What I intend to do, and I hope it will be fruitful, is to take the committee through the paper that has been distributed to members. I will do that as quickly as I can. There is some extra detail here that members may read, if they so wish.
Transition year is a one-year school-based programme that is taken upon completion of the junior cycle. Followed by one of the three leaving certificate programmes, it forms the three-year senior cycle available to post-primary schools. In international terms the transition year is considered as "upper secondary education" and not lower, as some people believe. The year is unique in so far as no other European country has comparable mainstream provision for second level students. It attracts much interest in that regard.
While there is no prescribed national curriculum for the leaving certificate, there are suggested areas of study in the transition year guidelines that were issued by the Department of Education in 1994-95. Schools design their own individual programmes according to a recommended curriculum framework that is clearly laid down. Each school has to have an up-to-date transition year document that describes its curriculum for the year. Members of the committee have been given a colourful leaflet that shows what is involved in the writing of a transition year programme, which they may refer to if they wish.
The transition year is designed to provide a bridge to help pupils make the transition from a highly structured environment of the junior cycle to one where they take greater responsibility for their own learning and decision making. Pupils participate in learning strategies which are active and experiential and should develop a range of transferable critical thinking and creative problem solving skills. Assessment is school-based and ongoing. It should be diagnostic and formative as well as summative and a range of modes and techniques of assessment should be used such as interviews, portfolios, diaries, project work and so on.
From the perspective of the individual student the transition year offers opportunities to engage in independent, self-directed learning; develop general, technical and academic skills; and mature and develop in an exam-free environment. I stress that the transition year is not part of the leaving certificate programme and it should not be seen as an opportunity for spending three years on that programme. However, it can be used to augment the leaving certificate experience and to consolidate the material that should have been covered in the junior cycle. It is strongly recommended when such material is covered that an original and stimulating approach is taken, which is different from that used in the exam years.
Currently the service provides support to 526 or just over 70% of second level schools. Some 22 schools are planning to come on board next September. In the last academic year more than 23,000 students took transition year, 45% of them male and 55% female.
As regards background, the transition year project goes back to 1974 when the then Minister for Education, Richard Burke, introduced it in three schools, with 66 students participating. By 1976 this pilot project had grown to 16 schools and the programme appeared for the first time in the rules and programmes for secondary schools, where it was described as "a one-year interdisciplinary programme" intended for students who were leaving school at that point and also for those who wished to continue with their studies.
No significant development took place until the mid-1980s. In 1985 the then Minister for Education, Deputy Gemma Hussey, gave a new lease of life to the transition year by proposing a six-year cycle. Her intention was to bring Ireland into line with the rest of Europe in terms of the age at which young people left the formal education system. By 1986 there were 73 schools in transition year. Schools at that time had to apply to the Department of Education for approval and access. This was an important development in so far as schools were empowered to devise and plan their own curricula.
Controlled access brought the numbers up to 162 by 1992 when a number of significant developments took place. Just before that, in 1991, the then Minister for Education, Deputy Mary O'Rourke, effectively mainstreamed transition year by a establishing a six-year cycle for schools that chose to participate. By 1993, significantly, some 460 schools were taking transition year. The changes that kicked in to encourage this involved an extra capitation grant of £50 per pupil. The Department of Education issued guidelines which said the transition year programme was "a matter for selection and adaptation by the individual school". A national in-service programme was put in place which involved five teachers on secondment providing training to 63 colleagues from participating schools. This was a new model of in-service which has been used many times since. From the perspective of the transition year, it meant that experienced teachers were driving the change in schools, that teachers were advising teachers and that a temporary team was put in place which could be disbanded when the goal was achieved. It also meant that on-site visits to schools were possible, which was a new step in the area of in-service. It was considered to be very effective as the program reached a large number of schools and caused minimum disruption.
