Teacher Training at SETU
Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Education if she has considered designating any further universities, including technological universities, as centres of excellence for the purposes of teacher training education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6340/24]
Transcript: Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh
I have put this question to the Minister, Deputy Harris, on a number of occasions in his role as Minister for further and higher education. It relates to the designation of universities or technological universities as centres of excellence for the purposes of teacher training education. As it stands, only a certain number of universities are sanctioned as centres of excellence. It means places like SETU are locked out of teacher-training provision. I believe we could look to change this.
Deputy Norma Foley
I thank the Deputy for his question. I published an initial teacher education policy statement in 2023, presenting a vision for policy and provision across the sector. It aims to ensure student teachers at primary and post-primary level have the skills to support all of our children and young people as learners in the years ahead. One of the policy’s guiding principles is the continuation of the vision that initial teacher education will be led by a small number of university-led centres of teacher education excellence and that each of these will have a critical mass to provide for good teaching, research and international co-operation, with structures to ensure meaningful collaboration across educational sectors.
This reaffirms the position first set out in the 2012 report of the international review panel on the structure of initial teacher education in Ireland. At that time, there were 19 publicly funded higher education institutions providing programmes for primary and post-primary teachers. There were also a number of private providers. However, this growth was not co-ordinated and had evolved in a piecemeal manner, resulting in a variety of models of provision by a range of providers. The review panel concluded that this provision did not concur with high-performing international practice. A review of progress, carried out by Professor Pasi Sahlberg in 2019, found considerable progress towards achieving this objective.
Under section 38 of the Teaching Council Act, all initial teacher education programmes must be accredited by the Teaching Council for registration purposes. The policy statement includes a phased implementation plan that sets out practical ways to enhance initial teacher education in the years ahead. My Department continues to work closely with the Department of further and higher education as well as with the Teaching Council in this regard. Within this context, the policy statement recognises the contributions technological universities can make to providing subject expertise for initial teacher education.
A number of technological universities are already involved and contributing to initial teacher education in a range of areas, while the linkage to a centre in line with policy remains key. At present, a bachelor of education in technology, engineering and graphics (post-primary) is being delivered through a partnership of Dublin City University and Technological University of the Shannon, Athlone.
Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh
I thank the Minister for her response. I am hearing a status quo response as opposed to the opportunity to change.
The Minister will know this landscape well. For primary teacher education, you will be looking at the three colleges in Dublin or at Limerick. It is a little more open in terms of secondary school education. To be parochial about it – not parochial but regional – there are 600,000 people living within an hour of Waterford city and in the south-east region, yet there is no option to pursue teacher training in that region. That means people like myself who trained as teachers had to leave the region and often, once a young person leaves a region, he or she is lost for good, not to mention the additional expense placed on parents. SETU already has a well-established school of education which caters at the moment for further education but there is an opportunity to allow a new player to enter and provide teacher training within the south-east region. I am sure other areas would welcome this opportunity. We know we have a need for additional teacher training. We should be looking at designating SETU and other areas as centres of excellence.
Deputy Norma Foley
I was in my conclusion going to say there are examples of technological universities making provision in this area. The bachelor of education in technology, engineering and graphics at post-primary level is being delivered by a partnership between DCU and Technological University Shannon Athlone. The first two years of study takes place at the TUS Athlone campus and the final two years at the DCU institute of education in Dublin. This is an excellent example of the type of innovative collaboration which can take place.
As autonomous bodies, it falls to individual higher education institutions to consider the scope of their further provision in line with their missions or strategies. The Department of Education favours new programmes being introduced in areas where there is an identified national need. In this regard, it would be expected there would be a liaison with the Department by higher education institutions, as well as with the Teaching Council and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, when considering new programme proposals. It is also expected due regard would be given to the available data on teacher supply needs. The policy statement includes a number of actions in this vein, as previously outlined.
Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh
The autonomy of the universities is one thing but this gateway around designation as a centre of excellence has effectively locked the likes of SETU out of this sector.
Another aspect I draw the Minister’s attention to is SETU’s capacity to be a Gaeltacht university. We have a Gaeltacht in Waterford and an area where there is a real need is teachers teaching subjects through the medium of Irish. Our Gaelcholáistí are struggling to get their hands on suitably qualified teachers. There is an opportunity for SETU to step into this space. For many mothers and fathers living in the south east whose children want to study to become primary or secondary teachers, that involves sending the child away, with all the cost that involves. Within the south east are 600,000 people who look to Waterford for their core services. SETU, given the appropriate designation, can provide the service. It should be given the opportunity to do so.
Deputy Norma Foley
The Department of Education favours new programmes being introduced in areas where there is an identified national need. It is important there is a national need identified. That would demand appropriate engagement, liaison or collaboration with the Department of Education, as well as the Department of further and higher education and the Teaching Council. If the local technological university is in a position to make a proposal, there is an identified need and it chooses to liaise with the three bodies mentioned, that can be given consideration. It is not just one singular responsibility; there is a triumvirate that must be engaged with and it must be seen to be of benefit and to meet a need on the ground.
