Senators:

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis na Seanadóirí as ucht an t-am a thógáil chun an tuarascáil seo a phlé. Mar is gnáth, bíonn suim ag na Seanadóirí i gcúrsaí a bhaineann le hoideachas. Ba bhreá liom teacht isteach anseo.

Senators:

The Government has attached great priority to education and has trebled expenditure to €8.4 billion. The money has been well spent. There are now 7,000 more primary teachers than there were when we came into office and a further 800 extra primary teachers will be employed next September. The schools building programme continues apace, with expenditure having risen to more than €540 million this year. Capital investment in colleges of education also features in the current programme, with a major project on site in Mary Immaculate College and planned developments in St. Patrick's College and the Church of Ireland College, Rathmines, at a total projected cost of almost €100 million.

Senators:

All the expenditure and activity in the education system is ultimately designed to benefit the pupils. Central to this is ensuring that the quality of the education they receive is second to none. While many factors influence educational outcomes, the quality of the teacher in the classroom is by far the most important. Well-prepared, committed and motivated teachers are any education system's best asset. There is no doubt that we have been blessed in this country with the quality of our teachers. Much of our recent economic and social success is owed to those who have dedicated their careers to challenging young minds and helping them to reach their full potential.

Senators:

As Minister, I have always set a high value on affirming the contribution of teachers and supporting them in the work they do. I am justifiably proud of the fact that the high quality of the Irish education system is well recognised around the world, and Irish students score very well in international assessments. At the same time, however, I am determined to ensure that we do even better. I am ambitious for the even greater heights we can reach and I am confident that the high priority this Government has attached to education will lead to even stronger outcomes in the future.

Senators:

Much of our success will continue to depend on the quality of our teachers. We are fortunate in Ireland that the teaching profession continues to attract high-calibre and talented young people to its ranks. While other countries have struggled to fill places in their teacher training colleges, entry to ours remains extremely competitive. It is important not only to attract the best people into the colleges but also to ensure that the education they receive therein prepares them well for the challenges they will face in the classroom. The teaching practice dimension is a core element of this and I therefore believe it is crucial that the Department's inspectorate work with the colleges to monitor and improve continuously the effectiveness of practice in classrooms.

Senators:

The purpose of the evaluations reported in Learning to Teach was to present an overview of existing practice and evaluate its effectiveness, and present recommendations with a view to further expanding the frontiers of improvement. The report is based on an evaluation of the teaching of 143 final-year students from five teacher education colleges in Ireland. This represents a sample of 10% of final-year students who were studying for a BEd degree or for a postgraduate diploma in primary teaching.

Senators:

The evaluation examined the work of the student teachers in the areas of planning and preparation, teaching, learning and assessment. Students were evaluated while teaching a range of curriculum areas across all class grades, and a structured evaluation schedule was used. Students from Hibernia College were not involved because they had not begun their final period of teaching practice when the evaluations were undertaken. However, teaching practice evaluations were carried out with final-year students from Hibernia College in 2004, 2005 and 2006 on the same basis as the evaluations conducted with all the other colleges.

Senators:

The majority of student teachers, 62%, were found to be excellent, very good or good overall in their teaching. A few over one third, 34%, were found to be fair or weak, and one in 20,5%, was judged to be an ineffective practitioner. The report also acknowledged the commitment of the colleges to enhancing the teaching practice dimension of their programmes and found that teaching practice was well organised and managed by the colleges. It also found that the students were carefully supervised and that all the colleges had procedures for ensuring that students experiencing difficulties were supported.

Senators:

Consider some of the specific strengths identified in the report. Seventy-six percent of students were rated excellent, very good, or good for planning; 70% were judged to have effectively used a good range of resources to support their teaching; 76% displayed a confident, assured presence in the classroom and communicated effectively with their pupils; and, in most instances, discipline was good and pupils respected the code of behaviour that had been agreed.

Senators:

The report highlighted a number of weaknesses, among which were the following: 35% of students were rated fair or weak in the way they used teaching methods; fewer than half of the students, 41%, employed the best strategies to develop pupils' higher-order thinking skills; and fewer than one in three, 31%, were rated excellent, very good or good in catering for individual differences in the ability and learning styles of pupils. The evaluation concluded that more than a third of the students, 37%, were experiencing some difficulty in managing assessment practices, and a few, 3%, were considered to be ineffective in this aspect of their teaching.

Senators:

The report made a number of recommendations. It proposed that the colleges provide additional exemplars of good planning practice in differentiation and integration to students. It also recommended that they should ensure that students do not rely on an exclusively whole-class approach during teaching practice but should explore a wide range of methods to foster children's learning. It was recommended that the colleges provide additional examples for students of strategies that enable pupils to collaborate during lessons and clearer examples of good practice in the area of assessment and learning. Greater use of information and communications technology in the classroom was also encouraged.

Senators:

It is important to put the findings of the Learning to Teach report in context. In all colleges, teaching practice is deemed a critical aspect of the overall teacher education programme. College staff take seriously the fact that their student teachers should be challenged to reach the highest standards. The inspectorate has had a role in monitoring the standards of teaching practice of final year students from the colleges of education since the foundation of the State. While the findings of these evaluations have always been shared with the colleges concerned, individual college reports were issued for the first time in 2003-04. Individual reports were first given to colleges where students took part in the learning to teach survey in 2005. The report published recently represents a composite account of these reports. Annual evaluations of a sample of students on teaching practice have since been undertaken by the inspectorate and meetings with the colleges were organised in both 2005 and 2006. In the experience of the inspectors who conducted these evaluations, colleges have consistently sought to address issues raised in previous reports and to bring about improvements.

