Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 April 2013
3. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the work that has been done to assess, analyse and improve teaching outcomes in universities here; the tangible actions that have been planned for the next 12 months as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17794/13]
View answerThe national strategy for higher education outlines a range of actions aimed at enhancing teaching and the learning experience of all students. Last November the Minister announced the establishment of the national forum for the enhancement of teaching and learning, which will provide a platform for progressing key actions such as the development of innovative pedagogies, better supports for first year students and promoting academic professional development. Listening and responding to feedback from students and other stakeholders is also crucial in ensuring high quality provision. The first national survey of employers was completed in December 2012 and a national student survey is currently being established, a pilot of which is now under way. Measures are also being taken to ensure a robust and effective quality assurance system. The Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012 established Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, which has taken on responsibility for externally reviewing the quality assurance arrangements of universities. Learner involvement will be an important feature of future quality assurance processes.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I accept that some good things are happening. Universities have two roles and these relate to the areas of research and training. There has been a great deal of healthy focus, including on the part of the Minister of State, on research. In that context, the Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) (Amendment) Bill 2012 is currently before the Houses. The same level of funding and focus is not being devoted to teaching. There have been some very welcome developments on the research side, which focus on outcomes, links to commercial interests etc. The developments on the teaching side when compared to those in the area of research are quite small in nature.
There are some promising initiatives in place but some of the major challenges seem to arise on foot of working practices. I accept that pedagogy can improve matters. However, it is fairly well recognised in many - perhaps not all - of the universities that being an excellent teacher does not lead to one being promoted. It is writing and publishing papers which gets one promoted. I understand UCD has introduced a dual-track system in this regard. An important step along this path is that which involves measuring outcomes and arriving at an agreed and rigorous dataset in that regard. Such a dataset will allow one to identify the universities, departments thereof, individual professors etc., that are doing well. Are there plans to create such a dataset in order that universities and other third level institutions might begin to learn from each other? I refer to the adoption of a systematic approach across the third level sector.
With respect, I hope I understand the Deputy's question. If he is expressing concerns in respect of the focus on teaching, I am not quite clear from where his underlying assumption that there are issues around teaching within the third level sector comes. Perhaps I missed something in that regard. There is a national strategy in respect of teaching in the higher education sector. The national forum for the enhancement of teaching and learning was launched in November 2012 and is chaired by Professor Sarah Moore of the University of Limerick. The national forum will consolidate and build upon the strengths of existing individual institutions and their teaching and learning frameworks. The work of the national forum is under way and I hope this provides an answer to one part of the Deputy's question. The national forum will provide a key system-level infrastructure for the support of the national strategy and serve as a platform for academic-led enhancement of teaching. Its focus will be on adding value by providing a structure through which these institutional and network initiatives can be synergised and leveraged. The nascent forum held its first meeting in March.
It is important to state that each academic institution has its own degree of autonomy. The Deputy will appreciate the higher education block grant of over €1 billion. I am of the view that the aims behind the national strategy will complement the goal of our making a greater economic impact through the creation of further jobs and enhance people's learning experience. As already stated, in the context of the teaching experience the national forum is examining the development of innovative pedagogies and the technologies which support these. In itself, this is quite innovative. It is also considering whether it might be necessary to broaden students' first year experience or whether prescribed courses should be retained.
The context of the question is that I welcome what is happening. It is great that there is a renewed focus. However, I do not believe there has been as much focus on teaching as there has been on areas for which the Minister of State has responsibility, namely, research, in respect of which substantive legislation has been forthcoming. I welcome the moves that have been made to date but I am deeply concerned about teaching in our universities. In the period from 2008 to 2015, the overall reduction in Government funding per student will be 50%. Universities are, therefore, being obliged to pull back in respect of many teaching supports. Teaching within our universities is under threat. While I welcome what is taking place, I remain extremely concerned. I want to ensure that what is happening takes place in as rigorous a manner as possible. In that context, will there be hard data available to educational experts, the HEA and Members of the Oireachtas which will enable them to identify the fact that Trinity's English department is phenomenal while a particular department at the University of Limerick is struggling? The danger of not having such data is that we will end up with some very well-meaning sentiments and projects and avoid answering some of the difficult questions or shining a light on the more problematic areas.
The straight answer to the Deputy's question on mining data is that such data is already available.
Not in the context of teaching outcomes.
I was just about to say that measuring teaching outcomes from either a quantitative or qualitative point of view is quite challenging, particularly in view of the different academic ethos which obtains within the various higher education institutions. One way to try to ensure more efficient outcomes from a teaching point of view is to consider professional academic development and the research which underpins it. The system at post-primary level is highly evolved.
There should also be a system that is promoted at tertiary level. If there is greater academic professional development, there are better teachers, more specialties are created and better outcomes are driven. This issue is being considered as part of the national forum.
The straight answer to the Deputy's question is that I am unsure as to whether we have those data. We can check for him. However, there is a focus on his points regarding the need for metrics and indices.
