Secrecy and lack of accountability in teaching criticised [IrishTimes]
- Published: 15 October 2011
EDUCATION: LOW LEVEL of teacher accountability is a factor in explaining the Republic’s decline in global education rankings, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report.
The report is also critical of the culture of secrecy in Irish education, where relatively little information on school performance is available to the public. It backs the publication of comparative data on schools, or league tables, in order to boost overall standards.
In a scathing assessment, the OECD points to the dramatic slide in Irish literacy and numeracy standards – despite an 83 per cent increase in the education spend between 2000 and 2008. The group says overall spending on education is now above the agency average as a percentage of gross domestic product or national output. In attempting to explain this decline, the report notes: “The Irish school system is characterised by comparatively limited accountability mechanisms.”
It states that only limited data on comparative school performance are made public.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
