Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Name of Student:
Robert Marron
G00304955
Article/Reading: The Double-Think at the Heart of Teacher Training
Gleeson, J. (2015, 11 3). The Double-Think at the Heart of Teacher Training. Retrieved from
www.irishtimes.com: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/the-double-think-at-theheart-of-teacher-training-1.2410462
In this opinion piece published in the Irish Times, Professor Jim Gleeson of
the Faculty of Education and Arts in the Australian Catholic University,
Brisbane, writes about what he sees as a disjuncture between the initial
and subsequent phases of teachers' education. Prof. Jim Gleeson is a
former senior lecturer in education at UL and member of the Teaching
Council of Ireland.
He opens with revisiting his oft-repeated quote that there can be no
meaningful change in Ireland without changes to assessment. The author
believes that the students' own experience of schooling reinforces the
notion of summative assessment being the most important aspect of the
education experience, "Overdependence on external summative exams
promoted teaching to the test and rote learning".
Once working in a school, newly qualified professionals are inevitably
socialised into the culture of their profession. Teachers and Teaching,
(2015) found student teachers to be less convinced about the practicality
and feasibility of junior cycle reforms after school placement.
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The teaching councils thinking avoids the ITE experience in the same way
that second-level teachers remain oblivious to their students' primary
school learning experience. The ITE sector is partly responsible for the
disjoint between contemporary evidence-based thinking about teaching
and the practice of teaching in schools.
One of the key questions in this opinion piece is, "Does the teachereducator prioritise teacher education activities in spite of their poor
currency in both schools and the academy?" Prof. Gleeson notes that the
State invests significantly in ITE, with the HEA-commissioned Sahlberg
report recommending establishing collegial institutes to improve the
research capacity of our education departments.
The author concludes that we must look critically at the disjuncture
between the initial and subsequent phases of teacher education and
establish greater coherence. The current stalemate, which is injurious to
teaching, is not an option.
2. CRITICAL REFLECTION
At the beginning of the article, Prof. Gleeson notes that in light of recent JC
debate, no meaningful change can occur without changes to assessment
in schools. If repetition can be seen as a benchmark for truisms, then this
statement must be gospel. While he does not state this explicitly, the
message seems to be that if we continue to value a student's educational
capital based on CAO points, then there is no incentive for anyone,
students, teachers, or parents, to move away from a rote-learning
methodology and towards a more holistic, active learning environment.
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3. LIST OF REFERENCES
Assessment Reform Group. (2009). Assessment in Schools - Fit for Purpose? London: TLRP
Institute of Education.
ASTI. (2016, 11 20). www.asti.ie. Retrieved from Pay and Conditions, Croke Park
Agreemnet: http://www.asti.ie/pay-and-conditions/conditions-of-work/croke-parkagreement/
CAO. (2015, 11 17). Mission and Values. Retrieved from www.cao.ie:
http://www2.cao.ie/otherinfo/CAO%20MISSION%20and%20VALUES%202013.pdf
DES. (2011). Board of Management of National Schools Constitution of Boards and Rules of
Procedure 2011. Athlone: Department of Education and Skills.
Gleeson, J. (2015, 11 3). The Double-Think at the Heart of Teacher Training. Retrieved from
www.irishtimes.com: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/the-double-think-atthe-heart-of-teacher-training-1.2410462
Government of Ireland. (1998). Education Act. Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Levitt, S. D., & Dubner, S. J. (2005). Freakonomics, A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden
Side of Everything. New York: William Morrow.
Vekiri, I. (2008). ICT(S) and Socialization: The Role of Schools and Teachers. Oslo: OECD.
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