Education: Transition year: promoting independence
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012Transition year is “one of the few hopes” the Irish education system has of teaching pupils how to learn, as opposed to training them to pass exams, two Dublin principals tell Meadhbh Monahan. Designed to promote confidence, maturity and independent learning, transition year is an optional programme in most secondary schools, bridging the gap between the junior and senior cycles. It should be a model for the direction in which the leaving certificate must go, according to the headmaster of Belvedere College, Gerard Foley, and the head of Mount Temple Comprehensive, Liam Wegimont. In...[full story]
Education: Reforming plans
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011The Programme for Government aims to build a ‘knowledge society’ thus reversing the decline in educational standards. eolas sums up the Government’s main plans for reform and the progress to date. Modernisation Across the board, ICT will be integrated into education policy. This includes the merger of the National Centre for Technology in Education and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (legislation is needed), a new plan to develop ICT in teaching, learning and assessment, prioritising investment in broadband development, and pooling ICT procurement. As part of...[full story]
Education: Education overhaul
Friday, May 13th, 2011Reform will be carried out within the terms of the Croke Park Agreement and the 2011 Budget allocation will remain intact. eolas reports. Without making any permanent teachers redundant or reducing their pay, Education Minister Ruairí Quinn proposes to “seek efficiencies in work and school practices” and ultimately to “position Ireland in the top ten performing countries in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment [PISA].” Ireland’s ranking of 26th out of 39 countries for mathematics in the 2009 PISA was a “wake-up call for Irish education”, according to...[full story]
ICT: Skills: the size of the gap
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010There are still many employment opportunities in the ICT industry in Ireland but a skills gap is causing problems for employers. Emma Blee reports. Around 37,000 people in Ireland are employed in IT professions, which amount to 1.75 per cent of the country’s workforce. However, some businesses are still having problems finding staff with the specific ICT skills they need. The Central Statistics Office has found that those working in the sector have some of the highest educational profiles in the economy: over 80 per cent are third level graduates while only a small share has not attainted...[full story]
Statute summary: Education (Amendment) Bill
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010Purpose: to allow vocational education committees to set up primary schools. If the Bill is passed, the state will take a more active role in setting up primary schools, just as it has done at secondary level. In addition, the number of vocational education committees (VEC’s) is being reduced from 33 to 16 in order to cut local government spending, therefore the 16 VEC’s will be “stronger ad better placed to provide support to schools.” Its current role is confined to helping patrons, primarily from the Catholic Church, to set them up. Problems can arise where a patron is unwilling...[full story]
Education: On top of the world
Friday, January 1st, 2010“Rankings can never capture the full contribution of this university. The standard line is they don’t matter – but they do.” That is the opinion of Dr Hugh Brady, President of University College Dublin (UCD), which has for the first time made it onto the world’s top 100 universities. “International students and international staff look at rankings. When I was in China they knew exactly where we are and what we are good at. World rankings are still consistently cited as one of the top 10 reasons why multi-nationals choose where they are going to locate,” Brady added. This...[full story]
Reform: The price of the premium
Friday, January 1st, 2010Seamus McGuinness, economist with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), outlines their study on the differences between public and private pay and discusses how the Budget has altered the gaps between employees in the two sectors. The issue of public sector pay has been widely debated as policy makers, social partners and economists look at identifying the most effective means of addressing the deficit in the public finances and restoring Ireland’s competitiveness. Clearly, the existence of a substantial public sector premium is damaging on both fronts. In a study published...[full story]
Education: Smarter schooling
Friday, January 1st, 2010The Government and the IT industry have begun implementation of the Smart Schools=Smart Economy (‘smart schools’) policy which is based on the theory that Ireland will regain its competitiveness and prosperity through investing in ICT for schools. Meadhbh Monahan reports. A government report into ICT in schools, undertaken in 2008, concluded that “a lack of sufficient and sustained investment over recent years has resulted in inadequate and aging ICT equipment and inadequate broadband in schools.” Ireland is placed 20th in a list of 30 OECD countries with fewer than one computer...[full story]
Environment: Sustainable cities: Frank J Convery
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009Professor Frank J. Convery, Heritage Trust Professor of Environmental Policy at University College Dublin, reflects on sustainability-related issues during a recent stay in Boston and on universities as agents for change. Boston In scale, atmosphere, demography and sociability, Boston reminds one of Dublin. Irish names everywhere; the Irish national colour everywhere, as the green-attired basketball team – the Boston Celtics – were in the play-offs, and the grass and trees in the Public Gardens and Boston Common were in full growth. And the same Irish fatalism about the weather and...[full story]
