Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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499. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will report on the commitment in action 31 of the national migrant integration strategy to review the effectiveness of training for teachers on managing diversity and tackling racism; the proportion of teachers that have received such training; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11991/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides funding for programmes of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) based on the concept of inclusive education which have been introduced in recent years. The areas of anti-racism, identity-based bullying and cultural awareness are addressed through a suite of supports and the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) provided by Department-funded support services to teachers at Primary and Post-Primary level.

In addition to supports provided for CPD, the Teaching Council carried out a review of the standards for programmes of ITE, Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers. The review was informed by extensive engagement with the Department of Education, the Higher Education Institutes, relevant stakeholders and commissioned research on school placement.

Following completion of the review of the Criteria and Guidelines, the updated standards document, Céim – Standards for ITE was published by the Teaching Council in November 2020. As part of this review the areas of intercultural, anti-racism and diversity have been referenced. All new programmes submitted to the Teaching Council for accreditation must now be in alignment with Céim. It is anticipated that existing programmes of ITE will be realigned in accordance with Céim with the commencement or the re-accreditation process for all ITE programmes in September 2022.

The Core Elements for all programmes of ITE have been updated in Céim and the definition of Inclusive Education as outlined in the glossary of the revised standards is to include support for the development of student teachers’ ability and to provide for the learning needs of all pupils by utilising, for example, a universal design for learning framework.

The revised standards further defines inclusive education as ‘any aspect of teachers’ learning aimed at improving their capacity to address and respond to the diversity of learners’ needs; to enable their participation in learning; and remove barriers to education through the accommodation and provision of appropriate structures and arrangements to enable each learner to achieve the maximum benefit from his/her attendance at school.’

Furthermore, as part of the Review and Accreditation process, all programmes of initial teacher education will have to provide evidence of how the Core Elements are explored and examined with student teachers during the course of their ITE programme. It is also envisaged that the revised procedures for review and accreditation will include a thematic review, which will focus on specific areas of the curriculum/ ITE programme.

Action 46 in the Action Plan for Education 2019 contained a commitment to evaluate the impacts of CPD for teachers. In January 2019, my Department commissioned a project to develop a research based framework for the evaluation of CPD for teachers and for the piloting of this framework in the area of CPD for teachers for student well-being. The Educational Research Centre is carrying out this 3 year research project and the Department has established a Steering Committee to oversee the research. It is anticipated that the project will be concluded at the end of 2022.

The Well-being Policy Statement and Framework for Practice (2019) acknowledges that schools provide opportunities to develop friendships and to respectfully encounter diversity and access support structures. The policy promotes the provision of a whole-school approach to supporting well-being, an approach that has been found internationally to produce a wide range of educational and social benefits for individual children and young people, including increased inclusion, greater social cohesion, increased social capital and improvements to mental health.