Senators:

Important initiatives have been introduced by some of the colleges to address some of the issues arising from the evaluations of teaching practice during 2003-04 which were reported in Learning to Teach and to develop a closer partnership between colleges and schools. The greater involvement of experienced teachers in advising, supporting and supervising student teachers in their classrooms is a welcome feature of recent developments. Following publication of the composite report, further meetings are planned to identify and disseminate best practice across the colleges.

Senators:

I want to speak briefly about the dissemination of the report beyond the colleges because that issue generated a surprising amount of interest last week. As Senators will be aware, I have been determined to make information on education available to a wider range of stakeholders. To this end, several important reports have been published by the inspectorate in recent years. As with the initiative to publish school inspection reports on the Department's website, the publication of Learning to Teach was motivated by a desire to disseminate its findings to a wider audience as part of the transparency culture I wish to promote. This month, copies of the report were distributed to colleges of education, universities, teacher unions, parents' organisations, management authorities and support services. The report was also made available on the Department's website.

Senators:

Contrary to unfair and ungrounded suggestions that the report was published to distract from other matters, it was issued by the inspectorate as soon as it was ready. At no stage was the report leaked and, in fact, a newspaper report on the subject appeared one week after it had been circulated to all the aforementioned bodies. I am fully in favour of transparency and believe that disseminating the report widely was the right thing to do. I am glad that the report has stimulated interest in teaching practice and am confident this will help to bring about further improvements.

Senators:

In considering the important findings of this report with regard to teaching practice, it is important to remember this is just one part of teacher education and that the processes of probation and induction are also central. All beginning teachers are subject to a rigorous probationary process, the professional aspects of which are managed by the inspectorate. Inspectors visit probationary teachers during their first year in schools, advise them on their practice and provide two written reports on their progress. Until teachers have completed the probationary process and received satisfactory reports, they do not gain full recognition status.

Senators:

In parallel with the probationary process, a national pilot project on teacher induction has been funded by my Department. A core element of this project is the provision of systematic support to newly qualified teachers, thus laying the foundation for subsequent professional growth and development. In the current school year, 167 primary schools are involved across 12 counties, with 288 newly qualified teachers and 112 mentors participating in the project. The mentors, who are fully trained under the programme, are experienced teachers who take on the role of guiding, advising and mentoring the newly qualified teachers. Practical issues regarding class work and teaching are also addressed. Induction support differs from teaching practice during initial training in that it provides on-the-job support to teachers who have been given full responsibility for teaching and learning for the first time.

Senators:

Initial feedback from the project is very positive, with new teachers acknowledging the supports they receive in the all-important first year of teaching. A defining feature of the pilot project has been its emphasis on exploring the most workable model of structured induction for schools. I am considering this project in the overall context of teacher education with a view to assessing how it can be expanded further.

Senators:

I am also examining the important issue of the content of the B.Ed. programme and the degree to which it equips teachers for the challenges they will face in the classroom. During last week's debate on Learning to Teach, considerable comment was made about the length of the B.Ed. programme and calls were made for its extension from three to four years. I have already indicated that I do not intend to change the duration at present because I believe that, rather than lengthening the programme, it would be far more beneficial to student teachers if the content of the existing programme were re-balanced.

Senators:

I am concerned about the emphasis in some courses on taking academic subjects to degree level. In one college, 50% of first year and 40% of second and third year course time is spent on two academic subjects. The time has come to re-assess the learning outcomes required from teacher education programmes and, in this context, to review existing programmes to ensure student teachers develop the knowledge, skills and competence needed for classroom practice now and in the future.

Senators:

A restructuring is also needed to ensure student teachers build a solid foundation in areas such as teaching children with special needs and those whose first language is not English. There is also scope for a greater emphasis on the effective use of information and communication technology in the classroom. However, I am also cognisant of the caution expressed in the 2005 OECD report, Teachers Matter, with regard to lengthening teacher education programmes at the expense of induction and continuing professional development programmes. I am of the view that well structured induction programmes, separate from but linked to initial teacher education, should be prioritised. I also believe strongly in ensuring that teachers have access to professional development throughout their careers to enable them to respond effectively to new challenges.

Senators:

The Teaching Council has an important role to play in defining teacher education programmes. It has a statutory remit to review the standards of knowledge, skills and competence required for the practice of teaching and to review and accredit programmes of teacher education provided by higher education institutions in the State. I look forward to engaging with the Teaching Council in progressing this work in the near future.

Senators:

In addition to improving teacher education, a range of other initiatives have been put in place to improve the quality of education. I referred earlier to the publication of whole-school evaluation reports to ensure the availability of information on school quality to parents and the public. A further 140 reports were published today, bringing the total to 600 approximately.

Senators:

Another example of my commitment to making information available on the quality of education, especially for parents, is the initiative on standardised tests. As of this year, schools are required to test each child in English reading and mathematics twice during their primary school years. A standard report card template is being developed to report each child's results clearly to his or her parents.

Senators:

Measures to address under-performance in teaching will be addressed under the partnership agreement, Towards 2016. While the agreement recognises that the majority of teachers fulfil their teaching function and professional duties well, it also acknowledges that there are, as in all professions, a small number of under-performing personnel in schools. A new system for addressing under-performance is to be put in place by the start of the next school year.

Senators:

A wide range of measures have been taken in recent years to improve the quality of education in our schools. The findings of Learning to Teach will help us to improve teaching practice in the interests of student teachers and pupils alike. I acknowledge the dedication and diligence of the colleges of education. The challenge is to build on the high calibre of students entering the colleges and ensure new teachers are equipped to teach all aspects of the primary school curriculum and are familiar with the teaching methods that best support pupils' learning across the curriculum.