Curriculum Change and Reform, with Particular Emphasis on Junior Cycle Reform 

Ger McSweeney, Grace McNicholas, David Walsh, Aaron Blackburn, Fionnuala Forkan, Jordan Harrison, Aisling Hughes-Jones , Michael Faney

Overview
Beginning on a phased basis in September 2014, the New Junior cycle features
revised subjects and short courses and focuses more on literacy & Numeracy ,
key skills and has new forms of assessment and reporting.
With the addition of the Junior cycle Key skills, the new junior cycle help learners
develop knowledge, skills and attitudes to face the challenges of the world
today, while also supporting students in learning how to take responsibility for
their own Learning.
Throughout this poster we will explain Curriculum reform with emphasis on the
junior cycle using the following headings: Teaching Strategies, Learning From
Abroad, Stake Holders of Junior Certificate Reform and Assessment for key skills
while also focusing on Transition year and how it allows students to partake in
different activities and new experiences which will help to prepare them for the
demands of senior cycle and Adulthood.
Teaching Strategies under JC reform
The introduction of the new JC reform has changed the way in which students
learn in the classroom. The new Junior Cert includes a lot more areas in which
groupwork and collaborative learning can occur. Covid 19 has hindered some of
the close contact groupwork but here is one way we can stay connected whilst
also staying safe.  In 1994, Transition Year was mainstreamed, and it went from the Transition
• Peer Assessment with specific success criteria.
• The students can use their phones or the computers that are in the graphics
room to log onto Microsoft teams. There the teacher can virtually give
instructions or set tasks and break the class into groups.
• The students can communicate through the teams chat to work as a group.
After five minutes the groups break into sub-groups and discuss what they
have learned and then after a set time return to their original groups, where
the success criteria can be shared, refined and agreed upon.
•    Finally, the students can peer review each others work based on the success
criteria agreed upon and the completed work can be submitted to the teacher.
Learnings from Abroad  sometimes thought of as a 'gap year' for students between Junior and
Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence  Senior cycle. In an article which looks at the growth of the programme in
• Aims for closer links between primary and post-primary.
• Target to improve student engagement with curricula.
• Lack of clear guidance for teachers and pupils.
• Too much change at once.
Singapore Learning for Life  However, two studies have shown direct correlation between
• Move away from student ranking based system.
• Engagement with industry to make education more relevant to jobs market.
• More empowerment for teachers to influence curricula.
• Highly revered education system internationally.
Australian Education  Korea and Singapore(McGuire, 2019). With the reform of the Junior
• No centralised examinations.
• Fully classroom-based assessment methods.
• Increased freedom for teachers to experiment with varied assessment
methods.
Junior Cycle Reform
Junior Cycle Reform
The new junior cycle features revised subjects and short courses, a focus on
literacy, numeracy and key skills, and new approaches of assessment and
reporting.
Why was the Junior Cycle Reformed?
- Education is moving away from the idea that learning only occurs where
teaching occurs.
- The Junior Cycle was reformed to aid the above statement. The Junior
Cycle focuses on literacy, numeracy and developing new skills. ‘Key skills
help learners develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to face the many
challenges in today’s world. They also support students in learning how to
learn and to take responsibility for their own learning’ 1(NCCA, 2020).
Junior Cycle Maths Junior Cycle Graphics
New features of this specification
include learning outcomes across a
The new Junior Cycle Graphics
course is split into three strands.
unifying strand which permeate all the 2D graphics is covered in first
other strands: Number, Geometry and year, 3D Graphics  is covered in
trigonometry, Algebra and functions and second year and  Applied
Statistics and probability, Graphics is covered in third year.
Transition Year
Year Option to Transition Year Programme. Although, it is still optional in
most schools, there is a much higher participation rate than there was
before. This year acts as a bridge year for students who have completed the
Junior Cycle and will then go on to Senior Cycle. It's a year that focuses
mainly on the personal development of students. 
Some of the main purposes of TY are outlined as followed, by the NCCA: 
• Students will be exposed to new experiences that will prepare them to be
participative members of society.
• Help prepare them for the demands of the adult world of work.
• Prepare them for greater responsibilities and decision, which will
be useful during Senior Cycle for things such as subject choices and CAO.
There have been concerns over the effectiveness of TY as it is
the last decade, it was suggested that students being less exposed to formal
mathematics in a TY classroom could be the cause for the relative decline in
Ireland's performance in mathematics tests when compared to other
countries ²(Clerkin, 2013).
TY participation and higher grades in the Leaving Cert Examination
