"The School Around The Corner"

By Kelly Robinson and Michael Atcheson

Mr. Martin McGuinness, the Minister of Education for the Northern Ireland Assembly has been quoted as saying that as an individual he is opposed to the Transfer Test (eleven-plus exam). So the question is, what is, or what are the alternatives to a system that so many both inside the education system and the community at large are now saying fails the individual child.

In an attempt to look at the alternatives to the existing 'selection' process in Northern Ireland we decided to speak to someone within the education system in the Irish Republic. Mary Cullen, Maynooth College. The primary school curriculum in the Irish Republic is based on the following three principles:

One: The full and harmonious development of the child, with due allowances made for individuals differences.

Two: The central importance of activity and guided-discovery learning and teaching methods.

Three: Teaching and learning through integrated curriculum and through activities related to the child's environment.

These principles were outlined in the 1971 review of the primary school curriculum. Thus changing the philosophy and methodology of primary education from its previous emphasis on subject centred, didactic teaching to one, which now emphasises the central position of the individual child and promotes a curriculum related to the child's needs and interests.

The maximum age for entry to primary school in the Irish republic as with most of Europe, is six. Interestingly there seems to be a growing trend within the Republic for four-year-olds and five-year-olds to enrol in infant classes within the primary school structure. The Primary Review Body stated "much of what is considered pre-schooling in other countries is already incorporated in the primary system in Ireland".

So it seems that pre-schooling has become an integral part of the primary school system and certainly it could be argued that this would benefit the child's individual progress having been introduced to the education system at such an early age.

While we have been informed that there is no formal selection process to enter Post Primary Education (Junior Level) such as the Transfer Test. In 1993, the then Minister for Education, Niamh Breathnach, expressed concern that a selection process based solely on academic ability by some schools was a barrier to equality of education.

Though the Minister accepted that where schools received more applications than they could cater for, a selection process was necessary, for example:

· Priority given to pupils from national schools in the area. · Enrolment on a first come first served basis. · Random selection on the basis of the age of applicants. · Priority to brothers and sisters of pupils already enrolled at the school. · Priority given to pupils of a particular religion.

It also became clear throughout our conversations with Mary that as well as the selection process as outlined above there was a 'self-imposed selection process' based on social and economic factors. Take for example a child from a deprived area. The chances of his/her parents having the resources to send him/her to a school of their choice would be slim. While there is some financial support for families, theses are means tested.

Before we undertook this exercise we were both of the opinion that the Transfer test was not a fair judgement of an individual child's academic abilities. This opinion did not come from an academic background but as community activists. We are alarmed at what failure the Transfer Test and poor education attainment in general is doing to both our youth and our community at large.

While the system in the Republic (to our knowledge) has no 'formal' selection process, schools are still in a position to pick and choose whom they wish. After examining the pros and cons of both structures we are still of the opinion that while we can learn from other educational systems the selection process which we have in place in Northern Ireland is not a healthy one and an alternative process is necessary based on the needs of the child.