Issue No 2 - February 2014
Junior Cycle: your opportunity
to be heard
ASTI members will be balloted in March on withdrawal of co-operation with the
Junior Cycle Framework.
Voting YES to non-cooperation will help to protect standards, equity, quality and
fairness in our education system.
Vote to make sure teachers’
views are heard
ASTI Central Executive Council
(CEC) has decided to conduct
a ballot of members on
industrial action involving noncooperation with the Junior
Cycle Framework.
Teachers’ concerns have been ignored
Despite strong ASTI representations at all levels, teachers’ concerns remain
unaddressed by the Department of Education and Skills. The ASTI’s efforts to
have the voice of teachers - the classroom practitioners - listened to have been
met with an inadequate response from the Minister and his Department.
It is now time to make clear the depth of concern among teachers.
What am I voting on?
Vote YES for:
Standards
Equity
Quality
Fairness
Ballot papers will arrive to members’ home addresses in early March. Members
will be asked to vote on industrial action which will ban co-operation with the
following Junior Cycle Framework activities:
-
School-based Assessment
CPD
Planning
Short Courses
Network School Activities
Standardised Testing
The TUI are also balloting their members on industrial action, including withdrawal
of co-operation, meaning that 27,000 second-level teachers have the opportunity
to have their voices heard.
Ballots must arrive to ASTI Head Office by
5.30pm on March 25th
Lunchtime protest - March 11th - 27,000 teachers to make public
statement outside 720 schools
A protest to highlight teachers’ concerns about the Junior Cycle Framework is planned
for March 11. This protest provides a major opportunity for teachers to have their
voices heard.
The voices of up to 27,000 members of the ASTI and TUI will make a lasting
impression on parents and the public. This will help to ensure that we can protect
standards, equity, quality and fairness in education.
This protest does not involve industrial action. See page 4 for details.
All teachers will be affected
by the Junior Cycle
Framework
We are asking ASTI members
to unite in their opposition to
changes that teachers, as
professionals, have no faith in.
Vote YES to non-cooperation
with the Junior Cycle
Framework changes
Give 100% support to the
ASTI lunchtime protest on
March 11th
Issue No 2 - February 2014
ASTI Junior Cycle ballot
Vote for non-cooperation in order to protect standards, equity, quality and
fairness.
Vote YES for:
Standards
Equity
Quality
Fairness
Teachers’ key concerns
School-based assessment
threatens equity,
relationships and
consistency of standards
Consultation and
information is lacking.
Serious concerns exist on
resources and capacity
The ASTI is opposing the implementation of the Junior Cycle Framework until
teachers’ concerns about potential negative impacts on education standards are
properly addressed. Teachers’ concerns must be heard to ensure reform is
educationally sound, properly resourced and allows schools to continue to provide a
high-standard education to all students.
Background
In October 2012, the Minister for Education and Skills published ‘A Framework for
Junior Cycle’, setting out his plans for reform of the Junior Cycle. Teachers had not
been consulted on this Framework, which differed radically from proposals put
forward by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in
November 2011. The NCCA proposals had included externally set and externally
marked exams and a national State Certificate.
ASTI consultation brings teachers’ concerns to light
An ASTI consultation with members was the first opportunity teachers had to express
their views on the Minister’s Framework. The consultation found that teachers are
positive about Junior Cycle reform. However, teachers have grave concerns about
the importance of maintaining standards of assessment, including ensuring reliability,
consistency and objectivity through external marking. Teachers also have serious
concerns about their own and their schools’ capacities to implement such wide scale
change in the current context of cutbacks, class sizes and initiative overload.
Ballot on non-cooperation
The ASTI has represented the concerns of teachers at every possible opportunity,
including at meetings of a Working Group established to examine teachers’
concerns. Unfortunately, our concerns have not been adequately addressed.
As a result, the next step in the ASTI Junior Cycle campaign is a ballot on noncooperation with the Framework for Junior Cycle, as recommended by ASTI Central
Executive Council (CEC).
Vote YES to non-co-operation with the
Junior Cycle Framework
More Junior Cycle campaign actions
Vote YES and return your ballot to ASTI Head Office as soon as possible.
Protect
Education
Standards
ASTI petition
Almost 10,000 teachers have so far signed an ASTI petition opposing the Junior
Cycle Framework. A high turnout at the lunchtime protest on March 11 and a high
YES vote will add to this message.
Lobbying and information
Read about the ASTI lobbying campaign at www.asti.ie.
Survey of teachers of English
Teachers of English are being asked for their views on the Junior Cycle Framework
CPD.
Junior Cycle survey
The ASTI is conducting a major survey of members
2
Information for parents
See opposite
Read about these and other activities at www.asti.ie.
Teachers’ key concerns
Issue No 2 - February 2014
Assessment
School-based assessment threatens equity, relationships and consistency of
standards
-
The abolition of a State Junior Cert has the potential to undermine education
standards at Junior Cycle and could mean the status of the certificate varying from
school to school.
-
There must be an external assessment model. The ASTI is open to different
modes of assessment but objects to the change in teachers’ role from advocate to
judge.
-
Every student is entitled to a fair, impartial and transparent Junior Cycle
examinations system.
-
The Minister’s proposals do not allow for national grading/ marking standards to be
maintained.
Vote YES
to make sure
teachers’ views
can no longer
be ignored
Resources
Serious concerns exist on resources and capacity
-
Schools are at breaking point and teachers are under huge stress. This context
must be considered.
-
Teachers must be supported through good teaching resources, including on-going
professional development and whole-school in-service.
-
Teachers of English who must implement the Framework in September 2014 have
not been given adequate training and information. All teachers will implement the
Framework in the coming years.
Consultation
Lunchtime protest
A lunchtime protest to
highlight teachers’
concerns about the
Framework for Junior
Cycle is planned for March
11th. This protest gives us
an opportunity to be heard
and for the public to be
made aware of our
concerns.
Consultation and information is lacking
-
There is a lack of information about how the new Framework will actually work on
the ground.
-
Classroom teachers who understand what does and does not work in the
classroom must have their voices heard.
Meeting for parents on JC Framework concerns
The ASTI and TUI are holding a joint public meeting aimed at parents on the
Framework for Junior Cycle on Tuesday, March 11th at 7.30p.m. in the Radisson
Blu Hotel, Galway.
This information meeting is for parents whose children will be affected by the Junior
Cycle Framework. The ASTI and TUI have written to all primary and second-level
schools in the region asking for the meeting to be promoted via parent associations
and parent noticeboards in schools.
Students
Deserve
Quality
Parents will be given information on the proposed abolition of the Junior Cycle
Exam and Certificate and teachers’ views on how this will impact on their children’s
experience of second-level education.
An information leaflet for parents explaining teachers’ key concerns has been
developed and is available on the ASTI website www.asti.ie.
3
Public Meeting Framework for Junior Cycle: Teachers’ Concerns Tuesday, March 11th 7.30p.m. – 9p.m. Radisson Blu Hotel Galway
March 11th:
Lunchtime Protest
Public Statement by 27,000 Second-Level Teachers
Take your message outside the school gate and make
sure it is heard
Teachers’ concerns about the Junior Cycle Framework matter.
This lunchtime protest will highlight the depth of feeling amongst
teachers to parents, the wider public and the Minister.
Protest for Standards, Equity, Quality and Fairness in
Junior Cycle education
Protest for a fair, impartial and transparent Junior Cycle
exams system
Protest for training, resources and supports for
teachers
This is your chance to show how you feel
For details visit www.asti.ie