Address by the Tánaiste Ms. Mary Coughlan, T.D., at the 30th MacGill Summer School

“Education - Reform and Innovation Required?” debate of the 30th MacGill Summer School - Highlands Hotel, Glenties, Co. Donegal - Thursday, 22 July 2010.

Introduction

The process of change and reform across our education system must be constant, but well considered. The nature of the system is such that implementation of reform and the measurement of its impact can take considerable time. The impact of a change we make today may not be fully realised for many years. The prime example is in the area of curriculum and programme changes – will a student emerge with an enhanced level of knowledge, understanding and skill to better realise their potential as a result of that change? One cannot be fully certain until later in their lives.

The stakes are therefore high. Remember here that the most important people that any reform will impact on are our young. The consequences of failed or bad reform can be detrimental to their educational attainment. Well considered and successful change on the other hand can significantly enhance their future prospects and impact positively on society and our economy.

I should be clear that I make these points at the outset not to caution against or dampen the desire for ambitious reform and innovation in our education system. Rather, I make them to highlight the importance of investing in the time to get it right.

Momentum for Change

As such time is often necessary; the momentum for change must remain constant. Establishment of bodies to maintain that day-to-day momentum, such as the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the Teaching Council and our proposed Qualifications and Quality Assurance Ireland, is important in that regard. They ensure the necessary ongoing reform and development of curricular, teaching and quality standards. For reforms of a structural nature, each generation must look at the construct of our education system afresh. This type of change is cyclical, as our education system evolves to adopt best international practice and meet the changing needs of Irish society over time, while retaining its quality and standing with the public both at home and abroad.

I do intend to speak about the biggest of those structural reforms now pending – that is, in the higher education sector – this afternoon. Before I do so however, I want to make the point that, regardless of what change we undertake at third level, the ability of any student to make the most of higher education is determined by the education received and skills gained during his or her formative years in primary and post-primary. Within the schools system, that is in turn determined by the quality of our teachers and the effectiveness of the curriculum.

Quality of our Teachers

I deliberately place ‘the quality of our teachers’ first on that list. Born at the end of the nineteenth century, Patrick MacGill, the man whose memory we honour this week each year, described his educational history as “three years at a mountain school”. It may seem counter-intuitive that a Glenties boy, who then left school at the age of twelve, and who worked as a navvy, while publishing poetry and eventually the novels that won him international renown, rose so high from such inauspicious beginnings. One could speculate that his teacher during those three years at the “mountain school” made a significant impact on the young man, leaving him with a hunger for learning.

Irish parents know the importance and impact that a good teacher can have on their child’s progress through school. The role of the teacher is, rightly, highly regarded in Ireland as a result. The consequence of this is that it attracts a very high standard of entrant. At primary level, entrants to our Bachelor of Education degrees are generally in the top quartile of their cohort. For second level, entry to the Higher Diploma is competitive and based on a student proving him or herself in their undergraduate degree. We are fortunate among our OECD peers to have such a high calibre of entrant to teaching.

The professionalisation of teaching in recent years has also strengthened the resolve of teachers vis-à-vis their own career and professional development. Continuous professional development by teachers is a key dimension of ensuring quality outcomes for the student population in our schools.

External inspection and honest self-evaluation within schools and their communities is also important in helping teachers strive for and achieve better outcomes. Parents and pupils have a critical role in that evaluation and the changes I introduced last month in the system of whole-school evaluation, providing for the introduction of confidential parental and pupil questionnaires, adds to the robustness of that process.

Induction and Probation Reforms

However, an area where, to date, we have let our new teachers down, and consequently, where reform is required, is in assisting with their transition from training and qualification to teaching in the classroom. There is significant evidence from different jurisdictions that the putting in place of effective arrangements for the induction and probation of newly qualified teachers can make a significant contribution to the quality of the teaching profession. As with any aspect of human behaviour, it is in a teacher’s first months and year in post that they will develop the techniques and habits that will stay with them for the duration of their careers – it is a critical period for any young professional, including the teacher.

In Ireland, our system of induction and probation to date has had significant weaknesses. Induction support for teachers at primary level is limited and has not involved the principal and the teaching profession sufficiently. With some small number of exceptions, induction support at post-primary level is virtually non-existent. Our probationary process for teachers is also well below the optimum. At primary level, it excludes any meaningful involvement of the employer – the management of the school. At post-primary level, it involves, in most cases, the sign-off of a principal teacher without any observation of the teacher’s work in the classroom. The current system is therefore making a very limited contribution to teacher quality and reform is required.

