Teachers’ strike: Q&A: Pressure on unions to get something to show for losing two days’ pay

What reform is planned for the junior cycle?

The Junior Cycle Student Award is set to replace the Junior Cert from 2017. Rather than focusing solely on exams at the end of third year, the programme will revolve around “statements of learning” – including critical thinking and communication and collaborative skills – together with literacy and numeracy. The programme was due to be phased in, along with short courses on things like computer programming and Mandarin, but these are on hold because of the dispute.

What is the sticking point?

School-based assessment. This would mean teachers assessing students’ work, which would go towards 40 per cent of overall marks, with the remaining 60 per cent coming from the State exam. The aim is to create a new culture of teachers giving continuous feedback in the spirit of the new programme rather than simply teaching to the test.

Why are teachers opposed?

The main reason cited is a fear that the “integrity” of the junior cycle will be damaged due to possible pressure applied locally on teachers by parents. There is also concern about extra workload and the general strain on the system.

Who is in favour of the reforms?

Pretty much every educational stakeholder except the teacher unions – the National Parents Council, the Irish Second Level Students' Union, school principals, boards of management, industry groups and international experts, including the influential policy wing of the OECD.

Is it unusual for teachers to strike over a policy issue?

Very much so. The two secondary teacher unions, the ASTI and TUI, last went on strike as part of a one-day public sector walk-out in November 2009 over the public sector levy. Before that, the ASTI held strikes in the early 2000s and mid-1980s over pay and conditions.

Can teachers be trusted to mark their own students’ work?

Reformers would say it is happening anyway – to a limited degree in secondary schools through programmes like the Leaving Cert Applied – and on a wider basis in further education. Arguments have been made that corruption is inevitable because of the intimate nature of Irish society and that teachers on temporary contracts would be under particular pressure. Counter-claims are made that teachers should be trusted to act professionally and that the junior cycle is in any event a “low-stakes” exam.

What will happen tomorrow?

More than 730 secondary schools will close for the day, affecting 330,000 students – and by extension their parents or guardians. Principals have been ordered by the unions to close schools in their entirety, removing a previous dispensation that allowed non-teaching staff on site.

Then what? Another one-day strike is planned for January. The unions are likely to feel buoyed by the initial show of strength but cracks will appear if, by the end of next month, they have nothing to show their members for the loss of two days' pay.