MINISTER FOR Education Ruairí Quinn has backed plans to abolish the existing Junior Certificate and replace it with what is billed as a radically changed junior cycle.
The proposals by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment for reform of the junior cycle in secondary schools were officially released yesterday.
Key changes include an upper limit of eight subjects for students, up to 40 per cent of marks for continually assessed project work and optional short courses.
The proposed changes will begin on a phased basis in 2014 for first examination in 2017.
The proposals were designed to address issues of “curriculum overload, and rote learning”, Mr Quinn said. They would also provide for “greater creativity and innovation” and “more relevant and flexible forms of assessment”, he added.
The eight-subject cap would “address the concerns about the backwash effect of the examinations” and ensure rote learning was not at the expense of gaining “critical skills”, he said. Mr Quinn encouraged schools and students to move in the direction of the subject cap “as soon as possible”.
The written exams will also be changed. All subjects will be examined at a common level with shorter exams, with the exception of Irish, English and maths.
He welcomed the proposal for a “Level 2” award for students with special needs for whom the Junior Cert is unsuitable.
Many of the proposals contained in the Towards a Framework for Junior Cycledocument drawn up by the council had been flagged last month.
The reduction in the content of the syllabus would make space for “active learning and the embedding of key skills”, he said.
Concerns that Mr Quinn said needed to be considered were implications for timetable and delivery in schools, avoiding the risk of dumbing down and how time demands of literacy and numeracy would be met.
The department will now begin to assess the resource implications. Resources and modern technology would allow for professional development in more cost-effective ways, he said.
Chairman of the council Prof Tom Collins said the launch of the proposals with the support of the Minister represented “a historic achievement” for the council.
He said the current social and economic crisis had played a part in shaping the proposals.
Mr Quinn yesterday sought the co-operation of teachers and schools in implementing the proposed changes. However, teacher unions raised some concerns about the details and funding of the project.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland said the plans must be made “fail-proof” before they were introduced.
Union general secretary Pat King said there was “an urgent need to fill the significant information gaps” in the document, which would be immediately evident to teachers who read it. There had been “dozens” of questions from teachers to the union’s head office.
The Teachers Union of Ireland said it accepted the need for reform but this must be “underpinned by a full commitment to the availability of the necessary resources for the implementation of any change”.
General secretary Peter MacMenamin said there was a “real fear” among teachers that without these resources, reform “could do more harm than good at a time when the education system is struggling to tread water”.
MAIN POINTS: JUNIOR CERT REFORM:
The maximum number of subjects for assessment in the junior cycle will be eight, or seven subjects plus two short courses, or six subjects plus four short courses.
Subjects will be assessed through a written examination, which will generally make up 60 per cent of marks.
Some 40 per cent of marks will be through a portfolio marked by the class teacher, moderated by the school and subject to external moderation.
Subjects will be reduced to 200 hours, expect for the core subjects of Maths, Irish and English, which will be 240 hours.
Six key skills will be embedded in subjects: managing myself, staying well, communications, being creative, working with others and managing information and thinking.
All students will be required to cover 24 statements of essential learning in such areas as communications, mathematical concepts, critical thinking, citizenship, environmental knowledge, consumer skills and appreciating art.
Details of proposals at ncca.ie/juniorcycle