That reform will involve empowering the Teaching Council in relation to the induction and probation of teachers, which I can now confirm that I intend to do with effect from September 2012. While work will continue between now and then on the exact detail of the policy framework to be put in place by the Teaching Council in this regard, it is clear to me that we need to ensure that teachers are required, at a minimum, to satisfactorily complete an approved induction programme as part of a new probationary process that has robust external and internal verification mechanisms. As a precursor to this, a new induction support programme is to be made available to all primary teachers qualifying from September of this year and to all new post-primary teachers as soon as possible in the new school year. The programme will be delivered through a variety of modes in education centres or other suitable locations in out-of-school time for approximately twenty hours over the course of the school year. It will provide professional support and further development suited to the professional learning needs of newly qualified teachers. The reform is an important one that should assist teachers overcome challenges and problems they face in adjusting to the classroom dynamic.

Curriculum Reform

If the quality of our teachers is at the foundation of our system, then the quality, content and relevance of our curriculum represent the building blocks. As I am sure my co-speakers here this afternoon will agree, the education we provide in our schools and colleges, together with the learning outcomes achieved, are crucial for the individual life opportunities of each student, for our economic development and for the quality of the society in which we live. In that regard, ongoing review and reform of the curriculum to meet the needs of contemporary Ireland is critical.

In my view, reform of a curriculum should result in a more active learning experience for the individual, promote a real understanding within learning, and aim to embed a seed of creativity and innovation in the learner. In Ireland, curriculum reform must also move the student away from the trend towards rote learning. The traditional approach of teacher-led instruction and memorising of information must be replaced with a greater emphasis on critical thinking. Reform must ensure our students acquire the key skill sets that enable them to be flexible and independent learners throughout the whole of their lives. From their first day in school, a child should be embarking on a journey that leads them to this objective. The delicate balance between content and knowledge, and the skills and core capacity to learn must be maintained for a successful outcome. International research shows that these skills need to be integrated into subjects, not taught as add-ons. Changes implemented under the revised primary curriculum embraced this approach. This will also be a key objective in the review of the Junior Certificate, which I launched recently.

The wider programme for change is being driven by longitudinal research by the ESRI, by international research, by the outcomes of evaluations in schools and widespread consultation with stakeholders both within and outside of the system. Revised syllabuses and methods of assessment that move away from traditional rote learning are coming on stream and other programmes such as Transition Year and the Young Social Innovators programme are designed to ensure that essential skills such as research, teamwork, planning, critical reflection and active citizenship are developed. Rote learning approaches will not serve our students well in adapting to the needs of the future. What is important is that they learn to be effective lifelong learners and develop the capacity to problem solve, and to apply knowledge and skills in a variety of contexts.

Reform of Maths Teaching

While a broad range of subjects is vital to create well-rounded individuals, there are skills and capabilities that transcend all subject areas and are vital tools in understanding the world around us. Mathematics is one such skill and we can no longer assume that being “average” at Maths, as OECD ‘PISA’ studies show, is sufficient to keep pace with the needs of the Smart Economy. Our industry leaders and those considering investing in Ireland also highlighted the need for graduates with better maths skills. In response, unprecedented investment in Project Maths is in the process of transforming the way maths is taught and learned in our schools.

Our ongoing experience in Project Maths has taught us the truth of Bertrand Russell’s assertion that, “more important than the curriculum is the question of the method of teaching and spirit in which the teaching is given”. Acknowledging this emphasises a wider truth. The educational system is not an arid landscape; it is populated and led by those who are themselves committed to the value of learning and who wish to transmit that value system to those under their tutelage.

Project Maths will now mainstream in all our second level schools this September. It will bring about a changed approach to student learning of mathematics, with greater use of contexts and applications and greater emphasis on the development of problem-solving skills. It should contribute significantly to enhancing interest in maths across our second level system.

The success of Project Maths and initiatives like it depends on an interaction between policy makers and innovative teachers who are informed by research, scholarship and engagement with other stakeholders. Implementation requires access to the continuous professional development and support I have already highlighted. This juxtaposition of new ideas and committed people are necessary factors for successful innovation right across wider society and the economy. Craig Barrett rightly asserted in recent months that at the heart of an innovative society are smart people, smart ideas and the right environment.

