Dr. Emer Smyth:

I think how we teach and how we assess are inextricably linked. We have seen that the focus on exam preparation, in the context of subject areas with quite detailed course content, puts pressure on students and teachers to focus on very teacher-led methods, and not the kind of experiments and group, presentation and interactive work that students find engaging and that actually help them learn better. If we reform what is rewarded or how we assess what is done in senior cycle, that will help foster more engaging approaches to teaching. However, that alone will not be sufficient. We will have to support teachers to take advantage of the opportunities that an opened-up system would provide. We have seen that they have reacted positively to junior cycle reform. It would provide an opportunity for those kinds of methods to carry forward into senior cycle for both teachers and students.

The language issue is very tricky, as Mr. Donohoe has said. It is a curse of being an English-speaking country. When we talk to young people and interview them about languages, they ask why they should bother with them because everybody speaks English. It is back to awareness and the facilitation of guidance early in junior cycle on course choices and thinking about options for the future.

We also see this with apprenticeships and there has been a change. Having apprenticeships in the CAO process will likely have positive outcomes. What we see when we speak with parents and students is that higher education is the cultural norm. If young people get into a post-leaving certificate course or apprenticeship, they often see it as second best in many cases. They see themselves as not having attained what they really wanted. We really need to support young people's choices from very early on, even as far back as primary school, keeping options open for them regardless of gender or social background.