Value of homework queried by principals [IrishTimes]
- Published: 08 October 2010
HOMEWORK MAY be the bane of children’s lives but school principals are also questioning its value.
In its submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education, the Irish Primary Principals’ Network said there was “little evidence to suggest that homework as we currently know it has any real benefit”.
The network’s director Seán Cottrell said the role of homework in the education system needed serious research and analysis.
He said homework caused stress between parents and children and eroded quality time in the evenings. It also had an impact on teaching time, he said, as time was lost correcting homework.
There was evidence to suggest that some teachers gave homework because parents expected it, he said. Some parents believed that a teacher who gave a lot of homework must be a good teacher. However, all the evidence showed that effective teaching in the classroom was more valuable than homework.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Call for ‘serious talks’ to end schools disruption [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 08 October 2010
National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals president Tim Geraghty said the difference of approach by the two unions is unfortunate and will lead to tensions between staff in around 80 schools where both ASTI and TUI members work.
He welcomed the ASTI’s decision to enter negotiations on implementing the deal and the suspension of industrial action.
"For principals and deputy principals up and down the country, it is vital that the outcome of deliberations between the department and the unions is clear and unambiguous.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
Primary school homework of no real benefit, say principals [Independent.ie]
- Published: 08 October 2010
PRIMARY school principals have questioned the value of giving pupils homework.
They say there is little evidence to suggest that it had any real benefit and, if it did, it was "far outweighed" by good teaching.
The Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) yesterday highlighted their "serious concerns" about the impact of homework and said its role in education required serious analysis.
The IPPN, which represents principals and deputy principals in 90pc of primary schools, raised the issue at a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Education discussing primary curriculum reform.
IPPN director Sean Cottrell pointed to a string of negatives associated with asking children to do extra work at home.
He said it caused a lot of stress between parents and children, and parents frequently reported being unable to help their children with homework.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Homework is of “no real benefit” in primary school [thejournal.ie]
- Published: 08 October 2010
The burden of homework is an affliction that a primary school principals group believes may not be of any real benefit to school children, a number of news organisations are reporting.
The Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN), which represents principals and deputy principals in 90% of primary schools, has submitted a research paper to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Curriculum Reform which argues that there is “little evidence to suggest that homework as we currently know it has any real benefit”.
RTE report that Mr Sean Cottrell, Director if the IPPN says that “effective teaching in the classroom, which differentiates both children’s learning styles and learning abilities far outweighs any value of homework.” He added:
Homework can often be the source of a huge amount of stress between parents and children.
Full Story: www.thejournal.ie
Moville principal breaks silence [inishowennews.com]
- Published: 07 October 2010
AN Inishowen principal has branded a Department of Education report into his school as a ‘waste of money’.
Headmaster of Scoil Eoghain in Moville, Gerard McGeehan, alleged that the report - which described the situation at the primary school as ‘seriously deficient’ and ‘untenable’ - was littered with inaccuracies.
He alleged he was being prevented from doing his job by the current Board of Management at the Moville school, which was officially opened by An Tanaiste Mary Coughlan last June.
“The report claimed that there was a lack of documentation but that is totally wrong because all my documents were stored in the old school in Moville, which I was locked out of,” Mr. McGeehan alleged. He claimed the chair of the board would not communicate with him.
“I was not consulted on recent appointments to the school; I can’t work there. A number of staff members have left Scoil Eoghain recently and the Department needs to investigate that.”
Full Story: www.inishowennews.com
