In an extensive interview in today's edition, the Minister for Education and Science, Ms Hanafin, sets out her agenda. The contrast with her predecessor, Mr Dempsey, could scarcely be more striking. Whereas he was an interventionist who wanted to change things, the new Minister is more measured in her approach.
A former teacher, Ms Hanafin believes, rightly, there is a good deal that is right about our education system. She is not interested, she says, in making changes for the sake of change. Instead, she wants to improve those things which need to be improved. A priority, she says, is to create a learning environment where teachers and pupils are happy and content.
Ms Hanafin will, no doubt, be criticised in some quarters for her cautious approach. She is against the testing of seven and 11-year-olds in a high-stakes national exam. She is opposed to school league tables. She is protective of the State support given to private fee-paying schools. She is wary about radical plans to reform the Leaving Certificate exam.
For all that, it may be that there is something to be said for a period of reflection on these and other issues. It is important to remember that Ms Hanafin comes to Marlborough Street after a turbulent period dominated by the divisive ASTI dispute and the controversies that dogged the Dempsey era. There is something to be said for a cooling-off period which allows all the parties to move forward in a more constructive manner.
It is Ms Hanafin's remarks about proposed reform of the Leaving Cert that are likely to prove most controversial. The exam occupies a towering presence in the Irish education landscape but it is unloved by many educationalists. Broadly, they dislike the emphasis on rote learning. They maintain the Leaving Cert measures too narrow a range of intelligence, giving little reward for personal and social skills. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, which advises the Minister, has proposed a radical new exam. This incorporates some of the features of the Transition Year programme, while giving a new role to continuous assessment.
Ms Hanafin will need to be convinced about these proposed changes. She says the Leaving Cert is an independent, objective assessment, well-regarded internationally. Her concern that boys could suffer under a new exam which places an emphasis on self-directed learning will have a resonance with many parents. The statistics tend to show that many boys are under-performing in the current exam regime. It is reasonable to ask if some are ready for a more free-flowing exam structure.
The Minister is clearly cautious about embarking on fundamental change in the system. Aside from making practical amendments, she wants to focus on areas of real need such as educational disadvantage, absenteeism and literacy. It is a less radical agenda than that of her predecessor. But it is no less valuable for that and may be more attainable.