Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister misunderstands me somewhat. I said two things, first that the Minister has referred to leadership in schools in the sense of people in posts of responsibility and principalships. In my view of education, every teacher is a leader in his or her own classroom because when the door to the classroom shuts, what happens in that classroom is influenced enormously by the interaction between the teacher and the pupils in the classroom. This is where continuing professional development is so important. It will also send a message of confidence to those thinking of joining the teaching profession and those in it already. In my own constituency of Dublin West there is a great number of very young teachers in new schools because we have had a population explosion. If their skills, enthusiasm and talent is to be retained, it is important that they get adequate opportunities to develop as professionals.

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