Reform of Higher Education

Smart people and smart ideas should find a natural home within the education system. Nowhere in the education cycle is this truer than in our higher education institutions, where knowledge is created and transmitted, and where creative and skilled graduates for the twenty-first century are formed. Our higher education institutions are at the nexus of Ireland’s future innovative society and this places an enormous burden of responsibility on them. Recognising this, in Government we have embarked on a process to consider and formulate a strategy for the development of higher education for the next twenty years. It is a strategy that will provide for the next stage of structural reform and development across our higher education sector.

The strategy group, under the chairmanship of Dr. Colin Hunt, will be presenting me with their draft report over the coming weeks. The timing and the importance of the group’s recommendations in helping to shape future societal and economic development in Ireland is very significant. Our challenge is to leverage the considerable strengths of our higher education system and to build on the enormous strides that have been made over recent decades in positioning the system to respond effectively to the complex, fast-growing and changing demands of the future.

Development of the Sector

When Patrick McGill was a child, the higher education landscape in Ireland was vastly different. Coolahan tells us that “Ireland shared in the great contemporary debates on liberal versus utilitarian education; secular versus religious universities, research versus teaching”. Arguing against vocationalism and utilitarianism was liberal education’s most famous exponent, Cardinal Newman, who regarded the purpose of education to train man as man, rather than for individual professions.

I cannot imagine that this world of academic debate played much of a role in MacGill’s life. With little opportunity to access intermediate or secondary education, the university system remained the preserve of the elite. In the early twentieth century, three hundred students attended UCD, with under a thousand students in Trinity College. It was not until the 1960s that groundbreaking reforms such as the introduction of free secondary education for all made more advanced education a viable opportunity for the masses. This would transform the scale of demand for higher education within a generation.

We are seeing the cumulative effects of the historical evolution of the Irish education system today. Two in three eighteen year olds apply to attend higher education courses and Ireland’s participation rate has climbed to over 60%. In the coming decades we face a new challenge. We will need to facilitate a far more diverse cohort of learners as the challenges of the twenty-first century workplace will require people to enter and re-enter the education system throughout their lives and careers.

Institutional Diversity

The great ‘either or’ debates to which Coolahan refers have modified and there is now a recognition that to serve the needs of Ireland in the twenty-first century, institutional diversity is required. The Irish system already encompasses institutions with distinct and diverse missions. Traditional universities have flourished and the institutes of technology, founded against a backdrop of rapid industrial development, have provided an essential response in providing innovative routes for transfer and progression, attracting an ever-growing cohort of our school leavers and non-traditional learners into higher education.

When we look at the international landscape of higher education, we can see that twenty-first century institutional missions can be viewed through a complex and multi-faceted lens. We can identify points of differentiation when looking at teaching and learning profiles; student profiles; the orientation and range of qualifications; the nature of research activity and the nature and extent of regional and international engagement. Future policy for higher education in Ireland should be directed at supporting diverse institutions of sufficient scale, capacity and reputation across a spectrum of innovation strengths, and meeting a range of opportunities and needs.

Balancing Autonomy and Accountability

We need to harness and support the natural inclination of our institutions to develop their own capacities and reputations within a robust system framework. Institutional autonomy enables innovation, flexibility and responsiveness at the level of individual institutions in reacting to new opportunity and in meeting the needs of individuals, communities and enterprises. Autonomy will continue to be an essential feature of the Irish system. It is equally essential however that this is balanced by transparency and accountability for performance against stated national policy objectives. Such is required to reflect both the funding contribution of the State and the wider ‘public good’ responsibilities of higher education institutions to society.

Autonomous institutions and the State must therefore agree objectives and develop pathways that will ensure overall performance delivery across the system that is coherent, measurable, transparent and aligned to national needs.

Objective

What we want to achieve is an Irish higher education system of strong, consolidated, collaborating institutions, fulfilling diverse roles that collectively respond to the needs of individuals, enterprise and society.

To achieve this it is clear to me at this point that:

Consolidation is required for critical mass;

Institutional mission diversity must be protected and enhanced; and

Effective collaboration in meeting the full range of societal demands, both within regions and nationally, must be prioritised.

