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Teaching Qualifications

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 February 2022

Tuesday, 22 February 2022

Questions (429)

Cathal Crowe

Question:

429. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education her plans to facilitate the full recognition of post-primary school staff guidance counsellors as career guidance teachers. [9206/22]

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Written answers

I can advise the Deputy that the recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24(3) of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012).

To work as a guidance counsellor in a post-primary school a teacher must hold dual professional qualifications: that of post-primary teacher and that of post-primary guidance counsellor. There are sound educational and pedagogical reasons for the requirement to hold both as this is a complex role which involves both teaching and guidance counselling.

It is the view of the Department that in order to be able to execute the full range of functions of the guidance counsellor in a post-primary school, a person needs to hold both qualifications. Notwithstanding the similar modules in sector specific teacher training programmes, teachers qualified to work in primary or further education sectors would still require post-primary sector specific training to be deemed fully qualified to competently work as a post primary teacher and / or guidance counsellor in a post-primary setting.

The Teaching Council and the Department of Education are cognisant of the value of education in society, of the unique role which teachers play within the education system in providing for the holistic development of students, and of the complex and intricate nature of teaching as it is elaborated in the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers. The Council reiterates the critical objectives of promoting quality teaching and learning in all sectors.

Programmes of post-primary initial teacher education such as the Professional Master of Education (PME) prepare student teachers for core areas such as school and classroom planning, assessment, evaluation, classroom management and differentiated teaching to meet the age and stage appropriate needs of the individual learner. At the end of the initial teacher training PME course, students will have acquired the professional knowledge, understanding and skills needed to teach their subject or subjects in a post primary school. They will have gained practical experience ‘school placement’ in two contrasting school settings, and developed their ability to respond flexibly to the diverse and changing educational needs of students aged 12 to 18 years.

It remains the case that a person being assigned as a guidance counsellor must be a qualified and registered second-level teacher with the Teaching Council and, in addition, hold the relevant recognised qualification for school guidance work.

Information on the Programme Recognition Framework for Guidance Counselling can be found here: www.gov.ie/en/publication/dce0a0-programme-recognition-framework-guidance-counselling/

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