Survey – NCCA

Survey on Senior Cycle – our suggestions

Leagan Gaeilge anseo

The biggest threat facing the Irish language in the education system at the moment is a consultation that the NCCA is conducting. The possibility of removing Irish as a core Leaving-Certificate subject is being considered as part of a wider consultation on the senior cycle (4th – 6th year in secondary schools). 

You can take part in two ways:

If you have a minute to spare you click here or you can use the points below if you wish and send them to seniorcycle@ncca.ie before the 1st of November 2019.

  • Irish should be maintained as a core subject in the senior cycle studied by all students
  • Any changes to Irish in the senior cycle should be part of an overall Policy for Irish in the Education System from Pre-school to Third Level
  • •The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages should be used to teach, assess and report on Irish at senior cycle

And if you can find set aside 10 minutes, the NCCA have a survey at this link to gather opinions from the public as part of their consultation. It would be great if you could set aside time to fill it in.

There are a few recommendations for filling the survey below:

  • We have sample suggestions for the survey below to protect and strengthen the Irish language. We’d love you to use some or all of them in the survey
  • We recommended that the survey be completed on a computer instead of a mobile phone
  • We recommended you open a seperate browser with the survey and copy and paste the below suggestions into the survey in the other browser
  • Of course, it would be even better if you could amend some of the answers or add points to them if you have the time

Go raibh míle maith agat

SUGGESTED ANSWERS FOR THE SURVEY

I am responding as a:

  • Your participation as an individual, teacher, parent, group member or otherwise can be registered here.

Purpose of senior cycle:

1. To what extent do you agree with the purpose for senior cycle emerging from the review?

  • We disagree with the purpose of senior cycle. There are huge omissions in the purpose as there are no reference to culture, heritage and the Irish language as part of the purpose

2. Is there too much or too little emphasis on particular aspects?

  • There is no emphasis in the purpose on culture or the Irish language. They are not mentioned at all. The objective is indifferent without reference to them
  • The purpose ignores students who speak Irish as their first language and / or those that choose an education through the medium of Irish or in a Gaeltacht school

3. Is there anything you would like to see added to the conversation about the purpose of senior cycle?

  • The purpose, outlined in the consultation document, should be amended as follows to include culture and the Irish language (amendments in bold):
    • Senior cycle education aims to help every student towards fulfilling their potential. Every student is empowered to deepen their knowledge and skills throughout senior cycle as they mature and develop intellectually, personally, culturally, linguistically and socially. The educational experience at senior cycle equips students for diverse and sustainable futures so that they can embrace full, active citizenship, multilingualism including Irish and English and participation in society and the economy as they learn and as they make the transition to life beyond school.
  • There is a strong danger that future students will lose a real insight into their national culture and the first official language of the country. There will be no difference between the Irish curriculum and the British and US ones without significant reference to the Irish language and culture in it. The document for this consultation and the purpose do not reflect any understanding of this danger.

A vision for senior cycle learners:

4. To what extent do you agree that these are the skills and qualities students should develop during senior cycle as they engage with knowledge across a range of disciplines?

  • We disagree with the list for the senior cycle vision. Literacy and numeracy are not mentioned. Linguistic and language skills should be part of the same thing with a strong emphasis on bilingualism as a minimum and multilingualism as a major goal
  • There is no target in the list that the pupil will be bilingual with a proficiency in Irish and English as one of the skills that the student should develop during the senior cycle
  • This bilingualism would transcend across a range of disciplines, including communication skills, problem solving and processing, presentation, communication, interpersonal and intrapersonal qualities, life skills, etc.
  • There should also be an emphasis on cultural development – understanding the arts and the country’s rich heritage
  • The junior cycle should have a vision of developing bilingual young people who are competent, literate and fluent in both Irish and English and who are also familiar with other languages. The specialist skills which would enable them to work and live bilingually or multilingual in the future should be developed in the Senior Cycle

5. Is there too much or too little emphasis on particular aspects?

  • There is no emphasis on the pupil being bilingual, with a proficiency in Irish and English, as one of the skills that the student should develop during the senior cycle

6. Is there anything you would like to see added to the conversation about the knowledge, skills and qualities students should develop throughout senior cycle?

  • The pupil should be bilingual with competence in Irish and English as one of the skills that the student should develop during the senior cycle

Teaching and learning:

7. To what extent do you agree with the vision for teaching and learning emerging from the review?

  • In particular, we agree with the following characteristics in the teaching vision list: empowers all students to learn; recognises and affirms all talents and abilities; all learning needs are addressed; addresses all learning needs, and they are all accessible through learning the Irish language

8. Is there too much or too little emphasis on particular aspects?

  • The potential for digital technologies to assist and support learning is recognised in the consultation document but other recommendations put forward in the consultation have not being included, such as the recommendation to use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – a framework that would serve well many of the characteristics listed in the teaching vision

9. Is there anything you would like to see added to the conversation about teaching and learning at senior cycle?

  • That the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages be used in the teaching of Irish – a framework that would serve well many of the characteristics listed in the teaching vision as it would provide a standard reference frame on competencies in the language

