Minister Quinn gives go ahead for major restructuring of initial teacher education Provision
September 5, 2012
New collaborations will see six “Centres for Teacher Education” emerge
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., is to proceed with radical plans to overhaul the provision of initial teacher education (ITE).
Minister Quinn has accepted the recommendations set out in a report commissioned by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on the structures of teacher training. The purpose of the report, requested by the Minister, was to identify new possible structures to improve teacher education in Ireland so that it is comparable with the best in the world.
The main recommendation in the review by an international panel of education experts is that teacher education be provided in six “centres for teacher education”.
Currently there are 19 state funded providers of ITE (and three non-state funded) offering more than 40 college programmes in primary and post-primary teaching.
Changes are already underway to the content and length of teacher education, with a greater emphasis on literacy, numeracy and pedagogical skills.
Today’s announcement on structural changes will complement the curricular reforms already outlined by Minister Quinn and assist in positioning Ireland at the forefront of teacher education.
“We know from research that the quality of our education system cannot exceed the quality of our teachers,” said Minister Quinn. “This is why I am driving changes at both a structural and content level in teacher education.”
“The new collaborations recommended by the international panel will mean that a smaller number of centres for ITE exist, but that they offer education across multiple sectors from early childhood to primary, to post primary to adult education.”
“These centres for teacher education will also possess a critical mass in terms of research capacity which is not always possible in smaller institutions. The new configurations will mean strong research bases will be cemented in each centre.”
The report from an international review panel on the Structure of Initial Teacher Education Provision in Ireland recommends the following configurations:
Dublin City University – St. Patrick’s College Drumcondra – Mater Dei Institute of Education
Trinity College Dublin – Marino Institute of Education – University College Dublin – National College of Art and Design
National University of Ireland Maynooth – Froebel College
University of Limerick – Mary Immaculate College – Limerick Institute of Technology
University College Cork – Cork Institute of Technology
National University of Ireland Galway – St. Angela’s College Sligo
The Review Panel has also suggested that the Church of Ireland College of Education would be suitably positioned to join any of the first three new configurations.
The review is in keeping with the recommendations of the National Strategy of Higher Education 2030 or Hunt report which sees local, regional and international collaboration as the key to higher education system development. It will also form part of a wider review of the entire higher education landscape which is currently underway by the HEA.
Minister Quinn has now asked the HEA to submit a detailed report, before the end of the year, on how to implement the recommendations of the Panel. He will then report back to Cabinet with more formal proposals including financial implications.
“Ireland continues to attract the highest calibre of students into the teaching profession. I believe the restructuring of teacher education which I am now initiating will mean these top performing students will receive an education which equips them to become the best possible teachers,” Minister Quinn concluded.
Minister Quinn requested the HEA to advise on the structure of initial teacher education provision in the State earlier this year. In April, an International Review panel was established for this purpose.
The members of the Panel were Professor Pasi Sahlberg (chair), Director General of CIMO (in the Ministry of Education), Helsinki, Finland and Adjunct Professor at the University of Helsinki and the University of Oulu, Professor Pamela Munn, Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh and Professor John Furlong, former Director of the Oxford University.
The terms of reference instructed the international panel to “carry out a review of the structure of initial teacher education provision, and to identify possible new structures which will recognise and address weaker areas in the system of teacher education; leverage the current strengths in the system; and envision innovative strategies so that Ireland can provide a teacher education regime that is comparable with the best in the world.”
EDUCATION.IE
1,000 children attend Dept of Education & Skills funded Irish language summer literacy camps
July 19, 2012
This month, some 1,000 children are taking part in Department of Education and Skills week long Irish language literacy summer camps- Campaí Samhraidh. A further 1,512 children will be attending English language literacy camps in August.
The Campaí Samhraidh initiative, which commenced in 2007, has catered for over 4,000 children so far, including the 1,000 seven to eleven year olds taking part this summer.
The courses, most of which are taking place this week, are in 29 schools across the country including in Dublin, Cork, Mayo and Louth. A number of these schools are hosting camps for the first time.
A new feature this year is the inclusion of a numeracy element, in line with the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy.
The Programme for Government emphasises the Government’s commitment to improving students’ skills in the areas of reading, communication, writing and mathematics.
Last year, the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn, TD, introduced the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy which sets ambitious targets and describes the actions that must be taken to improve the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy. From last September, primary schools have had to spend 90 minutes on literacy and 50 minutes on numeracy each day.
The Minister said, “I am delighted to see the continued popularity of the Campaí Samhraidh.
“The camps are a fantastic way of taking lessons out of the traditional classroom setting, so that learning literacy and numeracy can be done in a fun and participative fashion.
“They also help to bring the Irish language alive for children in the context of their everyday lives.”
