Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. I thank the Senators for raising it.

The Minister has accepted the recommendations set out in a report commissioned by the Higher Education Authority on the structures for initial teacher education, ITE. The purpose of the report was to identify new structures to improve initial teacher education in Ireland in order that it might be comparable with the best in the world. The international panel of education experts which conducted the review recommended 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 providers, offering more than 40 college programmes in primary and post-primary teaching.

Changes are under way to the content and length of teacher education, with a greater emphasis on literacy, numeracy and pedagogical skills. The structural changes will complement the curricular reforms under way 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, which is why the Minister is driving changes at both a structural and content level in teacher education. The new collaborations recommended by the international panel will mean that there will be a smaller number of centres for ITE, but they will offer education across multiple sectors, from early childhood to primary and post-primary to adult education. These centres of 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 that strong research bases will be cemented in each centre. The report recommends the following configurations: Dublin City University - St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra and the Mater Dei Institute of Education; Trinity College Dublin - Marino Institute of Education, University College Dublin and the National College of Art and Design; National University of Ireland, Maynooth - Froebel College; University of Limerick - Mary Immaculate College and the Limerick Institute of Technology; University College Cork - Cork Institute of Technology; and the National University of Ireland, Galway - St. Angela's College, Sligo.

The review panel also suggested the Church of Ireland College of Education would be suitably positioned to join any of the first three new configurations. The Minister has made it clear to the college authorities that while he cannot support them remaining on their current campus, he is happy for them to negotiate their own destiny, consistent with their desire to protect their ethos within the broad parameters of the HEA report. The college has signalled its intention to join DCU, St Patrick's College, Drumcondra and the Mater Dei Institute.

The review is in keeping with the recommendations in the national strategy of higher education 2030, or the 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 under way by the HEA.

Ireland continues to attract the highest calibre of students into the teaching profession. The Minister believes the restructuring of teacher education which he has initiated will mean these top performing students will receive an education that will equip them to become the best possible teachers. He has asked the HEA to submit a detailed report before the end of the year on how to implement the recommendations of the panel. It is too early to set out precise timelines or plans for individual colleges. The Minister will consider the implementation plan from the HEA in full and will then report back to the Cabinet in the new year with more formal proposals, including proposals for the Church of Ireland College of Education.