Thomas Byrne
Question:171. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if anti-racism training is compulsory for teacher training and continuing professional development. [15075/19]
View answerTuesday, 2 April 2019
Questions (171)
Written answers
Under Section 38 of the Teaching Council Act, all initial teacher education programmes are subject to review and accreditation by the Teaching Council, for registration purposes. The Teaching Council’s Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers (published in 2011 and revised in March 2017) is an important document that must be observed by all providers of initial teacher education in order that their programmes are recognised for the purposes of teacher registration. These Criteria and Guidelines state that inclusive education (including Multiculturalism, Disadvantage and Special Education) is a mandatory area of study for all student teachers who are undertaking programmes of initial teacher education at primary and post primary levels in Ireland.
The Criteria and Guidelines also set out learning outcomes for graduates of programmes of initial teacher education. The graduate teacher is also required to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the factors that promote and hinder learning, the impact of pupils’ backgrounds and identities on learning and the need to provide for the holistic development of the learner, particularly through differentiated approaches. A further learning outcome for the graduate teacher is to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of cross-curricular links and themes including citizenship; creativity; inclusion and diversity; as appropriate to the sector and stage of education, and how these are related to life experiences.
The Teaching Council is currently reviewing the impact of the current programmes of initial teacher education, through a comprehensive consultation process, with a view to amending the Criteria and Guidelines before the next round of accreditation in 2020.
Across the state-funded Higher Education Institutions, there are also projects that would help prepare teachers to combat racism and xenophobia, through fostering global citizenship and intercultural education.
While continuing professional development is not compulsory, the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) provide access to support for teachers in anti-bullying which cover topics related to anti-racism as part of the SPHE curriculum. Contextualised school support in this area of SPHE is also available from PDST on application.