The announcement by Minister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn that the Junior Certificate is to be replaced by a school-based model of assessment has been warmly welcomed by Educate Together.
Commenting on the announcement, Educate Together CEO Paul Rowe said:
We welcome the news that the Junior Certificate examination is to be phased out. The content-driven, rote-learning model of education is no longer relevant. Young people need to be actively engaged in their learning. The proposed changes will enable students to develop on a continuous basis the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to live, learn and work in modern Ireland â without the narrow focus of a single terminal examination.
Educate Together welcomes the new flexibility and freedom that schools will have in the new Framework for Junior Cycle, but also cautions that appropriate supports and resources must be made available to schools, to ensure that all stakeholders are positive and willing to implement changes successfully.
Educate Together has been actively calling for reform at second-level for many years. Its “Blueprint for Educate Together Second-Level Schools’, published in 2009, proposes a new model for second-level education. It advocates continous assessment for students, a move away from teaching to the test and the implementation of learner-centred teaching and learning methods. Educate Together will open its first second-level schools in 2014.
For further information or to arrange an interview contact
John Holohan,
Head of Communications
Educate Together
