Delegates at the ASTI conference voted unanimously to reaffirm their association's policy on inspection - that teachers have the right to refuse to teach in front of an inspector.
Mr John White, the ASTI's assistant general secretary, said that compared to the OFSTED school inspections in Britain, whole school evaluation which was being piloted in Ireland was rational and reasonable.
It was "root and branch different", avoided shaming and naming schools and the grading of individual teachers. A whole school evaluation pilot study involving 17 schools was almost complete. The teachers also voted to hold a special convention on whole school evaluation to decide on future policy and reaffirmed that the ASTI would protect its members from any unjust pressure under any evaluation arrangement. Fears were expressed that whole-school evaluation was just a new name for old style inspection. "I'm not convinced that the endgame isn't the old game dressed up in brand new clothes," said a Wexford delegate, Mr Michael Waddell.
It was "a load of rubbish to say that teachers won't be named", said president elect Mr Don McCluskey. "In my school there are two senior history teachers. If there was any criticism it would be as clear as daylight who was being referred to."
Mr Joe Campbell (Wexford) said whole-school inspection was being pushed through too rapidly. "We need to slow down, reflect and move on very cautiously." A former ASTI president, Mr Sean Higgins (Drogheda), said teachers should resist inspectors in the classroom. "Adolescents will undermine the teachers when they know there's an inspection going on." Mr Joe Sweeney (Drogheda) observed that while quality could be built into a system it could not be inspected into it.
"The role of the inspector should become an advisory role," he suggested. Ms Sarah Withero (Galway) had participated in the whole-school inspection pilot. She described the set of criteria by which teachers were evaluated as "frightening". All strands of the school, including the principal, the board of management and the school buildings had been inspected, she said.
There was no reporting back and the inspector had told them that no individual teacher would be discussed with the principal.
The inspector had said that teachers had the right to refuse to teach in front of him. Ms Withero said that she felt positive about whole-school inspection. The teachers in her school all felt good that their work had received positive affirmation, she said, adding: "that doesn't happen often in teaching".