Oliver McGarr

The Development of ICT across the Curriculum in Irish Schools: A Historical Perspective.

This literature review explores the historical development of information and communication technology (ICT) in Irish postprimary/secondary schools and examines how the education system has responded to the various ICT initiatives and policy changes. The review has found that despite national policy and significant ICT initiatives, it appears that the use of computer technology has instead evolved independent of these changes. The various policy nudges throughout the past three decades have had limited impact on the nature of its use. The predominant use of the technology lies within discrete informatics subjects which tend to focus on learning about the technology rather than learning with it. Future ICT policy needs to be cognisant of the past, particularly how national ICT initiatives are mediated within schools and the powerful influence of the prevailing ICT culture on external ICT initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the teaching principal in promoting ICT use in small primary schools in Ireland

The focus of this study was to examine the leadership role as lived by teaching principals in a selection of small primary schools in the west of Ireland and in particular the implications information and communications technology (ICT) has for that role. The study involved the use of individual one‐to‐one semi‐structured interviews with a selection of 13 primary school principals in the mid‐west region. Following analysis of the interview data a focus group interview with eight of the principals was conducted to validate and explore the issues to emerge from the one‐to‐one interviews. Principals had enthusiastically responded to the national ICT in schools initiative (Schools IT2000) but it had significantly added to the demands of their positions. While the lack of up‐to‐date resources, poor levels of technical support and time were identified as the main impediments, a lack of familiarity of ways in which the technology could be integrated across the curriculum affected the quality of pedagogical leadership provided by them. The research highlights the need for alternative models of support and leadership to be considered.

Scaffolding or stifling? The influence of journal requirements on students’ engagement in reflective practice

This study aimed to examine student teachers’ opinions of changes to reflective practice requirements during a five‐week teaching practice placement as part of a one‐year postgraduate initial teacher education programme. The results highlighted that prior to the changes, students saw little relevance in the reflective writing requirements while on teaching placement. Students saw the new requirements as more beneficial as they provided them with more time to reflect and greater opportunities to explore issues relevant to their professional development. Teacher educators need to consider carefully the reflective practice requirements of professional placements in order to ensure that they foster critical reflection and that students do not see them as mandatory paper exercises.

Teacher professional development and ICT: an investigation of teachers studying a postgraduate award in ICT in education

The Schools IT2000 initiative, launched in 1997, was the first large-scale attempt to integrate information and communications technology (ICT) into teaching and learning in the Irish education system. As part of this initiative a training continuum was developed with the objective of enabling teachers to progress from novice to expert users of ICT. Short-term in-service courses were offered to all post-primary teachers in the state. Third-level institutions were invited to develop professional development programmes in the area of ICT in education to advance the training continuum. This article reports on the findings of a survey of teachers who had progressed along this training continuum and had opted to study for a postgraduate award in ICT in Education. The research aimed to determine the general profile of teachers electing to study on the programme, their current use of ICT and the types of in-service education and training in ICT they had previously been exposed to.

Reflecting to Conform? Exploring Irish Student Teachers’ Discourses in Reflective Practice

ABSTRACT A new model of reflective practice for student teachers on school placement was implemented into a teacher education program. The model aimed to encourage critical reflection that challenged hegemonic assumptions and power relations. In contrast to this, the analysis of the student teachers’ reflections revealed a desire to fit in and conform. Reflections portrayed student teachers’ allegiance to conventional practices rather than a critique of them. Issues associated with power relations remained uncontested. The authors explore possible reasons for these low levels of critique and examines the normative effect of cultural practices on student teachers’ reflections.

The use of case-based learning in the development of student teachers’ levels of moral reasoning

The important role of the teacher in developing morally sensitive individuals is widely acknowledged. This paper examines the integration of context-specific moral development interventions within a four-year undergraduate teacher education programme in Ireland. The intervention strategy employed a case-based pedagogical approach where participants (n = 123) explored and discussed classroom scenarios to prepare them for a six-week school-based placement. Using the Defining Issues Test, results indicate statistically significant increases in levels of moral reasoning post intervention, suggesting that the use of a layered case-based pedagogical strategy provides students with alternative perspectives on their classroom practices and challenges their lay theories.

Examining the role of the ICT coordinator in Irish post-primary schools

This paper reports on a study into the roles and attitudes of ICT coordinators in a sample of 37 schools in the Republic of Ireland. The research took an interpretative stance employing both questionnaires and interviews to explore the participants’ experiences. The study revealed that the ICT coordinators’ roles varied across schools. This variation was evident in the status of the position with considerable variance in the time allocated for their duties. In line with previous research, their duties appeared to be targeted towards maintenance and upkeep of equipment. The study raises questions relating to the gap in the rhetoric of the ICT coordinator’s role and the reality of their day-to-day duties. The study also questions the prevailing discourse in relation to moves towards greater levels of pedagogical leadership, as opposed to maintenance and support.

Negotiating subject hierarchies: neo-liberal influences on the comprehensive curriculum in Ireland

This article critically examines the relationship between recent educational policy and the advancement of second-level subject hierarchies in Ireland. The paradox of promoting an individual subject by means of the matriculation system, while also calling for a broad and balanced curriculum, is questioned. The apparent retreat from a commitment to comprehensive education is discussed with respect to a neo-liberal agenda in education and a modernist-vocational ideology of curriculum development. The article concludes with a discussion on the place of subject-based curricula and a call for more balanced debate around educational policy, which may result in the promotion of subject boundaries.

Flexibility in higher education: an Irish perspective

Irish public policy strongly promotes greater flexibility in higher education. This review paper examines Irish policy conceptualisations of flexible learning. The review finds that the promotion of flexible learning is positioned within strongly economistic discourses of lifelong learning, and primarily in human capital terms of meeting the skills needs of the workforce. Irish policy largely presents flexible learning approaches unproblematically as positive and beneficial. This paper demonstrates that flexible learning is not an unproblematic concept and reveals some problems and tensions relating to Irish flexible learning policy.

Exploring the Theory-Practice Gap in Initial Teacher Education: Moving beyond Questions of Relevance to Issues of Power and Authority.

Abstract The ‘theory-practice divide’ in teacher education can be viewed not simply as an acceptance of a body of knowledge but instead an acceptance of the teacher educator’s authority to determine what is relevant educational theory. This research aimed to explore student teachers’ views of ‘educational theory’ and how it was discursively positioned relative to their practice in an attempt to examine whether their acceptance or rejection of it was also related to accepting the authority of the teacher educator. Using one-to-one interviews with 23 student teachers and employing a discourse analysis, four categories of students emerged. The paper describes these four categories and discusses the implications of these findings for initial teacher education and our understanding of the ‘theory-practice’ gap.