4th June 2010 - Teaching New Dogs Old Tricks
- Last Updated: Wednesday, 09 June 2010 11:54
The 400 Principal teachers retiring from Primary schools in this school year is a massive loss of experience and tacit knowledge to the education system. There are 3,350 primary schools in the country and between 2009 and 2010, one in four of their Principals will have left the role. This exodus will impact significantly on the quality of leadership at Primary level for years to come according to the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) President, Pat Goff.
IPPN has been consistently warning the Department of Education and Skills of this emerging crisis, and in the interim have developed a novel solution to lessen the negative impact of a dearth of leadership skills and experience in the system.
'The experience, knowledge and wisdom of over 1000 Principals has been harvested through a series of surveys, workshops and focus groups, and all the knowledge collected has been collated to design a web based learning programme for Newly Appointed Principals' stated IPPN Director, Sean Cottrell. The programme is called Ciall Ceannaithe – Sound Advice and Borrowed Wisdom. The term Ciall Ceannaithe refers to ‘buying or simply acquiring the sense of tacit and explicit knowledge of those who have gone before us' said Mr Cottrell.
'It has been developed to provide a greater understanding of the innovative solutions to challenges facing Principals and to encourage tachers who aspire to the role of Principal' continued Mr Cottrell. 'It is also a very suitable refresher course for experienced Principals who wish to reflect on their current practice’ added the Director.
Hundreds of Principals are either retiring or stepping down to a teacher’s role largely in response to the impossible work load resulting in stress which accompanies the role. Three out of four Principal teachers are also class teachers as well as day-to-day managers of the school. To make matters even more difficult, these Principals do not have the support of a secretarial or caretaking service. With these challenges in mind, IPPN is recommending this online course as a vital preparatory tool for new Principals and those aspiring to the role.
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