Teaching & Learning Excellence

All initial teacher education programmes at MIC were reviewed by the Teaching Council with reference to Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education, published by the Teaching Council in October 2020. This review followed an intensive period of consultation by the Teaching Council with all ITE providers from October 2019. From October 2020 to April 2023, the Faculty of Education prepared the documentation for submission of the 11 programmes listed below to the Teaching Council. The process was underpinned by the core values of consultation, collaboration, collegiality, participation and democracy and a commitment to data collection and analysis in the faculty's endeavours to identify opportunities beyond compliance during the re-accreditation process.

Programme Title Bachelor of Education (B Ed) Programme Title B Ed International B Ed in Education and Psychology Professional Master of Education (Primary Teaching) BA in Education, Business Studies and Accounting BA in Education, Business Studies and Religious Studies BA in Education, Gaeilge and Business Studies BA in Education, Gaeilge and Religious Studies BA in Education, Mathematics and Gaeilge BA in Education, Mathematics and Business Studies BA in Education, Home Economics and Business Studies (Commencing AY 23/24) Review Panel Visit and Outcomes

Programmes Submitted to the Teaching Council

Faculty of Education's eleven initial teacher education programmes submitted to the Teaching Council:

• Bachelor of Education (B Ed)
• B Ed International
• B Ed in Education and Psychology
• Professional Master of Education (Primary Teaching)
• BA in Education, Business Studies and Accounting
• BA in Education, Business Studies and Religious Studies
• BA in Education, Gaeilge and Business Studies
• BA in Education, Gaeilge and Religious Studies
• BA in Education, Mathematics and Gaeilge
• BA in Education, Mathematics and Business Studies
• BA in Education, Home Economics and Business Studies (Commencing AY 23/24)

Review Panel Visit and Outcomes

As the Final Phase in the reaccreditation process, a Review Panel from the Teaching Council visited MIC Limerick and MIC Thurles on 22 and 23 October. Colleagues across the Faculty met with and presented to the panel. The panel also invited contributions from graduates, current students and former principals. At the end of the visit, the review panel members communicated their appreciation for the warm welcome, the comprehensive documentation they received and the professionalism of all colleagues they met during their visits.

Following the visit of the Teaching Council (TC) Review Panel to MIC Limerick and MIC Thurles on 23 and 24 October regarding the accreditation of MIC's eleven initial teacher education (ITE) programmes, the TC Review Panel's reports were received by MIC on 13 December 2023.

The TC Review Panel captured the essence of each of the programmes in a comprehensive, rigorous, meticulous and authentic manner. Specifically, the TC Review Panel noted "the deep commitment of the staff to providing high quality Initial Teacher Education in MIC" and acknowledged "the openness and rigour with which MIC, Limerick used the accreditation process to reflect, review, and reimagine their original conceptual framework to ensure that the overall programme structure and design fully aligns with the 'Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education".

The eleven ITE programmes being delivered at MIC Limerick and MIC Thurles met all of the criteria set out in the Teaching Council's document: Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education to the highest level of excellence. The Teaching Council informed the College that reaccreditation would be granted provided the non-compliance with the TC's staff to student ratio of 1:15 in the affected programmes was rectified within six months.

Staff-Student Ratio

Regarding the primary programmes (B Ed/B Ed in Education & Psychology and PME), a key compliance criterion related to the staff to student ratio. The College submitted a detailed recruitment plan to the HEA regarding a phased staffing expansion and following completion of funding arrangements a 15:1 ratio is now in operation.

Memoranda of Agreement with the HSE and the National Educational Psychology Service (NEPS) were in various stages of completion. As per the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the HSE, which was in place for three cohorts of trainees (2023-26, 2024-27, 2025-28), seven funded places were agreed for AY 2024-25. The HSE covered 60% of the fees and provided a salary of approximately €41,000 to trainees. The MOA with NEPS covered one cohort of trainees (2023-26). Funding arrangements for AY 2024/25 had yet to be agreed with NEPS, and a meeting was scheduled to clarify bursary arrangements for AY 2024/25 and to highlight the need for longer-term planning.

The majority of Year 2 and Year 3 trainees availed of a bursary of €30,000/year from NEPS commencing January 2023. MOAs were in place with NEPS for these cohorts.

Ten DECPsy trainees graduated at the MIC Graduation Ceremony on Friday 27 October.

As part of the redevelopment of the Primary School Curriculum, NCCA launched the consultation process for five areas: Arts Education; Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) in the Primary Language Curriculum; Social and Environmental Education (SEE); Science, Technology and Engineering Education (STE); and Wellbeing.

The consultation process included several components, including written submissions, questionnaires, and focus group events. The redeveloped Primary School Curriculum had significant implications for Initial Teacher Education (outside of Céim). The Faculty of Education worked on the completion of the written submission for each of the five areas. As part of this preparation, a briefing morning on the new curriculum specifications was organised on Wednesday, 27 March.

Most importantly, the briefing sessions were facilitated by Faculty members who led, or were key specialists on, four of the curriculum development groups:

Science, Technology and Engineering Education (STE) - Prof. Aisling Leavy

Social and Environmental Education (SEE) - Dr Anne Dolan

Arts Education - Dr Ailbhe Kenny & Dr Dorothy Morrissey

Wellbeing - Dr Richard Bowles, Dr Gerard Farrelly & Dr Margaret Nohilly

A Physical Education Teacher Education Team at MIC was one of four teams nationally to be honoured for their "remarkable contributions" by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) at the Disciplinary Excellence in Learning, Teaching and Assessment (DELTA) Awards on 29 May.

The ceremony celebrated outstanding achievements in teaching, learning, and assessment by teams from higher education institutions across Ireland. The MIC staff team was introduced by Dr Katherine Whitehurst, Director of Teaching and Learning at the LEAD Centre, at the event. The team was led by Dr Michelle Dillon and included Professor Déirdre Ní Chróinín, Dr Richard Bowles, Dr Niamh Kitching, Laura Harrison and Dr Rosemarie Martin together with postgraduate research students Grace Cardiff and Gráinne Regan, and undergraduate students Rachel Dwyer and Emma Tarrant.

On 25 April, MIC was awarded two prestigious Education Awards in recognition of excellence in the areas of Diversity, Inclusion and Equality and in Community Academic Collaboration.

MIC and the Middletown Centre for Autism were jointly awarded the Best Community Academic Collaboration Award for their well-established partnership on the delivery of the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and the MA in Autism Studies