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• The Development of Q.A. within Teacher Education
  Policy in Ireland
• Address by Prof. John Coolahan
• to the
• Colloquium on Quality Assurance in Teacher
  Education
• U.C.D., 21 June 2010.

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The Development of Q.A. within Teacher Education
Policy in Ireland.

• Structure of the Address
• Quality Teaching A Major International Concern
• The Irish Context
• Tradition of Teacher Education
• Structure of Teacher Education
• Teacher Education as Part of an Education Reform
  Era
• New Approaches to Quality Assurance

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Structure Contd..

• International Influences on Q.A. OECD, EU
• Centrality of the Concept of Competence
• Contemporaneous Q.A. Development in Ireland
  NQAI NQF
• European Meta-Framework Development
• The Teaching Council of Ireland
• Congruence of Thinking on Q.A.

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Quality of Teaching A Major International
Concern

• Range of Studies e.g. OECD
• Teachers Matter (2005)
• School Leadership (2008)
• Talis Creating Effective T. and L.
• Environments (2009)
• EU - Education of Teachers and Trainers,
  (2002-06)
• - Conclusions of Council, 2007, 2008, 2009
• - A Handbook on Teacher Induction
  Programmes,
• 2010
• World Bank, Learning to Teach in the
  Knowledge Society (2005)

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Contd .. Quality Teaching A Major International
Concern

• UNESCO, Education for All The Quality
  Imperative, (2005)
• McKinsey Report, Best Performing School
  Systems (2007)
• Quality Frameworks
• NQFs now 70 countries
• Bologna Framework (2005), now 46 countries
• European Qualifications Framework (2008)

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The Irish Context

• High Status / Social Regard of Teaching
  Profession
• - National Survey, Nov. 2009 70 considered
  teachers did their work very well or well
  87 regarded as a complex job, 70 said
  teachers were Very Trusted or Trusted.
• From a long occupational list, Teachers
  placed second to Nurses.
• Very competitive entry to T. Ed. (Primary Top
  Quintile Sec. 90 Hons. Degree)
• There are no major publicly expressed concerns
  about teacher education, development or
  certification, Country Background Report, for
  OECD, (2003).

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Tradition of Teacher Education

• Deep Roots Prim. 1838 Techn. 1902
• Sec. 1912
• Q.A. Prim. - Tight control by inspectorate
• - 1974 Validation by
  universities
• Sec. - 1915 Registration Council
• 1918 R.C. in Operation,
  until 2006
• System of External
  Examiners in
• Universities.

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Structure of Teacher Education (ITE)

• Primary
• 5 Colleges of Education linked to Universities
• B Ed. Concurrent 3 year
• Consecutive Degree 18 months
• Followed by 1 year of successful probation
• 2003 Hibernia On-Line Provision (HETAC)
• Post Primary
• Consecutive 3/4 Yr. Degree 1 Year Education
• Concurrent 4 Years
• Followed by 1 year successful probation

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Induction

• Traditionally informal
• 2002-10 Pilot Programme for Prim and P.P.
• Involvement of universities, colleges of
  education, DES, and Teaching Profession
• Partnership Approach
• Action Research Model
• Formal Evaluation
• Yet to be extended nationally

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In-Service (CPD)

• Well established
• Many formats
• Post grad. Courses formally evaluated
• Great variety of short courses,
• many providers
• 30 Education Centres
• Subject Associations
• Extensive Support Services Skilled and Trained
  Peers Curriculum, Leadership, Planning
• Evaluations
• Being Curtailed

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Teacher Education as Part of an Education Reform
Era

• ?1990s Era of Major Appraisal and Reform of
  Education
• ?Focus on the Quality of Teacher Education
• - 1991 OECD Report 1992 Green Paper
• 1994 National Education Convention
• 1995 White Paper Gov. Accept 3Is policy
• ?1998 2002 Reviews of Prim. and P.P. Teacher
  Education
• Extension and Restructuring Recommended ?No Time
  Extension
• Course Adaptations Occurred

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New Approaches to Quality Assurance

• ?1995 ? Universities Adopt New Q.A. Procedures
• - Institutional and Departmental
• - Self-Appraisal, Peer Review, Report
  
• Publication (periodic)
• - External Examiners Continued
• - Professional Recognition (Reg.
  Council) for P.P.
• 1996 Irish EU Presidency A Strategy for
  Lifelong
• Learning
• ? Concern for Co-ordinating Qualifications

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International Influences on Q.A. OECD e.g.
Teachers Matter (2005)

• The overarching priority is for countries to
  have in place a clear and concise statement or
  profile of what teachers are expected to know and
  be able to do. This is necessary to provide the
  framework to guide initial teacher education,
  teacher certification, teachers on-going
  professional development and career advancement,
  and to assess the extent to which these different
  elements are being effective.
• (P.
  131).

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• The profile should be evidence-based and built
  on active involvement by the teaching profession
  in identifying teacher competencies and standards
  of performance. A clear, well structured and
  widely supported teacher profile can be a
  powerful mechanism for aligning the various
  elements involved in developing teachers
  knowledge and skills (P. 132).

