entails entering into a system that has evolved over many centuries. In Ireland, for example, our history as a colonial territory and the emphasis of Irish educational history over the past two decades has tended to underemphasise the culture of learning that existed in Ireland prior to the establishment of the National Education System in 1831. This is also partly due to the enormous quantity of data generated after this date. Leaving aside such debates, it is important for the aspiring teacher to realise that s/he is entering into a complex system that has evolved and developed in the way it has because of specific pressures, needs and influences.

In Ireland, this has produced three categories of post-primary school, each with its own ethos and mission. These schools differ for particular historic, social and economic reasons. Also, within these categories, schools differ widely in their individual culture and manner of operating. Importantly, schooling, and to a lesser extent teaching, has been the subject of intense scrutiny over the past twenty-five years, resulting in significant changes during the 1990s.

Within a very short time span, the operation of schools and their wider role have become the subject of extensive public and political interest. Post-primary schools are now open to regular evaluation (information that is made publicly available), their workings are expected to be open and transparent, and they are encouraged to take on an ever-increasing role in repairing social fracture and disengagement.

It is important, therefore, that the aspiring teacher gains a sound understanding of the complexity, diversity, function and aspirations of the education system they are choosing to work within. Teaching is becoming a less isolated practice and in choosing to teach, with all the extraordinary possibilities and rewards that it promises, we choose to become part of a system and tradition possessed of its own culture, vernacular, methodologies, antecedents and history.

The following helps to provide a contextual overview of this evolution, explaining how and why schooling has developed the way it has in Ireland and provides an up-to-date outline of requirements and regulations for those thinking about entering the profession.

THE EVOLUTION OF POST-PRIMARY INSTITUTIONS IN IRELAND

Maintaining the Status Quo: 1922–57

Before the advent of independence in 1922, the British authorities administered Ireland’s education system. Having weathered the storms of denominational controversy in the nineteenth century, it came under the scrutiny of nationalists in the early years of the twentieth century. Patrick Pearse, the schoolteacher and leader of the Dublin Rising of 1916, famously denounced the Intermediate (post-primary) system as a grinding ‘murder machine’.

With the advent of independence, post-primary schools in particular were left to continue under the largely denominational structure that had developed during the nineteenth century. They operated independently and government involvement was minimal. The Commission for Intermediate Education (1921) insisted that its programme for secondary schools was ‘merely helpful and suggestive’ and encouraged schools to draw up their own programmes. The newly independent state was explicit concerning its relationship with post-primary schools: ‘The state ... neither founds secondary schools, nor finances ... nor appoints teachers ... nor exercises any power or veto over ... appointments(s) or dismissal of ... teachers or the management of schools.’

The curriculum of secondary schools remained of the classical type and catered for a very small percentage of the population. In 1925, for example, fewer than 1,000 pupils sat the Leaving Certificate examination. The curriculum seemed irrelevant and, in 1926, the Commission on Technical Education drew up a list of proposals later contained in the Vocational Education Act (1930). The act reflected the growing realisation that schooling in Ireland failed to attract those who could not benefit from an academic curriculum and was informed by the principles of economic imperative.

This was the origin of the Vocational Education System. It was the first state-sponsored system of schooling after independence and marked a definite movement away from the traditional model of Church-owned and managed schools. This, however, did not mean that government was prepared to become involved in wholesale provision of post-primary schooling. Minister for Education Richard Mulcahy (1948–51 and 1954–7) described his role as a ‘very, very narrow one’. Mulcahy instigated the Council of Education (1950) to inquire into the primary and secondary curriculum. The council reported that there was no reason to make significant changes and described calls for greater access to secondary schooling as ‘utopian’ and economically unrealistic. Mulcahy’s successor, Seán Moylan, was equally dismissive of greater access, rejecting the ‘idea of equal opportunities for all’. Mulcahy became Minister for Education for a second time between 1954 and 1957, but the period witnessed no radical change in curricular content, access or provision.

The period between 1922 and 1957, then, was not characterised by innovation or experimentation. It was widely accepted that secondary schooling was the preserve of the middle class, most effectively managed by private or religious bodies. Innovation and access were limited by economic considerations and meaningful pedagogical considerations were strikingly absent.

Changing Times: 1957–84

Fianna Fáil won the general election of 1957 and remained in power for sixteen years. Seán Lemass replaced Eamon de Valera as Taoiseach in 1959 on the cusp of the radical changes that characterised the 1960s. While post-primary enrolment had grown from under 12,000 in 1925 to almost 24,000 in 1959, people such as Noël Browne argued that the system reinforced social hierarchies: ‘... labourers continue to be labourers, and the doctors can make their sons doctors, lawyers, architects and so on.’ In 1959, a comparative list of expenditure on education revealed that Russia was spending £7 per head, America £5 and England £2, while Ireland was spending approximately ten shillings.

