OPINION:BEGINNING IN the 1990s, we had one of the most competitive and fastest growing economies in the world. Living standards improved and more money was available for public services, writes DON THORNHILL
Our improved competitiveness can be traced back to policy decisions made much earlier, mainly in respect of taxation and education. The growth in domestic consumption and investment, much of which was construction-related, contributed to the decline in competitiveness from 2005 onwards.
The international financial crisis has intensified the vulnerabilities we accumulated in recent years. Stabilising the public finances and restoring competitiveness are essential for us to emerge from recession.
The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) has just published its statement on education – see www.competitiveness.ie for details. Education is central to our ability to improve our quality of life and well-being through success in selling goods and services on international markets.
Ireland is a high value-added economy, with a well-educated labour force. The quality of education outcomes is a core part of our competitiveness. We need to have one of the world’s best education and research systems.
The strengths of our education system include a strong commitment to education throughout society, particularly by parents and students and a high-quality teaching profession. We continue to attract very good candidates to teaching.
Many countries envy the quality of our teachers and by international standards, teaching in Ireland is well-regarded and well-paid. However, much more can be done to improve the effectiveness of this talented group of people.
Creating opportunities for professional development for teachers is one of the most important avenues. In Irish schools and higher education institutions, there are limited opportunities for teachers to share best practice and benefit from research into effective teaching methodologies.
Development needs to be continuous, school-based and throughout a teacher’s career – not just when new syllabuses are introduced. This is particularly important as developments in technology offer exciting new opportunities to enliven teaching and learning. The NCC statement addresses a wide range of areas in considerable detail. Some recommendations include:
The need to prioritise the teaching of maths and science;
The effective use and application of information technology in schools where we have a lot of ground to make up;
Creating an effective and high-quality system of pre-primary education;
The need to recognise outstanding teachers and reward them through promotion;
Empowering school principals to be education leaders in their schools supported by effective middle management structures;
The continued need to address educational disadvantage and
Provision of further education.
At third and fourth level, the NCC emphasises the importance of supporting excellence and innovation through the implementation of the Government’s Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation.
We do not have the luxury of being able to promote reform through additional expenditure. The reality of the public finances must underpin all policies and the effective use of taxpayers’ funds should be an essential principle of reform. Sustaining morale in the sector is essential.
Using resources effectively means focusing on priority strategies. The evidence does not support the view that lower class sizes result in better student outcomes. Reducing class sizes is expensive and can deflect scarce resources from other more effective strategies – including professional development.
Education extends beyond the economic arena. We believe our recommendations, though mainly relating to competitiveness, would also help to achieve social, cultural and moral progress.
Don Thornhill is chairman of the National Competitiveness Council