ILSA Annual Conference [ILSA]
- Published: 26 September 2009
The ILSA Annual Conference was held in St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin, on September 18th & 19th 2009.
Many thanks to all who contributed to its success - Drumcondra Education Centre, presenters, delegates, distinguished guests, committee members and suppliers of books and other resources. The feedback from the evaluation forms received was very positive and encouraging. Watch out for our Spring Seminar 2010 (all members will be notified when details are available).
Click on the HANDOUTS tab above for access to handouts provided by presenters. Any members interested in forming or reactivating a regional group please write to Florence Gavin, c/o Drumcondra Education Centre.
Full Story: http://www.ilsa.ie/
Work time for teachers 'one of lowest in OECD' [Irish Times]
- Published: 26 September 2009
SECOND-LEVEL teachers in Ireland spend much less time in their schools than their counterparts in virtually every other OECD state, according to a confidential Department of Education memorandum.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Staff room revolution as women take top school jobs [Guardian.co.uk]
- Published: 25 September 2009
The sexual revolution has finally reached the staff room. A long-term shortage of headteachers has been reduced by a sharp rise in the number of senior female staff applying to become £100,000-a-year heads of secondaries.
There has been a sudden increase in the appointment of female headteachers, with the proportion of secondary schools run by women increasing to 44% in 2008-09 from 31% the year before, and from a five-year average of 37%. The number of secondaries that were forced to re-advertise posts after failing to recruit the first time round dropped from 21% to 19%.
More than 60 secondary schools advertised their headteacher post with a salary in excess of £100,000.
Full Story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/sep/25/headteachers-secondary-school-women
Annual Primary School Census [INTO]
- Published: 25 September 2009
DES gathers statistics from primary schools through Annual Census
This September the DES has advised schools that the Statistics Section "has dispensed with paper forms" and that the data will be gathered through an electronic spreadsheet (though the spreadsheet is not currently available for download on the DES website). Issues have arisen in relation to this announcement from a number of perspectives including:
- The lack of consultation with INTO.
- The capacity of schools to engage with the electronic format.
INTO is advising principals that they should return the Census Form in a format that best suits their own requirements. Where a manual form is preferred the electronic version recently issued can be downloaded and returned to the DES preferable by registered post.
In addition principals are advised that workload can be reduced by completing essential fields only.
Full Story: http://www.into.ie
Can the Right Kinds of Play Teach Self-Control? [NYTimes]
- Published: 25 September 2009
"Come on, Abigail."
"No, wait!" Abigail said. "I'm not finished!" She was bent low over her clipboard, a stubby pencil in her hand, slowly scratching out the letters in the book's title, one by one: T H E. . . .
"Abigail, we're waiting!" Jocelyn said, staring forcefully at her classmate. Henry, sitting next to her, sighed dramatically.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Abigail said, looking harried. She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and plowed ahead: V E R Y. . . .
The three children were seated at their classroom's listening center, where their assignment was to leaf through a book together while listening on headphones to a CD with the voice of a teacher reading it aloud. The book in question was lying on the table in front of Jocelyn, and every few seconds, Abigail would jump up and lean over Jocelyn to peer at the cover, checking what came next in the title. Then she would dive back to the paper on her clipboard, and her pencil would carefully shape yet another letter: H U N. . . .
Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com