The mission statement of the programme is to promote the personal, social, vocational, and educational development of students and to prepare them for their role as autonomous, participative and responsible members of society. There are three stated aims of the transition year which are interrelated and interdependent. These aims are the education of the students for maturity, the promotion of general, technical and academic skills with an emphasis on interdisciplinary self-directed learning, and education through experience of adult and working life as a basis for the student's personal development.
The curriculum in transition year is arranged into what the Department calls the onion. Peeling back the layers of transition year reveals the core subject area, which consists of subjects taken by students throughout post-primary school. These are subjects such as Irish, English, mathematics and physical education which are taught throughout the year. The next layer consists of sampling subjects. These subjects are included to give students opportunities to experience a range of subjects. For example, schools could decide to offer three science subjects to transition year students on a rotational basis. Equally, they could provide the three business subjects, while some schools provide a taste of third level education by providing courses in psychology or law.
The next layer consists of transition year specific modules. There is a broad range of modules from which to choose. It tends to cover areas such as computer skills, first aid, self-defence, personal development, car mechanics, road safety and interior design. These are called modules as they do not cover the full year. The outer layer is what is termed the calendar events. These are learning experiences which take place once or maybe twice a year. They are designed to develop the students' sense of responsibility as well as their practical and personal skills. They can take the form of work experience, community work, fieldtrips, visiting speakers, mini-companies, school drama and so on.
I have also provided the committee with the recommended areas of study in transition year, which are to be found in the Department's transition year guidelines. Control over curriculum content enables teachers to design programmes and courses tailored to the needs and interests of students. It also enables parents, the community and local enterprise to bring new kinds of learning opportunities to the students.
When drawing up the transition year programme, schools are encouraged to involve parents in the decision-making process. The big decision is quite often whether or not to introduce transition year. Most schools arrange sessions for parents of third year students to discuss the transition year programme. Some parents make their expertise available to the school during the transition year as visiting speakers, others may assist in the work experience programme, while all parents are invited to contribute to the evaluation of the programme. That last point is becoming part of what is actually happening out there in the schools.
There is no end of year examination in transition year, as the underlining philosophy of the year is learning-led rather than examination driven. The activity-based learning ethos of the year requires each school to engage in school-based assessment. The assessment should be diagnostic, formative and summative which helps students to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. There is a strong emphasis on portfolio assessment, project work, exhibitions, as well as oral, aural, practical tests and so on. The Department of Education and Science issues an official transition year certificate to participants. Schools also provide their own school-based certification for the particular activities in which students engage such as the ECDL.
A major external evaluation of transition year was conducted by the inspectorate of the Department of Education throughout 1994-95. According to the main findings, 89% of schools were following the transition year guidelines in a satisfactory manner. However, some concerns were expressed in the areas of assessment, evaluation and cross-curricular work. These areas then became the focus of attention of the newly appointed member transition year support team that was put in place. The areas were brought to the attention of schools and significant progress took place.
Three recent educational publications are of particular interest to all concerned with evaluating the programme. Do Schools Differ? is a study undertaken by Dr. Emer Smyth of the Economic and Social Research Institute. The study focused on 116 schools and its main aim was to identify the key schooling processes associated with enhanced academic and development outcomes among pupils. The many positive references to transition year can be summarised by a statement. "Transition year students definitely do better in fifth and sixth year. Those who don't do it miss out socially, in interacting with their peers, to be able to work with other people and in setting and achieving goals."
The second publication is the final report of the commission on the points system. The commission focused on a broad rather than a narrow range of educational experiences. It also produced evidence that students who have taken the transition year programme are more self-reliant learners than their peers. The third publication is the longitudinal study commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. The study tracked the junior certificate students of 1994 through to their leaving certificate. I will not quote any figures but will move on to the key findings of the study on the benefits or otherwise of transition year. Students who took transition year were more educationally adventurous than those who did not, were more likely to retain subjects at higher level, and to take up new subjects in fifth year. They scored higher leaving certificate results than their peers who did not take transition year; there was a raw difference of 46 CAO points between the two groups.
