Vol. 394 No. 8
444 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to concern amongst teachers regarding the lack of adequate guidance in relation to the introduction of the new Junior Certificate course in English, with particular reference to the fact that the course will not be based on set texts and that this constitutes a major change in educational practice for which teachers need extensive and lengthy in-service retraining.
An extensive programme of information dissemination followed by teacher in-service was carried out to support the implementation of the new English syllabus. This included—
—a video released to all schools (autumn 1988);
—information bulletin including syllabus summaries (Autumn 1988);
—syllabus issued to schools (autumn 1988);
—series of regional meetings/ workshops on the new syllabuses (autumn 1988);
—a national programme of two-rounds of one-day in-service courses (spring-autumn 1989);
—a Teachers Guide containing extensive notes, suggestions and models;
—a range of supplementary activities carried out by various agencies (including Association of English Teachers) supported by Council (summer 1988-autumn 1989).
The new English syllabus has been widely welcomed. The changes from previous practice are well within the professional competence of a well-trained teaching force. There is extensive precedent for the open-syllabus approach within our system and in systems in other countries. The support currently being provided for teachers is extensive and without precedent: it is distinguished by active teacher-involvement in planning and implementation.
