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04/10/2012
Junior Cert Overhaul Announced
A major overhaul of the Junior Certificate has been announced.
Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn made the announcement today. He revealed that the programme will be phased out gradually over three years.
It will be replaced by a school-based model of continuous assessment which will see 40% of final examination marks based on course-work and 60% based on a written assessment.
The examination papers are to be written by the State Examination Commission, but mostly administered and corrected by teachers.
Exceptions will be English, Irish and Maths. Those papers are to be corrected by the State Examination Commission for the first few years.
Schools are also to be given powers to implement short courses of their own choosing, which may be more relevant to students and local communities.
The programme will begin in 2014, making pupils currently in fifth class at primary school the first to undergo the new system.
It will include traditional subjects as well as the option of studying short courses like Chinese, media and entrepreneurship.
Research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that the Junior Cert promotes an over-emphasis on exam preparation, as opposed to active learning.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, ESRI's Dr Emer Smyth said the new programme would provide a variety of teaching methods which would result in teenagers engaging more with learning.
The Association of Secondary Teachers (ASTI), Ireland said the fact that today's announcement was made without consultation with the education partners was disappointing.
ASTI accused the manner in which the announcement was made of "eliciting shock and awe and grabbing headlines".
(IT/GK)
Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn made the announcement today. He revealed that the programme will be phased out gradually over three years.
It will be replaced by a school-based model of continuous assessment which will see 40% of final examination marks based on course-work and 60% based on a written assessment.
The examination papers are to be written by the State Examination Commission, but mostly administered and corrected by teachers.
Exceptions will be English, Irish and Maths. Those papers are to be corrected by the State Examination Commission for the first few years.
Schools are also to be given powers to implement short courses of their own choosing, which may be more relevant to students and local communities.
The programme will begin in 2014, making pupils currently in fifth class at primary school the first to undergo the new system.
It will include traditional subjects as well as the option of studying short courses like Chinese, media and entrepreneurship.
Research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that the Junior Cert promotes an over-emphasis on exam preparation, as opposed to active learning.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, ESRI's Dr Emer Smyth said the new programme would provide a variety of teaching methods which would result in teenagers engaging more with learning.
The Association of Secondary Teachers (ASTI), Ireland said the fact that today's announcement was made without consultation with the education partners was disappointing.
ASTI accused the manner in which the announcement was made of "eliciting shock and awe and grabbing headlines".
(IT/GK)
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Ireland WeatherToday:Scattered showers of rain, sleet and, over hills, snow in the morning with sunny spells, the best of these in the south. The showers dying out this afternoon with increasing amounts of sunshine. Occasionally fresh westerly or northwesterly winds easing. Maximum temperature 6 °C.Tonight:Clear start with a fairly widespread frost developing. Increasing cloud brings occasionally heavy rain overnight, preceded, especially over western hills, briefly by snow. Occasional southeasterly gales, severe near coasts, developing. Minimum temperature -2 °C.