Pathways and programmes:

10. To what extent do you agree with the proposed areas for development above?

  • There is no reference as to how to support Irish-medium and Gaeltacht schools to achieve the objectives of Senior Cycle by publishing documents, circulars, specifications and other resources in Irish in parallel with English versions of the same documents; As well as adaptation of support materials, learning materials, resources and strategies for differentiated teaching for the Irish-medium and Gaeltacht schools

11. Is there too much or too little emphasis on particular aspects?

  • Any expansion in the number of subjects or possibilities of different pathways and programs should not alter the status of Irish as a core leaving subject studied by all students. It is incumbent on the state to nurture our native language as a precious living language; The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages could be used to cater for a variety of pathways and programs

12. Is there anything you would like to see added to the conversation about pathways and programmes in senior cycle?

  • The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages should be used to cater for a variety of pathways and programs
  • There are many problems with the Leaving Certificate Applied and promoting this option to the pupils for whom it is suitable. It would be better to solve such problems first before extending the range of subjects
  • Clarification will be required on how an extensive program of subjects will be made available to island, small and Gaeltacht and all-Irish schools
  • Additional subject choices will not be made available to pupils in small Gaeltacht schools and other small schools as there will not be enough pupils in the school
  • If the range of subjects for the Senior Cycle is to be expanded, it is necessary to discuss how to attract people who are competent in the Irish language to undertake the appropriate third level courses to ensure that there is sufficient provision of teachers for Irish medium and Gaeltacht schools. It is not worth extending the subject choice if teachers are not available to teach them. This reinforces the importance of Irish at senior cycle level to ensure the appropriate specialist skills for the students
  • Appropriate investment in the Irish language would not be made if it has to compete with investment with other subjects. This would be a huge issue for the viability of the language
  • There would be a huge problem in the Gaeltacht if school pupils were able to choose not to study Irish, and this would lead to a major risk for the Gaeltacht education policy and all State strategies and policies that aim to preserve, protect and strengthen the native language
  • Syllabus T1 and T2 at junior certificate level are in place but still at an early stage of implementation. It is essential that the results of this new approach are considered, as well as strategies for differentiated teaching before discussing any amendments
  • Long term damage would be done as perceived difficult subjects would not be chosen, and students would lose a valuable subject at a critical age of learning
  • At the end of the day the Leaving Certificate is a point system and the subjects identified as the ‘easier’ subjects will attract students to choose them to get higher points. This would not be a good for the education system for the citizens of this country
  • A policy for Irish in the education system from pre-school to university should be developed and implemented prior to any change that could not be easily reversed, that goes against the spirit of the constitution and that goes against state policy on the language as the first official language of this country

Curriculum components:

13. To what extent do you agree with the proposed areas for development above?

  • We totally disagree with the status of Irish as a core subject, studied by all students, at the senior cycle being questioned or threatened by this consultation.
  • Irish medium and Gaeltacht schools are not mentioned in the schools profile

14. What solutions do you envisage for addressing problems relating to curriculum overload?

  • The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages can be used to cater for the curriculum overload

15. What curriculum components, if any, do you think should be compulsory in senior cycle?

  • Irish, Maths and English should be compulsory at senior cycle and primary education for all school students

16. Is there anything you would like to see added to the conversation about curriculum components in senior cycle?

The following points should be taken into account and no change should be proposed to the status of Irish as a core Leaving Certificate subject as part of this senior cycle consultation:

  • It is wrong to include the reference in the consultation document on page 15 to the ‘different views about Irish as a compulsory subject’. There is no information or research in the document as to why the views are mixed. FYI, research has already been carried out on this issue and amongst the reasons why a minority of young people didn’t support the current status of Irish in the senior cycle were that they said that Irish it is too difficult as a subject, that it can’t be used after school, and other.  These problems can, of course, be solved without changing the status of Irish in the senior cycle
  • This document does not reflect the strong support shown in consultation meetings for the protection of the status of Irish as a core subject
  • According to a Kantar Millward Browne survey in 2019:
    • 64% (of all ages) agree that Irish should be kept as a core leaving subject, i. that all school students study up to the Leaving Certificate. Only 14% opposed were opposed
    • 60% (aged 15-24) agree that Irish should be kept as a core leaving subject, i. that all school students study up to the Leaving Certificate. There were only 19% against this
  • All levels in the school are interdependent – if Irish is optional for the Leaving Certificate there will be less emphasis on the Junior Certificate or even in the primary school
  • When modern language learning was made optional in England at GCSE level, the number of students studying languages ​​fell from 79% in 2001 in the age group to 41% in 2018. This number would be much lower but some private schools maintained compulsory learning of modern languages. No modern languages ​​are now taught in 7% of schools from year 7 also as a result of this change
  • It cannot be assumed that Irish will be available to all school students if it was an optional subject. The provision of any subject depends on different conditions: demand from students, teacher supply, rooms etc.
  • If Irish was an optional subject it would go into a pot with everything from Art to Home Economics to Music to Chemistry. Remember also that there are more subjects being added to the pot all the time – for example: physical education; politics and computer science; etc.
  • Fewer second level students would be able to progress as primary teachers
  • A change in the status of Irish would eliminate many summer colleges in the Gaeltacht, which would cause huge damage to those Gaeltacht areas. Also, the relationship between learners and native speakers would be broken
  • Any student who didn’t study Irish for the Leaving Certificate would miss out on many job and career opportunities
  • If Irish was made an optional subject it would go against state policy as laid out in the 20-year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-30 and the Policy for Gaeltacht Education
  • Instead of focusing on the Irish language as a ‘challenging’, ‘stressful’ subject, we should focus on strategies to mitigate them, including: teaching students (and teachers) the value of the language; strategies for differentiated teaching; strategies to encourage the student to seek opportunities to speak outside the class; provision of Irish language social infrastructure, etc.