Children taking part in the camps are 4th to 6th class students from DEIS band 1 schools. The schools nominate pupils aged 7- 11 years who would benefit most from the initiative, with up to 36 participants in each camp.
The Department is providing funding of €335,000 in 2012 for the Irish and English camps, with €145,100 for the Campaí Samhraidh Initiative.
EDUCATION.IE
Minister Quinn announces details of 275 major school building projects – More than 15,000 jobs to be created over five years
March 12, 2012
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., today announced details of 219 new major school building projects which will begin over the next five years as part of a €2 billion capital investment programme. These new projects are in addition to 56 major school building projects that he already announced for 2012.
The five year plan outlines when the major projects will proceed to construction. These projects comprise:
- 106 new schools at primary level
- 65 large-scale extensions at primary level
- 43 new schools at second level
- 49 large-scale extensions at second level
- 8 new special schools and extensions for 4 further special schools.
Announcing the programme, Minister Quinn said: “In line with the Programme for Government, and the Government’s Capital Investment Programme, we are prioritising investment in school buildings during these tougher economic times.
“This investment in major school building projects will create an estimated 15,000 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs over the period of the programme (an annual average of 3,000 direct and 600 indirect jobs). A total of €1500 million (€1.5 billion) will be spent on these 275 projects.”
“This is very welcome news for the construction industry,” said Minister Quinn.
This is the first time that the Department of Education and Skills has published a five year plan for school buildings.
The Minister said that this will facilitate schools’ plans to meet local demand for places and will provide greater transparency in the operation of the school building programme.
“We have to ensure that every child growing up in Ireland can access a physical school place,” said the Minister.
“Our programme unveiled today means that schools and parents will be able to plan much better for their children’s education at a time when enrolments at both primary and second level are rising dramatically.”
Total enrolment is expected to grow by around 70,000 students between now and 2018 – by over 45,000 at primary level (currently 509,000 students) and 25,000 at post primary (currently 351,000). Second level enrolment is expected to continue to rise until at least 2024.
The plan will provide over 100,000 permanent school places, of which over 80,000 will be new school places. The remainder will be the replacement of temporary or unsatisfactory accommodation.
This substantial investment means that over 11% of the total school population will benefit from new permanent places delivered during 2012 – 2016.
As well as the five year plan, the DES publishes a detailed plan on an annual basis in relation to the planned expenditure on individual school projects.
Schools which have not been included in today’s plan, but which were announced for initial inclusion in the building programme will still progress to final planning stages in anticipation of further funds being available to the Department.
The five year plan also includes alternative methods of delivering projects. Agencies like the Office of Public Works, the Vocational Education Committees and the National Development Finance Agency, as well as county councils are all assisting with the delivery of over 80 major school projects.
Minister Quinn said “This example of co-operation means that projects will be accelerated and co-ordinated. This shows joined up thinking between Government Departments and Agencies in order to maximise the number of projects we deliver with best value for money for the tax-payer.”
Details of the individual projects are available here:
- 2012 projects already on site
- 2012 projects to go to construction
- 2013 projects
- 2014-15 projects
- 2015-16 projects
Recent birth rate data show that 19,950 births were registered in the first quarter of 2011. This was an increase of 7.6% in the number of births registered in the corresponding quarter of 2010. The figures, published by the Central Statistics Office, represent the highest number of births registered in any quarter since the series began in 1960. The birth data also show that 18,381 births were registered for the second quarter of 2011 and indicate a continuation of the high birth rates experienced in the last number of years.
The CSO birth rate data reinforces the Department of Education and Skills’ own projections that there will be an additional 30,850 primary school pupils requiring school places between now and 2014.
A further 14,200 pupils will need places between 2014 and 2018. Total enrolment in primary schools is expected to grow from 509,650 pupils in the last school year to 554,700 pupils in 2018. At second level, an additional 24,900 pupils will need places by 2017 with a further 40,800 pupils needing places between 2017 and 2024. This means an overall increase of 65,700 second-level pupils by 2024.
Criteria for selection for inclusion:
- Major school projects, including special schools, which will provide for significant additional capacity to meet demographic growth with a focus on rapidly developing areas, have been prioritised. Where a demographic demand has been identified, the need to provide for diversity in school provision has been taken into account.
- The level of contractual commitments related to expenditure in any given year.
- The stage of progression reached by each individual project in the architectural design process including the availability of sites in the case of new schools. In that regard, the scheduling of selected projects depends also on when such projects are technically ready to proceed to tender and construction.
- Additional accommodation to meet demographic growth and where the project also involves replacement of temporary or unsatisfactory accommodation.
Additions to Plan:
There will be a small number of additional projects, required for demographic reasons, which will need to proceed to construction in the lifetime of the Plan but which we are not in a position to announce in the Plan at this time. These are school projects where discussions are underway with a school concerning an extension and which have not been completed.
EDUCATION.IE