ANTIGENO PROSTATICO ESPECIFICO (PSA)

Fitzpatrick et al. (2014) conducted research with 960 adults in Ireland (teachers: 75%; parents: 23%) to ascertain their views on what the priorities for primary education should be, besides literacy and numeracy. They found that the most frequently cited priorities focused on helping children to develop dispositions and skills for life; offering a broad curriculum and nurturing children’s psychological well-being. The study questions the increased concentration on literacy and numeracy in primary schools and problematises the drive to increase standards through testing. The authors state that “curriculum subjects are only as important as

113 the opportunities they afford for children to develop important life-skills and dispositions in relationship with others” (p.13). The authors suggest that policy makers should pay greater attention to children’s social and emotional development in future curriculum changes, and that there needs to be a greater coherence and alignment between the hidden and intended primary curriculum in future primary developments.

Ó Breacháin and O’Toole (2013) also question the increased focus on literacy and numeracy in the Republic of Ireland, especially through the guise of standards, as is contained in Literacy and numeracy for learning and life. They state that the revised 1999 curriculum offers a balanced approach to education with recognition of the role of language and the arts. However, they are concerned that the focus on literacy and numeracy to the exclusion of other educational objectives in Ireland at present threatens the holistic ethos of the curriculum. They offer an analysis of the literacy and numeracy strategy, stating that it contains ‘mixed messages. Ó Breacháin and O’Toole are especially critical of the strategy’s reduction of the role of the Arts and state that the policy presents “a significant threat to the holistic nature of the Irish curriculum” (2013, p.404). They also critique the use of PISA tests as indicators of educational quality as they do not recognise the changed landscape and profile of the pupils in Irish schools. They also criticise the increase in standardised assessment from two to three times in primary schools, in spite of evidence of potential negative outcomes of a focus on standardised testing. Ó Breacháin and O’Toole suggest that, rather than looking to empirical research about how best to improve children’s attainment, “the main drivers behind the publication of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy were political, with the

114 need of the new government to be seen to respond to the PISA results” (2013, p.413).

McNamara et al. (2011) examine the notion of school self-evaluation in Ireland and compare it with our Icelandic counterparts. They note that “School inspection (external) and school self-evaluation (internal) are seen as both interrelated and integral to school improvement and reform policies in most countries” (2011, p.63), while asserting that the emphasis placed on each varies according to national contexts. They argue that, in Ireland, there appears to be a significant emphasis on the external shaping of evaluations, whereas external steering may be much less important in Iceland in enabling self-evaluation. Rather the process is based on the attitudes of school staff and, in particular, the development of more democratic, collaborative and participative forms of leadership that contribute to teacher empowerment around self-evaluation. Research involving teachers and principals from 38 primary schools in Ireland as well as six inspectors found that the inspectors were critical of the lack of use of regular testing and ‘hard data’ on which to base improvements (p.71). McNamara et al. also found that school leaders were unconvinced about the value and practicality of self-evaluation, and that they could not see a practical way of resourcing or supporting it in their schools. McNamara et al. also report that Irish teachers were equally as sceptical as the principals on the issue. These researchers also present data from Iceland where the emphasis for self-evaluation has from the beginning been on student-centred accountability, as opposed to a simple response to the government mandate. They found that there is a clear emphasis on teacher ownership in Iceland and that the school community is learning a collaborative approach to problem-solving and teachers engage in evaluations by their own choice.

115 Hall and Kavanagh (2002) examine primary assessment policy in Ireland and note how some groups, particularly parents were “urging the government to institute a more formal and transparent system of school accountability” (p.262). They explore how these various interest groups conceptualise assessment in relation to the primary school. They state that different groups hold differing views on the purposes of assessment and the types of assessments that pupils should undertake. Hall and Kavanagh content that “the differences stem from holding either outmoded or more contemporary notions of assessment and, in turn, learning” (2002, p.264). They found that for teachers the most important purpose of assessment is to provide information about pupil learning so future learning steps can be effectively planned. However, teachers’ accounts of their assessment practices did not suggest that learners themselves play a significant role in the process. They contend that “teachers place more emphasis on furnishing information that informs their teaching decisions than information that informs individual pupils’ learning decisions” (2002, p.266). They found that national policy makers differ from teachers and differ amongst themselves in how they conceptualise assessment. For example, a politician interviewed by the researchers displayed a strong concern about resource issues and the implications for those children needing extra support. He viewed assessment as a means to secure objective information to make decisions on the allocation of resources. However, two inspectors with the task of designing and overseeing national policy documents and an NCCA official exhibit a more nuanced conception of assessment, including discussing its role in whole system evaluation as well as an emphasis on assessment for learning. Hall and Kavanagh found that measurements of achievement, such as standardised tests, matter to parents. They state that parents “show undue faith in the power of tests” (2002, p.269). A key

116 insight of Hall and Kavanagh’s in relation to my dissertation is how “purposes of assessment are so frequently interpreted in relation to the needs of the interviewee or the interviewee’s group (teacher, parent, politician) rather than the direct needs of learners” (2002, p.269).

4.6 Conclusion

This chapter proffered a chronological overview of assessment policy in Ireland in two time periods: 1831 to 1960 and 1960 to 2010. It continued by outlining a theoretical conception of assessment policy in primary education over the past fifty years. This highlighted the growing influence of international agencies and an accountability agenda. The chapter concluded with an examination of empirical research on policy development regarding assessment in Ireland. The archaeological approach to examining assessment policy in Ireland since 1831 demonstrates a cyclical pattern to mandated testing in primary education. This resulted in Payment by Results in 1872, the introduction of the Primary Certificate in 1929, and the introduction of compulsory standardised testing in 2007. It is interesting to note that both the Payment by Results method and the Primary Certificate were abolished as they resulted in the narrowing of the curriculum, an emphasis on rote learning and repetition, and did not take children’s learning needs or styles into account. This chapter also demonstrates how trends highlighted in the review of literature on assessment policy are influencing policy development in Ireland. These trends include: 1) Changes in educational policy on assessment have been influenced by results in comparative international tests, mainly organised by the OECD; 2) Reforms in assessment policy are increasingly influenced by economic factors and

117 have consisted of an increased focus on outcomes, usually in literacy and numeracy; 3) Irish educational policy is influenced by other countries, especially Britain; 4) Tension and confusion exists amongst stakeholders regarding the purposes and practices of assessment in primary school. These trends will be explored further in the document analysis and findings and analysis chapters (Chapters 6-9).

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