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DNN Council's Consultation on the Junior Cycle
The Dáil na nÓg (DNN) Council hosted a national consultation day with young people from all over the country on 13th November 2010 to talk about the Junior Cycle (first three years in secondary school) and how it could be changed and improved for future generations.
Chairperson for the day, Jessica Dowdall from the DNN Council
The consultation was carried out in conjunction with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), which is responsible for the material that is taught in schools and was seeking the views of different groups on how the Junior Cycle could be changed.
Over 100 young people from around the country attended the event to give their views and ideas on the things that young people learn, the ways they learn and how the Junior Cycle could be changed. The members of the Council planned the consultation and had key roles on the day. They will also oversee the production and launch of a report of the findings from the day and present these findings to relevant policy makers in early 2011.
The ‘World Cafe' discussion method was used at the event; the method was useful because it gave young people the opportunity to discuss a number of themes in the one day. The young people talked about:
• Their favourite things to learn
• What should be taught in the first three years of secondary school
• Different ways students' progress could be assessed
• How they like to learn
In order to get as many different and new ideas as possible, the young people also did a ‘blue sky’ exercise where they thought about what changes they would make if they were the Minister in charge of education and the ‘sky was the limit’.
The opinions that the young people expressed about the Junior Cycle during these discussions will be fed into a final report that will go the NCCA. Two of the Dáil na nÓg Council members will present the main findings from the consultation day at an event being hosted by the NCCA in 2011.
Rory McShane and Dorina Birsanu from the Council closing the event.
A big thank you to all the young people who travelled from all over the country for the day to have their voices heard!
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