Caroline Lynch Education Motion 153
Published: 1 March, 2008
Motion This Ard Fheis calls for the introduction of an all Ireland school leaving examination to replace current A level and leaving cert examinations.
I would like to speak today in support of this motion. It would serve the young people in the 32 counties to all participate in one final school certificate for a number of reasons. In terms of an equal and just education system both the current A Level and leaving certificate are seriously flawed for a number of reasons. These exams focus narrowly on the capacity of young people to retain factual information as opposed to developing their learning skills. The systems also encourage the continuation of a meritocracy where the exam grades and the points achieved become the measure of the person. Both systems encourage those who have the capital to buy advantage in the system to get their children higher up the ladder, for example grinds and holiday grinds schools are a regular part of the exam system for many young people. Those without the economic means miss out on advantage within this system.
At the recent AMAI conference in Trim Professor Tom Collins from Maynooth University gave councillors an overview of some of the difficulties facing education systems two key points he made is that children need to be ready to read by exposure to stories from an early age and that the early teaching of formal reading skills at 4 is not necessarily a guarantee of advancing well in the education system. He felt strongly that universal free pre-school places were much more likely to improve the readiness to read and succeed in the school system.
The unfortunate consequence of second level education systems is that we are creating a two tier system of education those who do not possess the necessary skills i.e. literacy and numeracy at the entry point in the system or soon after are constantly in catch up mode and unfortunately many of our young people never recover from a poor start in the system. In the 32 counties it is very disturbing that one of the constants in terms of educational under-achievement is the failure of boys in particular from our working class communities to progress well to the completion of school., In the 26 counties despite interventions such as the School Completion programme early school leaving is still a major problem One of the key reasons for this under achievement is a secondary system which does not place the young person at the centre of the education process but rather the subject which is being taught. Another factor is what is valued in the system, the current systems only measure intelligence in terms of the ability to retain information, Gardner in his work highlights the other six types of intelligence spatial, musical,physical,practical,intra-personal and inter- personal these types of intelligence are not all valued equally or assessed by the current exam systems in the 32 counties.
Although there have been some reforms and interventions in both of these systems over the last number of years it can be argued that these are merely cosmetic changes which continue to support the status Quo, those whose children are gaining so much advantage from the current exam systems are also those who work within the system in a reforming context. Although programmes such as the Leaving certificate applied have much to commend them such as cross-curricular learning and continuous assessment these programmes are seen as alternatives to the main leaving certificate and therefore are not judged as equal in currency to the leaving certificate by many key groups such as employers.
Reform of the examination systems in the 32 counties cannot be taken in isolation from the investment into the state sector. An all Ireland state system of education which promotes excellence and quality assurance is vital to give our young people the education they deserve no matter what their socio economic background is. If those with the money to invest in the private sector could opt for excellent state run schools which are fully staffed and resourced the balance would improve in the system. We need to move towards a system which promotes and delivers equality of treatment and outcome.
In an increasingly knowledge based society we need to consult with all of the key stakeholders including young people and parents to develop a model along with the educators which will be more innovative and promotes all types of learning on an equal basis. Learning and the assessment of that learning needs to be dynamic and interactive. It needs to develop individual skills and talents to a students full potential. Currently the exam systems we have measure and grade young people in a very traditional model of success and failure. Young people labelled as early school leavers often take low opinions of themselves on with them into their adult life and this is an unacceptable outcome of the current examination systems in the 32 counties. Radical reform is required if we are to support the development of well balanced, analytical
Literate young people with the range of skills they will need to take their place in society. They will be required to re-train and up skill several times in their working lives. So flexibility and adaptability are vital skills. Most importantly we need a system which supports young people to become good citizens and values a range of contributions they make to their communities and not just the number of points they achieve.
In conclusion the quality and range of our all Ireland final school certificate and what it measures as positive achievements will be a cornerstone in the development of a more fair and equal society in the future ,the challenge for Republicans going forward is to support the need for this change at every available opportunity,
Councillor Caroline Lynch Trim Town Council Co. Meath.
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