Assessment

17. To what extent do you agree with the proposed areas for development above?

  • We agree that assessment should be more flexible with the use of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages for example

18. Is there too much or too little emphasis on particular aspects?

  • The consultation document does not identify recommendations made during the consultation on the use of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ​​as a means of providing flexibility for assessment for the Leaving Certificate

19. Is there anything you would like to see added to the conversation about assessment in senior cycle?

  • The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages should be used in the senior cycle (and at all other levels of the education system) to assess Irish. This would provide flexibility for assessment and students could be accommodated based on their level of ability, for example:
    • A student, with a recognised learning difficulty, and who is weak in writing Irish could focus on oral Irish and this could be taken into account in the leaving cert points awarded to that student
    • A student entering late in to the system could achieve the first level on the framework rather than being excluded from the Irish class and the leaving certificate points could be based on the first stage of the framework for that student

Reporting:

20. To what extent do you agree with the proposed areas for development above?

  • We agree that the means in which a student’s progress is reported should be developed

21. Is there too much or too little emphasis on particular things?

  • The recommendations made previously in this consultation were not taken on board, such as using the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages for reporting, which would add value to students’ results

22. Is there anything you would like to see added to the conversation about reporting in senior cycle?

  • Systems, such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, should be used to give greater value to the students’ results. For example, the European Framework would have greater recognition and understanding across Europe as to the standard achieved by the student

Priorities and supports:

23. Please rank the following in order of priority for senior cycle, first being the most important:

  • Removal of ring-fencing
  • Development of follow on L1/L2 programme
  • Exploration of assessment timing alternatives
  • Exploration of broader reporting
  • Exploration of curriculum components
  • Exploration of provision of options in areas of technical, vocational, professional and creative learning
  • Development of knowledge, skills and qualities identified in the review
  • Inclusion of broader curricular components such as life skills and lifelong learning
  • Development of flexible pathway through senior cycle
  • Other

If you have selected other, please give details below.

  • That Irish is maintained as a core subject in the senior cycle studied by all students and that the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages be used to teach, assess and report on Irish at senior cycle
  • That any changes to Irish in the senior cycle will be taken as part of an overall Policy for Irish in the Education System from Pre-school to Third Level
  • When supports / resources are made available for the new curriculum, it is important that Irish-medium and Gaeltacht schools are provided with them through Irish at the same time as the English-medium schools

24. How important are the following supports to facilitate a future senior cycle?

  • Appropriate CPD
  • Time for collaboration and development
  • Long-term planning for change (systemic, leadership, local)
  • Continuous monitoring and evaluation of change
  • Development of schools as Professional Learning Communities
  • Develop additional career guidance supports for students
  • Create supports for schools and Principals to manage change
  • Other

If you have selected other, please give details below

  1. Other: That Irish is maintained as a core subject in the senior cycle studied by all students and that the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages be used to teach, assess and report on Irish at senior cycle
  2. That any changes to Irish in the senior cycle will be taken as part of an overall Policy for Irish in the Education System from Pre-school to Third Level

25. Is there anything further you would like to see added to the conversation about priorities and supports?

  • That Irish is maintained as a core subject in the senior cycle studied by all students and that the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages be used to teach, assess and report on Irish at senior cycle
  • That Irish is maintained as a core subject in the senior cycle studied by all students and that the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages be used to teach, assess and report on Irish at senior cycle

Other comments:

If you have any further comments or suggestions in relation to Senior Cycle Review, please outline them below.

  • Irish should be maintained as a core subject in the senior cycle studied by all students
  • Any changes to Irish in the senior cycle should be part of an overall Policy for Irish in the Education System from Pre-school to Third Level
  • The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages should be used to teach, assess and report on Irish at senior cycle
  • It should be recognised, as part of the review, that all students can learn Irish at a level appropriate to their ability with the appropriate support provided, including children with Special Educational Needs
  • In the context of the Irish language, other Government policies and the importance (and legal requirements) placed on them with regard to Irish should be examined, and the policies of the Department of Education should be aligned with them – i. Irish language 20 Year Strategy goals, the constitutional status of Irish, the policy for Gaeltacht education.