Why do the teacher conferences matter?

Every Easter, the Dáil goes on holidays and another forum takes centre-stage in debating the affairs of the State. Over four days, the conferences of the three teacher unions, the INTO, ASTI and TUI, act as a surrogate Oireachtas, which itself has lots of teachers.

There will be plenty of shouting, long-winded speeches and political stunts next week, although the edge will be taken off events in Killarney where the ASTI conference will not feature the Minister for Education – as the union failed to issue an invite. But the conferences are a barometer for the state of our education system.

There are two very good reasons why they matter. The first is that research shows that the single most important factor in influencing student achievement is the effectiveness of the teacher.

The quality of the teacher matters more to educational outcomes than class sizes, curriculum changes, infrastructure or any other factor. And a good teacher is a happy, motivated one. That many teachers feel demoralised by years of austerity should be of concern to parents and policymakers. But teachers also have a duty to use the power of their unions in the best interests of education.

Such is the influence of the unions that they can dictate the pace of policy reforms. They have the lion’s share of seats on the Teaching Counciland other educational bodies.

They have nine seats on the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, which drew up the junior cycle reforms, whereas parent groups have just two.

Professional

This model is founded on the principle that the unions act responsibly and with a professional regard for their students and not just for the benefit of their members.

The past year has seen the unions go on strike in a bid to scupper those junior cycle reforms, and this dispute goes to the heart of the matter.

Educationalists talk about the teaching profession at a crossroads. Teachers can become “reflective practitioners”, working in a continuous loop of professional development or they can consolidate the “teach to the test” model where the teacher shuts the door and whatever happens inside those four walls is his or her business alone. We’ll see next week which direction teachers are turning.