Students are more confident communicating in class and better able to take responsibility for their own learning than in previous years, according to the first major review into the impact of Junior Cycle reforms.
The findings are contained in research from the early phases of a four-year longitudinal study by researchers at University of Limerick into curriculum changes in post-primary schools in Ireland.
However, there are concerns among principals and teachers over a “misalignment” between junior and senior cycle, with many calling for the type of broader learning in the early years of second-level to be followed through to the Leaving Cert.
In addition, there is evidence that classroom-based assessments (CBAs) are a source of stress and anxiety among students and staff, especially in schools that have a strong emphasis on exam performance and high grades.
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In these schools, researchers found, CBAs were seen almost as an impediment to preparing students for exams. However, they were more likely to be seen as a positive development and a vehicle for change in schools that placed a greater focus on project-oriented learning.
The review also found teacher collaboration, professional conversations and the language teachers acquired to talk about learning appeared to have developed since the introduction of the reforms.
Mixed reviews
Teachers’ classroom practices also appeared to have shifted to facilitate more student-centred learning. In addition, there is evidence that students have a greater voice in, and awareness of, their own learning, while student-teacher relationships were also deemed to have improved.
There were mixed reviews, however, on training or professional development for teachers in relation to the changes.
Researchers said this was especially the case in the early years of reforms when there were “problems” such as training staff not always being in a position to answer teachers’ questions on aspects of wider reforms.
The research will, over time, draw on surveys of hundreds of students, teachers and principals, as well as in-depth case studies of a dozen schools.
The researchers said they aim to capture the opportunities and challenges presented by Junior Cycle reforms and to enable schools and teachers to “tell their stories of engagement“ with the curriculum change. The study notes that there was general agreement that the Junior Cert needed to be changed.
A number of factors contributed to a “challenging” launch of Junior Cycle reforms when they were first rolled out, the report notes. These included opposition from teachers’ unions, the impact of austerity measures on some teachers’ receptiveness to change and political intervention in the partnership model of curriculum development.
The Covid-19 pandemic was also seen to halt the progress that had been achieved in embedding the Junior Cycle changes in everyday practices in schools.
The Association of Secondary Teachers’ Ireland (ASTI), meanwhile, expressed “no confidence” in the research project.
Development group
The union expressed concern over a “perceived conflict of interest” in relation to the report, which was commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). It said its concerns centre on the role of a member of the research team‘s previous co-option by the council as one of its two representatives on a Junior Cycle subject development group.
The union said it was advising its members not to co-operate with the project any further.
In a statement, the NCCA said it “absolutely refutes” the suggestion of a conflict of interest. It said the researcher is one of a team of 15 academics at the University of Limerick, supported by a team of four internationally recognised curriculum researchers.
It said the research tender clearly stated the roles that the researcher in question had in relation to NCCA work in the past and its evaluation team concluded that no conflict of interest existed in light of the limited involvement of the individual on one of 43 separate curriculum components that support the introduction of Junior Cycle reforms.
