Looking to the future: Introduction
ESRI research into student experiences
Starting the review
Ideas for a new junior cycle'Innovation and Identity: Ideas for a new junior cycle'
When we think about what students learn in the junior cycle and how they learn it, we must ask ourselves; are we providing our young people with the knowledge and skills they need now and into the future—for life, for lifelong learning, and for work. We hear frequently that the top ten most sought after jobs for 2010 didn't exist in 2004!
Our junior cycle needs to be flexible enough to facilitate the adoption of new teaching and learning methodologies as well as allowing for the inclusion an evolving range of content. Young people communicate through digital means including email, instant messaging, and blogs. How can the teaching and learning at junior cycle tap into these and other tools to facilitate our teenagers in learning in a way that is more meaningful to them?
The research on the experiences of junior cycle students carried out by the ESRI on behalf of the NCCA which set out to see how students progressed from primary school to first year in post-primary school and then how they were doing in second and third year—revealed quite a number of interesting and significant findings
- transition from 6th class to 1st year remains very difficult for some students
- a minority of students disengage from learning in second year
- students experience an overcrowded curriculum
- the Junior Certificate exerts too great an influence on the teaching and learning in junior cycle.
The Minister for Education, Batt O'Keeffe, spoke to our Council in June and re-iterated the need to address these challenges—read his speech (PDF, 25KB). He asked us to
- review international practice in lower secondary education
- examine what areas of the curriculum should be prioritised within the totality of the junior cycle experience
- assess the nature and form of assessment which would be most suitable for students at that stage of their development
- address the issue of overload, breadth and balance in the curriculum and make time for active learning.
So that's what we are doing! We have already engaged in work which addresses some of these and other issues in junior cycle. We are tackling the issue of overload by rebalancing junior cycle subjects (find out more about rebalancing here). We have commissioned research on international practice in standardised testing in lower secondary education which will be completed early in 2010. We are also beginning look at how the transition of students from primary to second level can be made more efficient and effective.
The work of developing a new junior cycle is at an early stage. We know from our experience with school-based curriculum development initiatives involving senior cycle Transition Units, Flexible Learning Profiles (FLPs) and Key Skills as well as Project Maths of course, that meaningful curriculum change, if it is to last, takes time to develop. The changes that will take place in junior cycle will be developed, first and foremost, by schools for schools. This is in line with our emergent thinking on effective education change outlined in Leading and Supporting Change(PDF, 332KB).
What's next
To start us on our way, ideas around how we might go about changing the junior cycle experience are available to read in the paper: Innovation and Identity: Ideas for a new Junior Cycle(PDF, 4.4MB). The paper begins by describing some of the dilemmas associated with lower secondary education more widely and by extension to the junior cycle in Ireland. It refers to the junior cycle being regarded as a 'passing through' phase of education while drawing attention to the over-emphasis on exams and lack of emphasis on skills for life long learning. The effects of the overloaded curriculum are, of course, referred to. The paper also observes that frequently the most significant value given to the Junior Certificate is that it is perceived as a good 'trial run' for an important examination, the Leaving Certificate.
The paper then moves on to consider ideas about how the junior cycle curriculum, learning and teaching, methods of generating evidence of learning and qualifications might change; drawing on examples of international practice as it does so. The paper finally suggests how we might go about developing the junior cycle. Have a read of Innovation and Identity:Ideas for a new Junior Cycle(PDF, 4.4MB) and see do you think it reflects well your experience of junior cycle.
We will widen the debate through a process which will include conversations with the partners in education and with teachers, students, management and parents in some schools. Engaging with the school communities will allow us to get their thoughts on the ideas contained in the paper. We also plan to organise a consultation conference for stakeholders in March which the Minister for Education and Science will address, and a junior cycle symposium next Autumn which will consider consultation feedback and proposals setting out the development of junior cycle.
We will be listening too—you will get opportunities over the coming months to express your ideas on how best to re-shape the junior cycle experience for students. These opportunities will come via your schools, subject associations, unions and other representative bodies. Hopefully, together, we can develop a junior cycle experience for our early teens that will prepare them for their future and engage them in a meaningful way on their path of lifelong learning.
Related links
Ideas for a new junior cycle; Article from info@ncca (February 2010) (PDF, 50KB)
Teachers as curriculum developers; Article from info@ncca (February 2010) (PDF, 151 KB)