³(Jeffers, 2011). There was an average difference of 26 points between those
who complete the TY programme and those who do not. Other countries
have shown interest in our Transition Year programme, including South
cycle, and suggestion of a reform of the Senior Cycle, having more of a focus
on personal development and self-directed learning, there is a possibility
that transition year could lose its significance in the development of
students.
Stake Holders of the Junior Certificate Reform
The stake holders of the Junior Certificate Reform include any group who influence the reform, examples of such groups would include
The Department of Ed, NCCA, Teacher unions (ASTI &TUI), Parent councils, Student Councils and School Boards of Management.
Rational for Change 
The facts showed that many students were struggling with Literacy, Numeracy and staying engaged. The old model promoted teaching
towards an exam and so a lack of understanding was common. The Department of Education hope, that by implementing a curriculum
reform it will give schools more freedom to create a more student tailored Junior Cycle.
Concerns: 
ASTI & TUI
Opposed to the original proposition of teachers marking their own student’s third year exams,   
issues and concerns where alarmed which helped and sparked the interests of curriculum reform.
School Boards of Management 
The main worry’s and concerns schools have with regard to the reform, is that they will not have the teacher numbers to cover the new
short courses of the new Junior Cycle or the budget to afford more teachers. 
Assessment for Key Skills
There are eight key skills that the curriculum aims to impart to students that will help them 
to develop the knowledge and attitude required to succeed in their education and lives; 
being literate, managing myself, staying well, managing information and thinking, 
being numerate, being creative, working with others and communicating. 
The assessment strategies differ between junior cycle and transition year,
allowing for growing independence in learning. Formative and Summative
assessment are applied in both.
Junior Cycle Assessment for Key Skills: homework assignments, weekly quizzes,
projects and presentations are examples of formative assessment strategies.
End of year exams, unit by unit exams and weekly written tests are methods
of summative assessment strategies.
Transition Year Assessment for Key Skills: There is an emphasis on group projects, 
reports from work experience and pupils recording and reporting on their own progress 
and key competencies they have attained.
Junior Cycle Classroom Based Assessments: CBA’s ‘provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their learning and skills in ways
not possible in a pen and paper examination, for example, their verbal communication and investigation skills’ 5(JCT, 2020).
Conclusions
In conclusion, the following poster was created to explain "Curriculum Change and Reform, with particular emphasis on Junior Cycle
Reform".
The Junior Cycle has been reformed to create a better teaching and learning environment for all. Many school organizational cultures
and stakeholders' such as the NCCA, teaching unions, parent associations, student councils and school boards of management have
prompted the reform. Research and findings from reforms abroad including Australian Education, Singapore Learning for Life, and
Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence appear to have similarities and overlaps which suggests that they have encouraged the reform
here in Ireland. 
Key skills have been embedded in the new Junior Cycle as ‘Key skills help learners develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to face
the many challenges in today’s world. They also support students in learning how to learn and to take responsibility for their own
learning’ 6(NCCA, 2020). Alternative methods of assessment have been introduced catering assessments for learning such as formative
assessments. Formative assessments include homework assignments, weekly quizzes, presentations or debates and Cba's.
Transition year allows students to further develop their educational experiences and complete work experience which allows them to
enhance their key skills such as knowing/managing yourself in a workplace. Junior Cert reform and Transition year facilitate much more
cross subject collaboration. For example Math's and Graphics both share factors of Numbers, Geometry and Trigonometry. With the
inclusion of subject collaboration, the different subjects' departments can work jointly, increasing student interests, engagement and
learning productivity.

References:
1. NCCA.ie https://ncca.ie/en/junior-cycle/framework-for-junior-cycle#panel4  
2. Clerkin, A., 2013. Growth of the ‘Transition Year’ programme nationally and in schools serving disadvantaged students, 1992–2011. Irish Educational Studies, 32(2), pp.197-215.
3.   Jeffers, G., 2011. The Transition Year programme in Ireland. Embracing and resisting a curriculum innovation. The Curriculum Journal, 22(1), pp.61-76.
4. McGuire, P., 2019. Transition year: Why other countries are copying the Irish ‘doss' year. The Irish Times,.
5. JCT. (2020). Junior Cycle Information. Retrieved from Junior Cycle for Teachers: https://www.jct.ie/perch/resources/leadership/jcinfoparentspostprimaryleaflet.pdf
6. NCCA. (2020). Key Skills. Retrieved from National Council for Curriculum and Assessment: https://www.curriculumonline.ie/Junior-cycle/Key-Skills/