The early 1960s witnessed a growing awareness of the very limited nature of secondary school provision; post-primary schooling remained, in effect, the concern of the few. In 1963, the Labour Party published Challenge and Change in Education, a policy document calling for free education. Minister for Education Dr Patrick Hillery (1959–65) responded by committing the government to providing increased educational opportunities for all, and to the establishment of regional technical colleges (RTCs) and comprehensive schools. These were designed to provide for non-academic pupils not catered for in traditional secondary schools and reflected the government’s growing awareness of the relationship between economic welfare and technical education.

This link was emphasised by the Investment in Education Report (1965). It was critical of: the high level of early school leavers; the low rate of participation in secondary level and university by ‘many social groups’; ‘inequalities in participation in post-primary education ... based on social group and geographical location’; and pointed to ‘significant disparities’ in ‘participation in the educational sector among various socio-economic and regional groups’. The report presented a bleak picture of underinvestment and underachievement.

The relationship between provision and social fairness was reflected in the opposition party’s 1966 document Fine Gael for a Just Society, which criticised the government for not grasping the ‘many nettles’ involved in social policy. Unexpectedly, in 1967, the Minister for Education Donogh O’Malley announced the provision of free post-primary schooling. Free school transport was intended to facilitate attendance, which rose from 148,000 in 1967 to 185,000 in 1968–9. In October 1970, the government announced the creation of community schools. Building on the earlier comprehensive school structure, these would provide for adult education and be centres of learning for local communities.

The Investment in Education Report had revealed systemic omissions and, despite significant developments in the 1970s (such as the new primary curriculum (1971); establishment of management boards in primary schools (1975); and increased levels of participation at both levels) by the early 1980s, access to a post-primary education, in particular, remained limited. Radical measures remained absent. Early school leaving had not been seriously challenged; the legitimacy of the predominantly academic Leaving Certificate programme was popularly accepted; and access for children with learning difficulties was not part of educational discourse.

Developments in Education Policy and Practice: 1984–95

Gemma Hussey became Minister for Education in 1982 and set out to tackle a number of the issues that still existed. Conscious of the need for economic reform, changes in employment expectations and a wider dialogue concerning schooling, the Fine Gael government launched its Programme for Action in 1984. The programme emphasised the notion of access for all, insisting upon ‘equal opportunities for educational advancement’, and suggested that ‘provision ... discriminate positively in favour of the educationally disadvantaged’. For the first time, the place of women in educational management, the availability of subjects to girls and gender stereotyping in textbooks were addressed. Significantly, the document emphasised the relationship between the economy and schooling, stressing the need for the education system to ‘respond to ... increased mobility in the labour force’. Programme for Action established the tone of educational discourse for the next decade, as the issue of education for all became a constant in discussions about provision.

In 1990, the Fianna Fáil Minister for Education Mary O’Rourke initiated a consultation process on whether or not an Education Act was desirable, pointing to the ‘disadvantaged’ women and parents who were excluded from provision at ground, managerial and consultative levels. The government’s draft Green Paper (1991) suggested linking school funding with admissions policy and suggested that it might ‘explore’ the funding of private schools. When the paper was published by O’Rourke’s successor Séamus Brennan, it retained its emphasis upon disadvantage but also stressed the need to generate an ‘enterprise’ culture, prepare teachers for a more fluid social and economic environment, and seek means of ensuring standards and transparency.

When the Green Paper Education for a Changing World was published under Minister Niamh Bhreathnach in 1992, it emphasised the changing nature of global society and the need for schools to respond. The first of ‘six key aims’, however, was to ‘establish greater equity in education ... for those who are disadvantaged socially, economically, physically or mentally’. The paper pointed to the complexity of achieving greater equity and access, and stressed the need to create a ‘home/school/community links project’ combined with additional budgets for schools ‘serving disadvantaged areas’.

The following year (1993), the Green Paper formed the basis of discussion for the National Education Convention, comprising over forty interested parties. The Background Paper to the Convention stressed that any inequality in terms of participation was unacceptable and commented that, in the ‘interests of social justice’, inequality needed to be addressed both within its ‘wider social context and within the schools’. The paper also stressed the needs of children of the Travelling community and those with disabilities or special needs.

The discussion that had been taking place since the early 1990s culminated in 1995 with the publication of the White Paper Charting our Education Future. The paper submitted five pillars upon which policy should be developed:

•  quality

•  equality

•  pluralism

•  partnership

•  accountability.

The state was obliged to ‘seek to eliminate or compensate for ... sources and consequences of educational disadvantage’. The document committed the government to ‘allocating resources to those in greatest need’ and to ‘changing the system itself to cater for the diverse educational needs ... of the population’.

The paper was timely given that, despite the vibrancy of Ireland’s economy in the mid-1990s, over 2,000 children left post-primary school with no qualification and almost 8,000 left with Junior Certificate only. The right of children with special educational needs to access and participate at all levels was highlighted and schools were required to design strategies for the identification and assessment of – and to make plans for assistance of – such pupils. In particular, the paper emphasised the imperative of children attending mainstream schooling whenever possible. From the point of view of those teaching in traditional post-primary settings at the time, one of the paper’s most striking assertions was that the ‘traditional LC does not cater adequately for ... needs and abilities of students ...’ and that there was an evident need to make the Leaving Certificate course provide for the ‘holistic development of all students’, thus empowering them to ‘actively shape the social and economic future of society.’

