“ASTI representatives will meet PDE students in Trinity College and UCD next week in order to discuss the unfair treatment of new teacher entrants by government. The meetings come ahead of a protest by student teachers against government decisions to cut the pay, cap the allowances, and – most recently – freeze the allowances of new entrants to teaching …” (more)
[ASTI, 17 February]
“Education systems in the highest-performing OECD countries tend to prioritise higher salaries for teachers over smaller class sizes, according to the organisation’s monthly assessment notes …” (more)
[Pamela Duncan, Irish Times, 17 February]
“A union representing teachers has played down reports that the Revenue has launched a probe into undeclared fees for after-school grinds, describing it as not a ‘widespread issue’ …” (more)
[TheJournal.ie, 9 January]
“There has been mixed reaction from teachers’ unions and the business sector on proposals to reform the Junior Certificate cycle at second level. The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland said the plans must be made ‘fail-proof’ before they were introduced …” (more)
[Irish Times, 3 November]
“A proposal to limit the number of Junior Certificate subjects students sit exams in to eight will be put in place in 2014, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has said. Mr Quinn announced yesterday that the reduced number of subjects students sit will apply to those pupils who first enter secondary school in 2014 …” (more)
[Pamela Duncan, Irish Times, 21 October]
“Below is a short post from a student teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, on a decision made by our country’s universities to down-grade the Post Graduation Diploma in Education (PGDE) from a National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) Level 9 qualification to a Level 8 (at the same level as a Higher Degree) – without any consultation with the students who have registered and paid for their course …” (more)
[Humphrey Jones, More Stress, Less Success, 14 October]
“New pensions legislation which aims to cut the cost of the public sector pension bill by 35% has been described as ‘larcenous’ and illegal by the main unions representing teachers. The secondary teachers union, the ASTI, said it was considering challenging the measures in the courts …” (more)
[Paul Cullen, Irish Times, 30 September]
“Now is not the time for a radical overhaul of the Junior Certificate, teachers said yesterday. They were responding to Education Minister Ruairi Quinn’s plans to introduce continuous assessment to the system in what teachers said amounted to ‘sweeping educational reform’ …” (more)
[Fergus Black and Breda Heffernan, Independent, 27 August]
“Sir, – Seán Flynn (Front page, August 26th) draws attention to proposals being prepared for the Minister for Education by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. The focus of the article – the ‘radical overhaul’ of assessment procedures at Junior Cert level and the likely reaction of the ASTI to this – masks some disturbing aspects of these same proposals …” (more)
[Maureen Cooney, Irish Times, 30 August]
“Now is not the time for a radical overhaul of the Junior Certificate, teachers said yesterday. They were responding to Education Minister Ruairi Quinn’s plans to introduce continuous assessment to the system in what teachers said amounted to ‘sweeping educational reform’ …” (more)
[Fergus Black and Breda Heffernan, Independent, 27 August]
“The new Junior Cert will only be made up of 50% written exams in a radical overhaul. The new proposals place a heavy emphasis on school-based portfolio work. But the plans could be opposed by teacher union ASTI. The paper from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment says a ’50-50′ split is being discussed, but so is a 60-40 divide is favoured by some …” (more)
[Independent, 26 August]
“Written exams would account for only 50 per cent of the marks in the revised Junior Cert under new proposals designed to radically overhaul the grading system.The proposals place a heavy emphasis on school-based portfolio work in a move which could be opposed by the main second-level teacher union, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland ASTI. The confidential briefing document has been prepared at Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn’s request …” (more)
[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 26 August]
“Written exams would account for only 50 per cent of the marks in the revised Junior Cert under new proposals designed to radically overhaul the grading system. The proposals place a heavy emphasis on school-based portfolio work …” (more)
[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 26 August]
“Secondary teachers are set to oppose key elements of radical new reform plans from the Minister for Education. A meeting of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) next week will signal firm opposition to the introduction of continuous assessment. The ASTI also opposes Ruairí Quinn’s plan for so-called ‘unannounced inspections’ in schools where the work of teachers can be assessed without any notice …” (more)
[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 18 August]
“Schools will be forced to drop subjects if proposals to increase class sizes to save money go ahead, it has been warned. The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland said the education sector was already seriously underfunded and could not afford further cuts, branding it a nonsense …” (more)
[Colm Kelpie, Independent, 4 August]
“High scoring Leaving Cert students have, in many cases, proven more about their stamina than their intellect, according to the president of DCU. The Irish Daily Mail (print edition) quotes Professor Brian MacCraith who says Irish schools fail to prepare young people properly for university …” (more)
[TheJournal.ie, 1 August]
“The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy will cost €6 million next year, rising to €19 million by 2017 but funding will have to come from existing resources. Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn said, however, that the education budget was ‘vast’ and ‘we can find €19 million out of €8 billion. We will reduce and have to take from here and there’ …” (more)
[Marie O'Halloran, Irish Times, 9 July]
“… The union has strong values and a fiercely robust democratic processes. It did initially oppose the Croke Park deal, as did many others, including Brian Mooney’s own union, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland. The weak cliche that the deal was the ‘only game in town’ is an affront to informed, critical thinking and democracy. TUI negotiators and those from other unions brought back the best available deal at the time. However, our members, and indeed those of other unions, were opposed to trading conditions of service for unclear references to protection of pay …” (more)
[Bernie Ruane, Irish Times, 10 May]
“After that gruelling round of three teacher conferences in three days, Ruairi Quinn took the train to Dublin from Tralee on Wednesday night. He was back in his office early last Thursday morning, ready for the next phase of his reform agenda …” (more)
['Teacher's Pet', Irish Times, 3 May]
“In this programme I spoke to the deputy general secretaries of each of the teacher unions and asked them to reflect on the highlights of their 2011 conference …” (more, podcast)
[Inside Education on 103.2 Dublin City FM, 2 May]
