5 concerns teachers will raise at trade union conferences

Hundreds of teachers from schools across the country will gather in Killarney, Wexford and Kilkenny this week for the annual conferences of the INTO, ASTI and TUI trade unions.

As the rest of the country polishes off the last of their Easter eggs, teachers will be venting their frustrations and plotting a course ahead on a range of issues.

Amid a very long list of topics up for debate here are five key ones that impact not just teachers but students too.

1. Changes to Leaving Cert curriculums

A dramatic overhaul of senior cycle education is under way, starting with the science subjects and business. The aim is to move away from an over-reliance on the June written exams by giving more weight - at least 40% of marks in every subject - to project work completed during the school year.

But teachers aren't happy. Such is the concern that in Wexford the ASTI will open its convention on this topic.

Teachers worry that the new system will lead to greater inequalities; not all schools have the same lab facilities, not all students have the same supports at home.

They are worried about the integrity of the written reports that students will submit for assessment, and by the fact that it is they who will be expected to determine whether the work produced by a student is really their own.

AI is exacerbating these concerns.

If a report is completed outside of the classroom, how can a teacher be sure who - or what - actually wrote it?

"The issue of authentication for teachers is a very very difficult one" says ASTI president Padraig Curley.

"Written reports that leave the school are open to manipulation."

2. Excessive workloads - and not just for teachers

Closely related to senior cycle reform is workload - and not just for teachers. The reforms are aimed at reducing the pressure on students but teachers fear they may simply spread the pressure out, and possibly make it worse.

"There is a concern that students will be swamped with AACs" says Pádraig Curley. (AAC stands for Additional Assessment Component.)

"[The changes] were touted as a fix for student pressure, but we consider that all these AACs will actually increase stress, anxiety and workload for students, as well as for teachers."

Teachers say the real culprit when it comes to student stress is the CAO points system. Without reform to the college entry system they and others say the pressure experienced by so many students will remain.

So much for student workload, but what about their teachers? They complain of an 'initiative overload’ that is sapping morale and deflecting from their core duty of teaching.

The TUI call it an unsustainable and escalating workload crisis, caused by continual programme, policy and administrative demands without adequate time, staffing or resources.

They say it is so bad that many are leaving the profession as a result.

Which brings us to our next point...

3. Teacher recruitment and retention

With enrolment falling at primary level, and projected to begin falling at post-primary level in a few years' time, some feel the Government is simply choosing to ride the teacher shortage out.

But difficulty in recruiting and retaining teachers continues to be a significant problem for many schools in urban areas.

Whatever about workload, certainly the prohibitive cost of housing in our cities and the alternative of long commutes in heavy traffic is deterring teachers from taking up jobs in the cities.

Unlike some other careers, teachers are among those workers who can’t offset a long commute with working from home for a day or two per week.

In a recent survey by the Teachers Union of Ireland 19% of respondent schools said they had dropped subjects as a result of the teacher shortage.

4. The cost of education - free laptops for students?

Every Easter, funding for schools is a big talking point. This year the new senior cycle focus on project work has brought funding for ICT to the fore. Teachers say if continuous assessment is here to stay then so too is the need for every senior cycle student to have their own laptop or similar device.

Once again teachers are concerned about inequality. They talk about a digital divide. Some families can afford top-end devices for their children but others can’t. Teachers worry that without proper funding, the shift to project-based learning could widen the gap between students rather than narrow it.

The TUI will debate a call "to allow all students equitable access to the tools required to complete AACs".

An ASTI motion proposes a state-funded laptop for all Leaving Certificate students.

Funding remains a core issue of concern at primary level too. Primary schools receive just 58% of what post-primary schools receive and that is nowhere near enough, says the INTO.

5. Special Education

But top of the agenda for primary school teachers this year is special education. INTO congress will open this evening with a debate on a plan to remove diagnostic assessments as a requirement for enrolment in a special class or a special school.

It’s a step aimed at reducing waiting lists, but it has caused significant disquiet. INTO delegates will be asked to back a call for suspension of any such change pending consultation with the union and other education partners.

Primary teachers will also debate calls for more supports for children with special educational needs, as well as those with mental health challenges, "to help schools manage behaviours of concern".

Without adequate supports the toll on staff is spelled out in one motion, which calls for assault leave for teachers.

It refers to "the high level of verbal and physical abuse being reported by teachers in primary and special schools, causing injuries that are often severe and can be life-changing".

Any other business?

Yes, plenty. But alas some of it will take place behind closed doors, away from the glare of the media. Much to our sorrow, journalists will be excluded from some of the more sensitive debates, which are sometimes the most lively too.

Among motions to be debated in private session will be one at the INTO which calls for insurer Allianz to be dropped as sponsor of GAA schools’ league Cumann na mBunscol.

Cumann na mBunscol is led by teacher volunteers. Allianz was listed in a report by UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, as being among companies and corporations involved in sustaining and paying for Israel's actions in Palestine.

And last but not least, industrial relations issues will loom large at all three conferences. Not surprisingly, pay is the big one. Talks on a new national pay agreement are due to begin in coming weeks and teachers want wage increases that will reflect the the rising cost of living.