New junior cycle not preparing students adequately for Leaving Cert, ASTI report finds

ASTI member John Conneely, science teacher at St. Flannans, Ennis, Co Clare: 'We need to get the balance right between knowledge and skills'.

There is “profound and universal concern” among teachers about the current Junior Certificate framework as only 13% of respondents felt it adequately prepares students for the Leaving Certificate.

Almost 3,000 members responded to an Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) survey of teachers’ experiences implementing the new Framework for Junior Cycle on a gradual basis since 2014.

The reformed junior cycle introduced major changes, including a shift to a majority of class-based assessment, a new area of learning called Wellbeing, common level subjects (apart from English, Irish, and Maths), and greater flexibility for schools in how they deliver their junior cycle through subjects and short courses.

Only 13% of teachers surveyed felt the new cycle provided adequate support for progression to the senior cycle, with the ASTI reporting that the survey showed “profound and universal concern among teachers about the capacity of the junior cycle subject specifications to prepare students for the senior cycle curriculum”.

Teacher responses said that the junior cycle has been dumbed down and leaves students inadequately prepared for the amount of work and study that has to be done for the Leaving Certificate.

Only 37% of teachers surveyed felt that there was adequate content knowledge in their subject and only 35% felt that the balance between knowledge and skills was appropriate.

Concern was also expressed over common level subjects leaving weaker students struggling to manage, more able students not challenged enough, and wide grading bands giving middle students little motivation to aim higher.

Just 21% of teachers agreed that the banding of marks for each grade descriptor is appropriate.

“We need to get the balance right between knowledge and skills. Our students deserve to have syllabi of the highest international standards which cater for both the weaker student and also challenge those of higher ability. This cannot be achieved by vague and dumbed down syllabi which do not engage the students in critical thinking,” said John Conneely, chairperson of the ASTI Junior Cycle Survey Committee and science teacher at St Flannan’s College, Ennis, Co Clare.

Cork South Central TD and Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Education Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said the survey shows junior cycle students are being “dropped in the deep end” at Leaving Cert level.

“Instead of supporting students with this transition, this survey shows that students are being dropped in the deep end for their senior cycle, a two-year learning period that is incredibly stressful in any event,” he said.

“The Junior Cert is an incredibly important milestone in a young person’s life, particularly for those who will leave school after their junior cycle. It is crucial that we get this right, and I would urge the minister to engage with the ASTI and staff teaching in our schools on the issues they have raised,” he said.

On the back of the survey results, the ASTI has called for an independent evaluation of the new Framework for Junior Cycle to be conducted — among other recommendations such as reducing teacher workloads and class sizes.

A Department of Education spokesperson said it is aware of the ASTI survey, and that an independent review of the implementation of the Framework for Junior Cycle is currently underway, being conducted by researchers in the University of Limerick, with the first thematic report to be completed shortly. 

It said that early insight reviews into new subject specifications for Irish, Modern Foreign Languages and Visual Art will also commence later in the year.