It is with great pleasure that I write my first blog in Education Matters. As a reader I’ve found the entries of my colleague bloggers of great interest, and they are now part of my routine readings. The blog I am starting will focus on the area I am studying. I am a...
In this article, using a question on Literary Genre from the English Leaving Certificate Higher Level paper 2008, we will compare and contrast Michael Curtiz's film Casablanca and Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, prescribed texts for 2012-2013. Literary Genre is a...
I think the best aspect of the Budget as regards to second level education was the decision to leave the pupil teacher ratio at 19 to 1. As with most budgets, the devil is in the detail and with some changes and amendments to programmes there will be a reduction of...
The impact of Budget 2012 is still being digested. While the initial reaction was one of ‘it could have been worse’, on further examination it is clear that this budget is detrimental to many schools. The combined impact of reduced capitation, scrapping of...
League tables, as published in Irish newspapers, feed into a mindset which regards a good teacher as one who teaches to the test. Glorifying schools where 100% of students go to third level presupposes that the purpose of our second level system is to filter students...
There’s never a better time to be inventive than when there’s no money for anything – and boy is that the case now! Things happen in Irish education because life has always been thus, but looking at the economic landscape in Ireland and throughout the world, we should...
Education matters, but not as much as schooling when it comes to securing a job and decent salary - or so it has been for many centuries. At the World Innovation Summit on Education (WISE) held in Doha earlier this month, one speaker claimed that the most educated...
The run-up to General Election 2011 was a unique period time in Irish politics. The opposition, the public and indeed the entire world knew exactly how bad our fiscal situation was. All parties It was in this context that Ruairí Quinn and Eamon Gilmore signed a pledge...
