The Teachers' Union of Ireland leadership has said it is determined to resist angry motions from the floor at this week's union congress condemning it for taking part in a pilot scheme on school inspection.
At last year's congress the TUI passed a motion that the union should have nothing to do with a Department of Education pilot project on "whole school evaluation", in which departmental inspectors, in consultation with the education partners, examine and inspect whole schools rather than individual teachers.
Last December the union's executive decided to participate in it anyway, citing changed circumstances for its decision.
It said the newly passed Education Act gave the Department the statutory authority to implement such school evaluation; it would be difficult for the union to take part in discussions about the lessons of the pilot project if its members had not taken part in it; and it would be unacceptable for the TUI to let others determine the shape of "whole school evaluation" for its sector.
TUI members in two schools have since taken part in the pilot project. A third was prevented by opposition from its local TUI branch, although the TUI members of staff in the school were overwhelmingly in favour of taking part.
This year's congress agenda has one motion and four amendments directing the union to take no part in any kind of "whole school evaluation" or pilot project on such evaluation.
Amendments condemn the union executive for "disobeying" the 1998 resolution.
However, the general secretary, Mr Jim Dorney, is unrepentant. "We're already involved in inspection, and `whole school evaluation' is looking at the totality of a school's organisation, rather than at individual teachers," he said. Given the changes since last year's congress, and the fact that the pilot project was due to end without our participation in it, I feel the executive's decision was the correct one."