Schools should not be run like businesses, ASTI warns

Plans to give school principals greater autonomy over budgeting and staffing will end up with schools being managed like businesses, the largest secondary school teachers’ union has warned.

The ASTI was responding to a Department of Education consultation paper issued late last year on “advancing school autonomy”.

The proposals stem from a policy pledge contained in the 2011 programme for government and follows moves towards greater independence for schools in juristictions such as the US, Sweden and England.

Vice-president Ed Byrne said ideologically driven moves towards greater autonomy were misplaced and would lead to great inequity and a results-driven system.

"What parents most need now is not more school autonomy but a system which provides a high quality education to their child regardless of family income, what part of the country or city they live in, or what type of school they attend," Mr Byrne said.

The autonomy debated has resulted in charter schools in the US, publicly funded private “free schools” in Sweden and foundation schools and academies in England.

In these cases, principals tend to have greater control over budgeting and staffing, as well as curriculum and assessment.

However, the ASTI said these reforms have had negative consequences and there is no evidence they led to better outcomes for students.

In addition, it said Ireland out-performs many of these jurisdictions , based on international assessment surveys.

Mr Byrne said while Irish schools have a large degree of autonomy in relation to the curriculum, the capacity of schools to offer diverse choices to students has been significantly hampered by recent education cuts.

“The biggest challenge facing second-level schools is not the degree of autonomy they enjoy, but their lack of capacity to offer greater choice for their students,” he said.

“ASTI research shows that the vast majority of second-level schools dropped subjects or programmes due to the cuts.”

These cuts have also had a significant impact on the ability of schools to provide pastoral care supports to students.

The ASTI's general secretary Kieran Christie said the union was not opposed to the idea of autonomy in general, but added: "We are opposed to the rigid model proposed in this consultation process." he said.

Moira Leydon, the ASTI's assistant general secretary, said issues like resources and capacity were far greater issues for schools at present. School autonomy was not a pressing matter of debate.

“This is a red herring in terms of policy... As a teachers’ union, we feel we have a duty to call it as it is when it comes to sweeping ideological approaches to public service provision,” she said.

Ms Leydon said moves to introduce greater autonomy of schools in Sweden had led to “rapid segregation”, as well as teachers’ being paid less and a loss of confidence in the education system.