Keith Johnston

The role of whole‐school contexts in shaping the experiences and outcomes associated with professional development

In an attempt to manage within schools the introduction of a revised Primary School Curriculum in the Republic of Ireland, the Department of Education and Science instigated a seven‐year national support programme. Learning from the experiences of other national systems, there was recognition of the strong role of continuing professional development in providing a mechanism through which to embed these changes. Drawing on data gathered during the evaluation of the Primary Curriculum Support Programme, this paper discusses one aspect of the study that investigated the complex interaction between externally initiated professional development and the physical characteristics, working, teaching, learning and leadership environment within the school. Our interpretation of the data indicates that although the Primary Curriculum Support Programme provided schools and teachers with a good grounding in the revised curriculum, systemic and structural issues around primary schooling will potentially undermine any long‐term effects.

Enacting key skills-based curricula in secondary education: lessons from a technology-mediated, group-based learning initiative

Bridge21 is an innovative approach to learning for secondary education that was originally conceptualised as part of a social outreach intervention in the authors’ third-level institution whereby participants attended workshops at a dedicated learning space on campus focusing on a particular model of technology-mediated group-based learning. This paper analyses the current expansion of the Bridge21 project to mainstream schools against a backdrop of government-led reforms for lower secondary education in Ireland. The key skills central to the proposed reforms aim to make education more relevant to the challenges of twenty-first-century living and, among other goals, to empower students to think critically, communicate effectively and work collaboratively. This paper investigates the viability of the Bridge21 model in facilitating the promotion of a selection of these key skills within the context of two case study schools.

Teacher learning and policy intention: selected findings from an evaluation of a large‐scale programme of professional development in the Republic of Ireland

The study reported on in this paper is set in the context of a national programme of professional development for primary teachers in the Republic of Ireland which has been in operation since 1999 and finished in 2008. The paper explores the acquisition and interpretation by teachers of the elements of the reform. The authors consider the extent to which the professional development experiences facilitated change in teachers’ knowledge and if the teachers interpreted this in the way expected by policy‐makers. The theoretical basis to the study draws on previous research that conceptualises teacher learning/knowledge acquisition and the change process as being dependant on an interwoven mix of factors, including teacher, school and policy‐level contexts and characteristics. To a large degree the findings of this study do not deviate wildly from this prior work, which suggests that policy‐makers and planners of CPD programmes, despite their best intentions, still need to be cognisant of such factors.

The role and impact of the Regional Curriculum Support Service in Irish primary education

The Regional Curriculum Support Service (RCSS) was established to provide locally based advice and support to principals and teachers in relation to the implementation of the Primary School Curriculum (1999). Drawing on data from a large-scale national evaluation, this article traces the purpose, structure and operation of the RCSS and provides commentary on the achievements and challenges associated with this initiative.