Two direct consequences of this were the development of the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) and the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP). The former was designed to ‘prepare students for the transition from school to adult and working life, including further education’ and was to be introduced on a phased basis from September 1995. The LCVP programme would seek to ‘foster skills ... which assist young people to be successful as employees’ and ‘become entrepreneurs and employers’.

Regarding the teaching profession, the White Paper outlined the government’s understanding of future needs. It promised induction for all teachers, but at the time of writing this has yet to come about. Those choosing to enter teaching should know that Ireland is almost alone within the European Community in failing to provide this service at a systematic level. Induction of new and beginning teachers is, therefore, left to the goodwill of individual schools; a situation the teaching profession must hope will be rectified sooner rather than later.

Much of the rhetoric of this period related to the need for teachers to adapt to the climate of ‘accelerating change’. Central to the economic upturn of the mid-1990s was a series of social partnership agreements that impacted upon government expectations of the teaching profession in terms of the need for greater accountability and so-called quality assurance. The latter would lead directly to the present system of Whole School Evaluation. One of the strategies for facilitating greater transparency, accountability and effectiveness was the School Plan. Formal planning was already a well-established practice at primary level but uncommon in the post-primary community. The White Paper indicated that these schools would be obliged to develop a comprehensive plan and an annual report of the school’s ‘activities’. This plan was to become a key component in the process of Whole School Evaluation and those entering the teaching profession would play a full part in the process.

THE EDUCATION ACT 1998

The 1992 Green and 1995 White papers resulted in the 1998 Education Act; the legislation under which schools and teachers operate. Those considering entering the teaching profession should familiarise themselves with its content.

In relation to the operation of schools, the act lays down directives in a number of areas. Recognised schools must provide education which is ‘appropriate’ to the ‘ability and needs’ of its pupils (para. 9: p. 13). Pupils must have access to guidance regarding career choices. Schools are bound to promote the moral, spiritual, social and personal development of pupils, and ensure equality of opportunity for both genders (pupils and staff). Schools should endeavour to promote the development of the Irish language. Parents should be granted access to all records pertaining to their child held by the school. Boards of Management and school principals are bound to ensure that staff development and the needs of management are provided for and to establish appropriate means of assessing the effectiveness of teaching and attainment. Importantly, schools should establish an admissions policy that provides for maximum accessibility.

SCHOOLS: MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION

Once employed, teachers operate under the auspices of the school’s Board of Management and within the professional guidelines set down by the Teaching Council. If a teacher has obtained a permanent post, his/her salary is paid directly by the Department of Education and Science (DES). It is important that prospective teachers understand the role of the Board of Management. For many beginning teachers, the function of the board is somewhat mysterious and unless nominated as a staff representative, they have few dealings with it. However, the board is entrusted with significant responsibilities, including the hiring of new staff.

Principally, the duty of the board is to:

•  manage the school on behalf of the patron

•  be accountable for upholding the school ethos

•  consult with and inform the school patron regarding decisions and proposals

•  publish an admissions policy (including information pertaining to expulsion, suspension, participation vis à vis disability and educational needs)

•  have regard to the efficient use of resources in the operation of the school

•  ensure that ‘reasonable provision’ is made for pupils with special needs.

It is the board’s responsibility to establish procedures for informing parents about the operation and performance of the school as outlined in the School Plan and to ensure that the plan is prepared and circulated to the school patron, parents, teachers and staff. It is likely that, when an applicant is interviewed for a teaching post, the panel will include at least one member of the school Board of Management.

TYPES OF SCHOOL

There are three categories of post-primary school in Ireland:

1. Voluntary secondary schools.

2. Community and comprehensive schools.

3. Vocational schools.

Historically, culturally and in terms of provision and enrolment, these are often quite different institutions, reflecting a specific ethos and varying in operation, fees structure, management practices and subjects offered. As outlined above, the three types of institution have different historical antecedents and varying emphasis regarding vocational and traditional liberal education.

Voluntary Secondary Schools

The majority of schools in Ireland fall within this category. These schools have usually developed from religious and/or private institutions and remain privately owned and managed. They are state funded and usually do not charge fees. They are operated and managed by boards of governors, representatives of the relevant religious body or by individuals. The Joint Managerial Body for Secondary Schools, Ireland (JMB) represents voluntary secondary schools (www.jmb.ie).

Community and Comprehensive Schools

The founding principle of these schools is the provision of a comprehensive curriculum, combining traditional academic and technical/vocational education. They also provide adult education. They are publicly owned, are operated by boards of management and are wholly state funded. The Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools (ACCS) is the representative body for this sector (www.accs.ie).

Vocational Schools

As outlined above,