To this end, diverse institutions within a region, building on current strengths and roles, must form clusters focussed on providing clear routes for transfer and progression. This will ensure that the entire range of higher education provision from NQF Level 6 to 10, of the appropriate quality and critical mass, is accessible to all potential learners within that region.

These will be the important guiding parameters for the evolution of future institutional roles and relationships in Irish higher education and will drive significant reform over the coming years.

Further Issues

These questions, around future institutional mission and the challenges of balancing autonomy to carry out a unique function with the need for accountability to the society served, form just part of contemporary debate. Other issues relate to how best institutions should be governed and managed; how best they can relate and respond to the communities they serve, the purpose and nature of research; and, critically in these times, the tension between quantity and quality in terms of meeting the cost of mass higher education against a backdrop of huge projected growth in demand. The challenge of our forthcoming higher education strategy will be to map a way of resolving these core challenges and tensions.

The Role of Research

If we look at the higher education system as a central engine of creativity and innovation, it is clear that our capacity to resolve these and other major challenges will rely largely on our ability and willingness to draw on the best of smart ideas and smart people from within the higher education system itself. Good ideas are often sparked by the meeting of different perspectives within a community and may be borne of complexity and contradictions. Dr. Faust, in her recent address to the Royal Irish Academy, acknowledged the benefits of a diverse research landscape and noted that “From the beginning, universities have drawn power from the creative tension between the search for applied knowledge and the devotion to knowledge pursued for its own sake, for the simple satisfaction of curiosity”.

Our future policy in research should have as its cornerstone the principle that Ireland will require the full spectrum of research activity, from basic to applied research within and across disciplines. Within institutions, between collaborating institutions and between institutions and industry, a cross-fertilisation of ideas and perspectives is likely to serve Ireland well.

A Return on Investment

In seeking to restore Ireland’s economic health, decision makers and policy makers must acknowledge the broader impacts of a high quality research system on Ireland’s cultural and social wellbeing. We need to balance the management of the major investment of public monies going into research and development with recognition that some research impacts cannot be assessed against short term goals too soon. As Jerome Wiesner, former president of MIT and science advisor to President Kennedy, was fond of saying, “That’s like planting a seedling and, a short while later, yanking it out to see if the roots are healthy.” Our institutions must also accept, however that they are accountable for their performance to society and must to continue to develop an open interface with those in the wider community.

Our institutions must also understand that there has to be an eventual purpose and destination for the ideas generated through research activity. Technology transfer and innovative solutions for industry and enterprise will have obvious benefits for Ireland’s economic welfare and future job creation. Coming to the Education portfolio, as I have, from the Enterprise portfolio, this is something about which I am acutely aware. With such significant public funding now directed at it, research cannot solely be for research’s sake. Similarly, public policy and debate about ethical and moral issues benefit from the independent thinking and clarity of analysis of academic communities engaged in interpreting the world around us. Indeed, we need to better ensure that public debate in Ireland benefits from the wealth of knowledge and understanding within the walls of our institutions.

Teaching at HEIs

New knowledge and ideas have an equally important destination within those walls and that is to guide the learning and concepts transmitted to the students seeking to attain their undergraduate or postgraduate degrees. Our students’ education at third level should be guided by teachers whose expertise in their chosen discipline is continually updated through research, through scholarship or in more vocationally oriented disciplines through up to date practice. This ensures that curricula are of continuing relevance. Discovery and learning; enquiry and instruction are intimately interlinked. As with our teachers at primary and post-primary level, it is of critical importance that all academic staff members have expertise and access to the latest research in educational methods and pedagogical techniques. We need to ensure that teaching methods at third level are designed to promote creativity, innovation and adaptability in our graduates. Those essential skills will then disperse through wider society in which graduates take their place as leaders, as employees, as parents and citizens.

Conclusion

The process of reform across our higher education system will begin afresh with the publication and implementation of our new higher education strategy to which considerable time and energy has been devoted over the past year. It, along with the reforms we have set in motion at primary and post-primary level for teaching and in the curriculum, and in a number of other areas that I have not had the time to address this afternoon, will ensure a legacy of reform during my tenure in Marlborough Street. I very much hope that, despite this time of particular economic difficulty, they will leave our education system stronger and better equipped to serve this and future generations of our Republic.

Thank you.