A West Clare principal insists any change to the length of teacher training courses must prioritise in-person teaching practice.
It comes at the Tánaiste has announced his intention to reduce the length of teaching training courses by a half, bringing it down to just one year, in an attempt to attract more people into the profession.
With widespread teacher shortages observed in all parts of the country, the re-introduction of top-up payments for additional teaching qualifications has been proposed as another means of enticing people into teaching.
However, St Joseph’s Community College Kilkee Principal Agnes Hehir is adamant that the reduction in the length of training must not impact on the amount of practical experience teachers gain over the course of their studies.
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