Republican News · Thursday 28 November 2002

Education, the expensive revolution

BY ROBBIE MacGABHANN

Take nearly 50 people and send them to Kilkenny on a wet, windy Saturday to discuss Sinn Féin policy and what do you get? Well, despite the early start, the sleepy and in some cases sore heads, a unique political process transpired.

Debate and discussion about Sinn Féin's vision for education in Ireland did not just happen but transpired with some depth and decision taking that saw the draft policy document picked over with some detail. Even the delegates who began the morning complaining that they were only here because of their "revolutionary duty" or that "we have too many conferences" threw themselves into workshop deliberations.

Maybe it was the powerful opening address of Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe that shook the sleepiness out. Crowe said that "Sinn Féin is not about getting into power. It is about getting into power and using that power to radically transform Irish society from the roots up. Every other political party in the state believes the system is flawed but, that with a little tinkering, a few minor adjustments, it will work fine. In other words, they believe the problem isn't the system; it is the way it is being implemented. We believe that the problem is not that the system is not working properly. It's working fine. For better or worse, the last few years of economic boom saw the capitalist system working perfectly.

"It's just not the right system. It's not the right system for the just governance of society, for the equal distribution of wealth and for the building of an Ireland of equals. We need to open up people to new ideas, new ways of thinking. But before we can do this, before we can have a revolution in Ireland, we need a revolution in education."

This prompted a local party representative, Tom Kiernan, later in debate to say in one of the floor discussions that, "Yes, education is a way of creating a revolution but it is an expensive one".

Kiernan wondered should there be more in the Sinn Féin education document about costs and were there other working models we could use in Ireland. Like many other speakers, he bemoaned the trend of educating for the marketplace rather than the needs of the individual and their communities.

This might not have been one of the most well attended Sinn Féin conferences, but it was the first in a long time that not only involved every attendee making a contribution, but also generating a critical analysis of the policy.

Saturday's conference of workshops and debate is just one of many that have been organised as part of developing the education policy. This means when it comes to next year's ard fheis we will have not just a fine policy document to make political campaigns around but we will have also created a template for how to develop policy in the party.

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Education - A key to equality

A summary of the Sinn Féin education discussion document

Introduction

Education is central to Sinn Féin's political project and the egalitarian ideals of that project.

While Ireland's education systems have in the past borne some of the responsibility for reproducing inequality, Sinn Féin believes an Irish education system can be an essential instrument for the building of an Ireland of equals.

Equality of opportunity, access and provision, is however a basic entitlement. The ability for learners to achieve their full potential by having access to those levels of curriculum, those institutions and that type of teaching and learning best fitted to deliver such success is a fundamental right. Individuals should be able to do so at any age and any stage of their lives. Such provision calls for adequate and sustained investment in our richest resource - our people.

Such provision necessitates clear, key objectives.

Sinn Féin will support and work for an education system that will:

• liberate and facilitate the potential of all.
• address and redress educational and generational disadvantage.
• deploy resources to promote access to education by disadvantaged and marginalised groups.
• effect meaningful partnership in a democratic education service.
• put learners and teachers at the heart of neighbourhood networks of learning.
• create and translate into action - national priorities, national perspectives and national provision.
• promote school achievement through quality of delivery and resources rather than narrow measurement of performance.
• intervene at the earliest possible stages to include people and groups hitherto excluded from or disempowered and alienated by, the operation of the present systems north and south.

These Key Objectives and the broad principles that underlie them must govern priorities, strategies and structures in education. They can only be achieved through a significant and sustained investment in education.

Schools as Learning Organisations in a Learning Neighbourhood

Sinn Féin will support and work for, the development of an education system that is characterised and governed by the principles of organisational learning. Such a system would comprise of meaningful and effective partnerships between local education providers and the community with whom they work in the development, maintenance and ongoing improvement of 'Learning Neighbourhoods'.

Tackling Disadvantage

Sinn Féin will support and work for an all-Ireland approach to identifying, targeting and redressing disadvantage in education. In particular Sinn Féin will advocate significantly increased funding for education in areas of greatest disadvantage, and focused intervention at the earliest possible stage.

The Irish language

Sinn Féin will support and work for increased availability and better resourcing of Irish-medium education and for significantly strengthened recognition of the essential place of the Irish language in an Irish education system.

Towards an education system for all of Ireland

Sinn Féin will support and work for an all-Ireland education system that promotes a self-confident, secure identity in a society based on equality and social justice - a society open to and receptive to the world. Sinn Féin believes that the system of education is central to that transformation of society required to realise our goals.

To that end, Sinn Féin will campaign for all-Ireland implementation of the Right to Education from Early Years to 18, and harmonisation of the two systems based on principles of equality and inclusion. Such harmonisation necessitates increased sharing of resources and expertise. It also requires significantly greater ease of contact and mobility between and among institutions, partners and personnel involved in education.

Early Years

Universally available, publicly funded early childhood education with appropriate resources to facilitate on-site work with parents and accommodate the earliest and most effective detection of Special Educational Needs.

Primary level

Primary schools that are centred in the community, reflective of the community, that share information and expertise with local nursery schools and post-primary schools, and have the most generous possible pupil-teacher ratio to facilitate development and learning at this crucial stage.

Post primary level

All-ability 11-18 comprehensive schools with substantially increased support for pupils and teachers in those schools where the measured social and educational need of the school population is relatively high, with adequate resources to encourage team work, the sharing of information and experience, greater collaboration within and between post-primary schools, and between them, their feeder primary schools and local third level institutions.

Third level/Further and Higher Education

Education and training to be an entitlement for all, made possible by adequate grant-aid and support mechanisms, and the provision of focussed access programmes for schools that currently have a low take up of third level places.

Adult and Community Education

all-Ireland adult literacy campaign with a clear objective of reducing adult functional illiteracy to under 10% within four years, and a system of adult and community education that reflects and meets the diverse needs and interests of adult learners.

Youth Provision

Promotion of a young person centred approach and a youth service that can genuinely engage all young people through innovative and diverse programmes of informal learning.

Irish Language/Irish Medium

Improved provision of naíscoileanna (naíonrá) where there is demand, with viability criteria that realistically reflect the needs of the local community.

Curriculum

The development of a broad and balanced curriculum which addresses the needs of the whole child, recognises the diversity of learning abilities and intelligences among young people, and develops the learners interest in and enthusiasm for, learning about and engaging with the world around them.

Special Needs Education

Appropriate provision of supports within mainstream classrooms for children with Learning Disability, together with a joint departmental and governmental approach to the early detection and remediation of special educational needs.

Tackling Disadvantage

The implementation of integrated responses to the needs of students who are educationally disadvantaged and at risk of under-achievement in school. Such an implementation to be based on a joined up approach by schools, parents, local community organisations and agencies and the statutory sector. In particular: proper counselling facilities for pupils and non-managerial process support for the teachers in schools where the social and educational need of the school population is relatively high.

Teachers

enhanced status for teachers, and in particular significant improvement in pay, terms and conditions which reflect the experience, professionalism and dedication of the profession. Increased funding for continuous professional development opportunities that make optimal use of existing expertise within the teaching profession.

Systemic and Organisational Issues

The development of organisational and managerial practices which promote the principles of learning organisations within learning neighbourhoods.