Teacher Preparation in Ireland
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Teacher Preparation in Ireland History, Policy and Future Directions This page intentionally left blank Teacher Preparation in Ireland History, Policy and Future Directions By Tom O’Donoghue The University of Western Australia, Australia Judith Harford University College Dublin, Ireland Teresa O’Doherty Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland United Kingdom À North America À Japan ÀIndia À Malaysia À China Emerald Publishing Limited Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK First edition 2017 Copyright r 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited Reprints and permissions service Contact: [email protected] No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-78714-512-2 (Print) ISBN: 978-1-78714-511-5 (Online) ISBN: 978-1-78714-955-7 (Epub) ISOQAR certified Management System, awarded to Emerald for adherence to Environmental standard ISO 14001:2004. Certificate Number 1985 ISO 14001 We dedicate this book to Emeritus Professor Áine Hyland Emeritus Professor John Coolahan For their Outstanding Contribution to the History of Teacher Education in Ireland This page intentionally left blank Contents About the Authors ix CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1 CHAPTER 2 The Broad Historical Context 19 CHAPTER 3 The Preparation of Primary School Teachers: 1922À1967 45 CHAPTER 4 The Preparation of Teachers for Second-Level Schools: 1922À1967 85 CHAPTER 5 Teacher Preparation: 1966À1990 123 CHAPTER 6 Teacher Preparation: 1991À2011 149 CHAPTER 7 Initial Teacher Preparation: 2012À2017 179 CHAPTER 8 Current Developments and Future Trends 207 References 227 Index 241 vii This page intentionally left blank About the Authors Tom O’Donoghue is Professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia. Judith Harford is Director of Teacher Education Programmes at the School of Education, University College Dublin, Ireland. Teresa O’Doherty is Dean of Education, at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland. ix This page intentionally left blank CHAPTER 1 Introduction his opening chapter is an introduction to what is an eight- chapter work on teacher preparation in independent TIreland, the emphasis being on historical developments, recent policy and current directions. Overall, what is presented is a synoptic exposition based on a wide range of secondary sources. Regarding these sources, the most prominent researchers and writers in the field over the last 40 years have been Dr John Coolahan, Emeritus Professor at the National University of Ireland Maynooth, and Dr Áine Hyland, Emeritus Professor at University College Cork, and their corpus of work in the field has been widely drawn upon. If it were not for this work, it is dif- ficult to imagine how this book could even have been conceptua- lised, not to mention completed. The chapter is in four parts. The first part provides a general overview of teacher preparation in the country from 1922 to the present, drawing in particular on an account written by Coolahan for the Standing Conference on Teacher Education, North and South (ScoTENs), which was formed in 2002, which emerged from discussions between teacher educationists, the Department of Education and Science in the Republic of Ireland, and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland, and which aimed at promoting North-South co-operation in teacher education on the island of Ireland as part 1 2 TEACHER PREPARATION IN IRELAND of the ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland.1 The second part of the chapter identifies the stimulus for engaging in the project on which this book is based. The third part of the chapter outlines the contribution of the book to the body of literature on the history of education, and particularly on the history of teacher preparation. Finally, the research approach upon which the project underpinning the book was based is detailed. Here also the structure of the book is outlined. An Overview of the History of Teacher Preparation in Ireland Prior to the establishment of the independent Irish State in 1922, initial preparation for teaching in primary schools was provided primarily in single-sex, denominational colleges. A two-year ‘training’ course operated to prepare teachers for well-defined roles.2 The colleges were overseen by the Commissioners of National Education, who also oversaw the work of the primary schools.3 To qualify to teach in a secondary school as a recog- nised teacher one first of all had to obtain a university degree and then continue one’s studies part-time for a Higher Diploma in Education (H.Dip. in Ed.) course offered by the education depart- ments of the universities. The H.Dip. in Ed. became an essential qualification for recognition as a registered teacher in secondary schools in receipt of State funding following the establishment of the Secondary Teachers Registration Council in 1918. It also became essential for eligibility for receipt of an incremental salary from the new Irish State from 1924.4 In newly independent Ireland the promotion of the Irish lan- guage took centre stage in education policy as the State saw its revival and the promotion of Gaelic culture as essential for nation 1See A. Burke (Ed.), Teacher Education in the Republic of Ireland: Retrospect and Prospect (Armagh: The Centre for Cross Border Studies, 2004). 2Ibid., p. 4. See also T. J. O’Connell, 100 Years of Progress: The Story of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation 1868-1968 (Dublin: The INTO, 1968). 3Ibid. See also D. H. Akenson, The Irish Education Experiment: The National System of Education in Ireland in the Nineteenth Century (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1970). 4Ibid. Introduction 3 building. The great majority of children throughout the land were, until now, receiving their formal education through the medium of English, their mother tongue. This situation reflected the fact that it had been a long time since Irish had been the dom- inant language in the country and, consequently, the dominant language of education and culture. In accord with the new policy, it was compulsory to study the Irish language in school prior to being considered for entry to the teacher training colleges.5 Also, in 1926, the Irish government established a series of ‘preparatory colleges’.6 These were board- ing secondary schools at which selected children from Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) districts, and others with high standards in spo- ken and written Irish, received free secondary school education.7 They then progressed to the teacher training colleges where they joined a number of those selected separately after graduating from ‘regular’ secondary schools, again with a high standard in the Irish language.8 The course of studies that evolved in the teacher training col- leges in the early decades after Ireland gained national indepen- dence had three components: a general education in academic subjects, an optional course and ‘education studies’. The latter consisted of ‘principles of teaching’ and ‘practical teaching’ orga- nised in block-release periods of six weeks each year for every student. This took place in primary schools located close to the colleges.9 Most lectures and examinations were conducted through the medium of the Irish language and senior inspectors from the Department of Education monitored standards of teach- ing practice.10 In 1974, following a request from the government of the day, the universities agreed to award Bachelor in Education (B.Ed.) degrees to primary school teachers after a minimum of three 5Ibid. See also T. O’Donoghue, Bilingual Education in Pre-independent Irish-speaking Ireland, 1800À1922 (Ceredigion, Wales: Edwin Mellen Press, 2006). 6Ibid. See also V. Jones, A Gaelic Experiment: The Preparatory System 1926 and Coláiste Moibhí (Dublin: The Woodfield Press, 2006). 7Ibid. See also N. C. Johnson, ‘Nation-building, language and educa- tion: The geography of teacher recruitment in Ireland, 1925À55’, Political Geography, Vol. 11, No. 2, 1992, pp. 170À189. 8Ibid. 9Ibid., p. 6. 10Ibid. 4 TEACHER PREPARATION IN IRELAND years of study (four years for an honours degree in the case of the colleges associated with Trinity College Dublin).11 ‘Education’ as a distinct field of study was the core subject of the degree. Also, a much less regimented approach to pedagogy and to student life both within and outside the colleges than had pre- viously been adopted, began to be issued. Regarding the preparation of secondary school teachers, a State commission on higher education argued in 1967 that the nation’s university departments of education should be expanded and developed.12 Soon, each university appointed new professors of education and additional full-time lecturers who specialised in various fields of scholarship. Also, facilities were improved and the H.Dip. in Ed. was restructured as a