The study also looked at the students from the cohort who repeated the leaving certificate and took it in 1997, that is, who went ahead into the leaving certificate year, then repeated and so spent three years in the system. The repeat group scored only five CAO points more than those who took transition year and did the leaving certificate once. This report also draws attention to the positive impact of transition year in disadvantaged schools. The ESRI is conducting an assessment of the transition year programme which is funded by the Department of Education and Science but unfortunately we have only preliminary results at this stage.
Since 1993 there has been intensive provision for transition year in terms of professional development and support for teachers. That model has changed and support is provided through the second level support service based in Blackrock Education Centre whose remit is to provide continuing support for several programmes, including transition year. An important part of that remit is to help schools implement staff development activities to meet the school's needs. Within the service there is a national co-ordinator for transition year, Ms Patsy Sweeney, who is here today. She is dedicated to work on transition year, supported by the work of 12 regional development officers, one of whom has a background specific to transition year. She will be delighted to answer any questions from the committee. The SLSS provides cluster-based events for schools, modular courses for teachers, school and advisory visits, meetings with parents and whole staff in-service courses.
These include courses specific to transition year, for example mathematics in transition year. Others are generic, for example the portfolio and its uses in teaching and learning which would be relevant to teachers in other years too. The SLSS has a regularly updated website and provides advice on a needs basis - Patsy and her team are always available on the phone to us all - and specially designed resource materials of which there are many. The support service also works to expand the range of modules, initiatives and materials and actively promotes links to other agencies. We have furnished to the committee a list of the modules being actively developed and the links with other agencies in the first term of this year. The pupil-teacher ratio is 18:1, the same as in the other programmes for the junior certificate and the established leaving certificate.
In addition to the normal capitation grant the school receives €63.49 per transition year pupil. For vocational schools that goes to the overall VEC scheme. It is recommended that schools have a co-ordinator for work in transition year and that responsibility is often given to a person who holds a post of responsibility within the normal allocation for the school, but that is the school's decision.
The most significant challenges in transition year are the lack of a minimum national standard. We are very aware that there are some excellent examples of transition year but there are some at the other end of the scale too. The second is that provision is low in certain sectors such as vocational and community schools, whereas it is high in secondary schools. The third is the need to attract and retain teachers with high levels of motivation and energy to plan and implement the programme and who also have the appropriate competencies and skills. There is a need to develop a whole-school subscription to the rationale for transition year and school development planning is helpful at school level. Some are concerned that there are inadequate levels of parental knowledge about the programme and there is a tendency for excessive dependence on external support. Collaborative work with outside agencies is very important but some dependence on external support can be unhealthy. There is no systematic mechanism for sharing examples of good practice. There is a need for ongoing evaluation and sharing of the outcomes of that evaluation.
The NCCA is reviewing the senior cycle and has circulated its Directions for Development booklet based on the OECD Schooling for Tomorrow model which projects a vision of 2010 with a more open school environment where students have more responsibility and teachers are facilitators rather than conveyors of knowledge. I will skip to the implications of that vision for transition year. The proposals shaping up suggest a two or three year cycle continuing to be available, with the LCA being the only ringfenced, stand-alone leaving certificate programme. The proposal is that the innovatory features of transition year, together with enterprise and preparation for work link modules of the LCVP, should be incorporated into special transition year units. There will be other topics in these units but it is proposed that every student must take at least one transition year unit. If schools or students choose a three year senior cycle they would have to cover five or six of them.
The favourite model is that the concept underpinning transition year be woven into a programme for all students to varying degrees. The LCA students would have to take one transition year unit so all students would have some common areas of study and activity. The plan is for greater emphasis on practical, portfolio and project work and continuous assessment which reflects the approach for transition year. The proposed certificate is one that will cover more than examination results to include other activities and achievements made by school students. These are only just at proposal stage and the NCCA will be submitting its advice to the Minister for Education and Science later in the year.