The new head of the Association of Secondary School Teacher’s Ireland has said that continuing teacher shortages are having a negative impact on the quality of education being delivered to children and young people in the country.
Geraldine O’Brien, who took up her position as ASTI head today, said that issues including housing, workload, and lack of resources are what’s behind the issue.
“The Government must get real about addressing the factors that are making teaching in Ireland unattractive,” she said.
“While the teacher shortage problem goes back several years, research indicates it is now at its worst,” she said adding that, “ Housing difficulties, teachers’ workload, and the fact that schools are starved of essential resources are key reasons behind this,”
The Leitrim native called on the government to “tackle housing issues affecting young workers. Teachers’ working conditions must be also tackled through proper investment in schools and in the teaching profession.”
“The OECD report Education at a Glance 2022 ranked Ireland 36th out of 36 countries in terms of investment in second-level education as a percentage of GDP. What this means is under-staffed and under-funded schools, leading to burnout and demoralisation amongst teachers,” said O’Brien.
O’Brien said that while it was “a given” that education “must continuously evolve”, it is teachers who“best understand what will work in the classroom,”
Criticising perceived lack of communication with teachers over curriculum changes she said, “It is teachers who drive change in the classroom,” adding, “ Therefore, side-lining teachers will have implications.”
O’Brien who teaches Home-Ec, Computing, CSPE and SPHE in St Joseph’s Community College, Kilkee, Co. Clare said it was her “objective” to “follow in the footsteps” of her predecessor, Miriam Duggan who passed away last month.