THE PROSPECT of any change to the Junior Cert has receded as teacher unions are set to ban co-operation with any revised programme.
Yesterday, an advisory group to Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe circulated a 75-page document outlining various options for reform of the exam. But the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) is likely to withhold any co-operation when it meets this weekend.
The Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) is expected to adopt a similar approach.
The move is a blow to the Minister who had hoped to roll out changes to the much-criticised exam within the next 18 months. At his request, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) yesterday agreed a new document setting out various options for a recast of the exam.
As expected, the paper makes a case for more self-directed learning by students and greater use of portfolio and group work.
It envisages all students studying a module of various core subjects. But it also suggests schools should be free to pick from a wide variety of subjects. It says the rollout of any new course must be accompanied by in-service training for teachers.
The council does not cost its proposals. Three years ago, then minister for education Mary Hanafin dismissed its €100 million plan for Leaving Cert reform as the "Rolls Royce option".
The NCCA says its Junior Cert paper is a set of ideas - and not a set of proposals. It reports on the widespread perception that the exam has an inflexible and overcrowded curriculum. The focus, it says, is on the terminal exam, rather than on the quality of the learning experience. It also cites research from the Economic and Social Research Institute which says large numbers of junior-cycle students disengage from school in the first years of second level.
The NCCA wants greater continuity between the much-praised primary school curriculum and the early years at second level.
It says a new Junior Cert should help ensure that students gain key skills such as the development of critical thinking, the ability to process information and the ability to work within a team. The NCCA plans wider consultation on reform of the exam including a public symposium next year.
Earlier this year, Mr O'Keeffe acknowledged the Junior Cert was "driven by rote learning and examination pressures, rather than the promotion of real understanding".
The exam, which replaced the Intermediate Certificate 20 years ago, was intended to broaden the educational experience of students. Over time the Junior Cert has become a mirror image of the Leaving Cert, giving little opportunity for independent learning.
The ASTI and the TUI are expected to reaffirm directives already in place, as part of the campaign against the cuts. These include a ban on parent-teacher meetings and staff meetings outside of school time; non-co-operation with school development planning meetings; and limits on co-operation with evaluation and subject inspections.