22 May 2024
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has welcomed the publication of Exploring the introduction of the Framework for Junior Cycle: A longitudinal study – Interim report no. 3. This is the third in a series of research reports on the implementation and impact of the Framework for Junior Cycle. It provides further insights into schools’ experiences of working with the Framework since its introduction in 2015.
6 March 2024
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) today opens the public consultation on the redevelopment of the Primary School Curriculum. This landmark step marks the most significant redevelopment of the curriculum in 25 years. Much has changed in our world since the current primary curriculum was introduced in 1999. The children in our primary school classrooms are the adults of tomorrow, and as we look ahead to the world they will live and work in it is important that their experiences in school provide solid foundations for them to thrive and to flourish and reach their full potential.
25 April 2023
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) welcomes the publication of Exploring the introduction of the Framework for Junior Cycle: A longitudinal study – Interim report no. 2. This is the second in a series of research reports on the implementation and impact of the Framework for Junior Cycle and, as such, provides further insights into schools’ experiences of working with the Framework since its introduction in 2015.
25 August 2022
Children’s School Lives: Preschool to Primary School Transition, the fourth report from the Children’s School Lives Study is published today on the website www.cslstudy.ie. The report focuses on the transition from preschool to primary school. The Children’s School Lives study is being carried out by University College Dublin’s (UCD) School of Education on behalf of the NCCA.
29 March 2022
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) is delighted to publish its Senior Cycle Review Advisory Report today following the response from the Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD. The Report by the NCCA records and responds to the views of stakeholders gathered during the four-year review about how Senior Cycle could evolve to meet the needs of our young people. It provides strong foundations for the phased redevelopment of Senior Cycle in the coming years. The NCCA will continue to work closely with schools and stakeholders throughout this process, with the objective of making the renewed vision for Senior Cycle, presented in the Advisory Report, a reality.
2 December 2021
Children’s School Lives in Junior Infants, the third report from the Children’s School Lives Study is published today on the website www.cslstudy.ie. This report focuses on the experiences of 128 junior infants classes in 83 primary schools across Ireland by capturing the experiences of children and parents during the important transition into their first year in primary school.
11 December 2020
The first two reports from the Children’s School Lives study are published today on the website www.cslstudy.ie. The Year One Report introduces us to the children and schools behind Children’s School Lives while a second report ‘Experiences of Remote Teaching and Learning in Ireland During the COVID-19 Pandemic (March – May 2020) provides insights into the impact of the extended school closure earlier this year on children, parents, teachers and school leaders.
16 October 2019
On Wednesday 16th October, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) hosts a national consultation forum in Croke Park, Dublin. Participants will engage with and respond to ideas emerging from its senior cycle review to date. The forum is part of an ongoing public consultation on the vision for senior cycle education emerging from NCCA’s review of senior cycle education which commenced in late 2016.
30 May 2018
Report looks at ways to help children who face greater challenges
The ERSI today published a new study commissioned by NCCA. The vast majority of five year olds are positive about school, look forward to going to school and say good things about school. The study uses Growing Up in Ireland data to examine how 9,000 children adjusted to primary school. It did this by examining their vocabulary skills; their early literacy and numeracy skills; their attitudes to school, their relationships with teachers, and their socio-emotional skills, which include being able to concentrate in class, communicate their needs and to take turns/share with other children. The report also suggests a number of ways to help all children settle in well to primary school. The report is available now on NCCA.ie and ESRI.ie
March 28th 2017
On Tuesday 28th March 2017, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) welcomes 250 teachers, principals and other education partners to a consultative conference in Dublin Castle. Part of the ongoing consultation on the shape and direction of a redeveloped primary school curriculum, the event is designed to engage delegates in discussion and debate on the curriculum for this critical phase in children’s education. This consultation is the first time, in almost twenty years, that those working in primary education have had an opportunity to consider the structure of the curriculum, what it is comprised of and how time is organised across it.
February 14th 2017
A Consultation Report on the proposals for a primary curriculum in Education about Religions and Beliefs (ERB) and Ethics was published today by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). The consultation received the highest response rate recorded by the NCCA and the report shows significant support for the types of teaching and learning outlined by the proposals. The report along with supporting documentation is available.
October 24th 2016
Professor Andy Hargreaves, a world renowned expert in educational change and leadership, visits Ireland this week to meet with teachers, stakeholder organisations, curriculum designers and policy makers. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) is delighted to host Professor Andy Hargreaves, Thomas More Brennan Chair at the Lynch School of Education, Boston College. In partnership with the Department of Education and Skills (DES), the Teaching Council of Ireland and other education partners, NCCA will facilitate a series of events under the theme Leadership for Learning. Teachers, education organisations, curriculum designers and policy makers attending these events will get the chance to meet and engage with Professor Hargreaves.
May 11th 2013
Research Alive - Teachers and Educational Research
Research Alive, a collaboration between the Centre for Effective Services (CES), the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and the Teaching Council, holds a one-day conference for teachers, researchers and policymakers on teachers and educational research in Coláiste Bríde, Clondalkin. In a survey earlier this year, more than 4,000 teachers showed a real appetite to engage with the issue of how to use findings from research to help shape their practice.
November 29th 2012
Member of Advisory Board to Barack Obama Advises Irish Educators on Teaching Mathematics.
Professor Deborah Ball, Dean of the School of Education at the University of Michigan, visits Ireland this week to meet with curriculum designers, teacher educators, policymakers and teachers about improving teacher education and mathematics education in this country. The visit comes just two weeks after President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint Professor Ball to the National Science Board in the United States.
Project Maths Research and Evaluation
Prof. Deborah Loewenberg Ball, Dean of the School of Education at the University of Michigan will launch three research reports about Project Maths in the Marino Institute of Education in Dublin at the end of a conference on teaching, learning and mathematics to be held at the Institute tomorrow. This is the first set of research reports published about Project Maths, the ambitious reform of curriculum, assessment and teaching and learning in post-primary mathematics currently underway.
November 3rd 2011
Minister Quinn backs National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) proposals for junior cycle reform
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., today officially launched proposals which will see radical changes in the way Junior Cycle students are taught and assessed in second level schools. The NCCA proposals will address the problems of rote learning and curriculum overload while providing for greater creativity and innovation.