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• The teacher profile must reflect the broad
  range of competencies that teachers require to be
  effective practitioners in modern schools. It
  should encompass strong subject matter knowledge,
  pedagogical skills, the capacity to work
  effectively with a wide range of students and
  colleagues, contribution to the school and wider
  profession and the teachers capacity to continue
  developing. The profile could express different
  levels of performance appropriate to beginning
  teachers, experienced teachers, and those with
  higher responsibilities. The profile would
  emphasise demonstrated attainment of key
  knowledge, skills and competencies for effective
  professional practice. (P. 132).

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• OECD recognised the value of Teaching Councils
  in providing a mechanism for profession led
  standards setting
• Example of planned role and function of
  Irelands Teaching Council.
• (P. 216).

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• EU Barcelona Council (2002), in wake of Lisbon
  (2000)
• The European Council sets the objective to make
  Europes educational training system a world
  quality reference by 2010
• Workgroup A Improving the Education and
  Training of Teachers and Trainers
• Identifying the skills that teachers and
  trainers need given their changing roles in
  society.
• Teaching competencies and qualification
  profiles, based on the socially expected role of
  teachers to be defined as criteria for the
  development and external quality assurance of
  teacher education provision.

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• In line with the Bologna process teacher
  educators are expected to develop descriptions of
  the learning outcomes of teacher ed. progs., and
  incorporate ECTS credits
• This topic challenges teacher education
  institutions to participate pro-actively in the
  policy definition of teaching competences and
  qualification profiles.

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Tuning Project (Socrates) (2001-08)

• Viewing courses in terms of learning outcomes and
  competencies
• By learning outcomes we mean the set of
  competencies including knowledge, understanding
  and skills a learner is expected to demonstrate
  after completion of a process of learning.
• Tuning Educational Structures in Europe 2009

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Centrality of the Concept of Competence

• Conceptions arising from behaviourist and
  positivist thinking ?narrow, checklist approach
• - A more liberal concept which sees the
  achievement of competence as accompanied in its
  appropriation and in its exercise by the
  attitudes, beliefs, and personal culture of the
  person who acquires and exercises the competency
  in question.
• ? Ireland favours the liberal, professional model

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Contemporaneous Q.A. Developments in Ireland

• 1999 Qualifications (Education and Training)
  Act to establish and maintain a framework,
  being a framework for the development,
  recognition and award of qualifications in the
  State (in this Act referred to as a framework of
  qualifications), based on standards of
  knowledge, skill or competence to be acquired by
  learners - Qualifications Act Section 7 (a)
• 2001 NQAI HETAC, FETAC
• 2003 NQF

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(No Transcript)
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• The NQAI has Quality Assurance responsibilities
  in relation to all awarding bodies
• Significance of Communications Campaign,
  Consensus Building
• Strong commitment by Universities IUQB (2002)
  IHEQN (2003) FIN (2007)
• Descriptions for all forms of learning formal,
  non-formal, informal recognition of prior
  learning
• Vision for Lifelong Learning

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European Meta-Framework Development

• Ireland an influential partner in shaping
  European Meta-Frameworks
• 1999 ?2005, Developing the Bologna Framework,
  the EHEA, with the Dublin Descriptors (2004)
• Nov. 2006 Ireland the first European Country to
  verify the compatibility of its NQF with the
  Bologna Framework
• Ireland urged European Framework (EQF) 2004
  completed April 2008
• Sept. 2009 Ireland the first country to reference
  its NQF to the EQF

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• EQF EHEA Framework NQF NQF Major Award-
  types
• Levels (Bologna) Levels
• 1
  1 Level 1 Certificate
• 2 Level 2 Certificate
• 2 3 Level 3 Certificate, Junior Certificate
• 3 4 Level 4 Certificate, Leaving Certificate
• 4 5 Level 5 Certificate, Leaving Certificate
• 5 Short Cycle within 6 Advanced Certificate (FET
  award)
• First Cycle Higher Certificate (HET award)
• First Cycle 7 Ordinary Bachelors Degree
• 8 Honours Bachelors Degree, Higher Diploma

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2001 The Teaching Council Act Est. 2006

• 7.2-(2)
• (d) determine, from time to time, the education
  and
• training and qualifications required for a
  person
• to be registered
• (e) establish procedures in relation to the
  induction
• of teachers into the teaching profession
• (g) establish procedures and criteria for
  probation
• of teachers including periods of probation
• (m) review and accredit programmes of teacher
  education
• and training for the purpose of
  registration
• 38. (1)
• (c) Review the standards of knowledge, skill and
  competence required for the practice of teaching.

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Teaching Councils Approach

• Care in Planning
• Consultation Partnership
• Research Evidence Based
• Communication Reportage
• Code of Professional Practice Standards of
  Teaching, Knowledge, Skill and Competence
• Code of Professional Conduct.

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Review and Accreditation

• 2009 Draft Strategy for Review and
  Accreditation
• Structured on Inputs, Processes and Outcomes
• Five-Member Review Panels Range of Expertise
  and Experience
• Detailed Framework for Visitations
• Reportage Procedure
• Rich Conception of Knowledge, Skill and
  Competence
• First Four Pilot Accreditation Reviews
  conducted 2009/10 (ITE)

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Congruence of Thinking on Q.A.

• Irish tradition, particularly post 1995
• International approaches e.g. OECD, EU
• Role of NQAI NQF
• Co-ordination with Bologna, EQF
• Development of Teaching Council
• A Culture Shift Consensus Building Much
  Analysis, Research, Reflection
• A Work in Progress.