The History of the Instructional Leadership Programme

The Programme was born out of a conversation between the Education Officer (EO), County Cork VEC (CCVEC)[1] and a then member of the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills (DoESk)[2]. The Inspector had met Professor Barrie Bennett at an International Conference and captivated by his work. He initially invited Professor Bennett to visit Ireland, through the Special Education Support Services (SESS)[3].

It is anticipated that as the Instructional Leadership Programme develops and progresses, Barrie’s legacy in terms of his contribution to improving the quality of Teaching and Learning in Irish schools will be a rich one indeed.

Select Publications: The following is a select bibliography focusing particularly on key texts written or co-authored by Barrie Bennett relating to instructional intelligence:

Bennett, B. (2009). Graphic Intelligence. Toronto, ON: Bookation.

Bennett, B., & Rolheiser, C. (2001). Beyond Monet: The Artful Science of Instructional Integration. Toronto, ON: Bookation.

Bennett, B., Rolheiser, C., & Stevahn, L. (1991). Cooperative Learning: Where Heart Meets Mind. Toronto, ON: Educational Connections.

Bennet, B. and Smilanich, P. (1994). Classroom Management: A Thinking and Caring Approach. Toronto, ON: Bookation.

Initiating the Programme:

A number of weeks later the Inspector and the EO met to discuss the potential of working with Professor Bennett on an ongoing basis through the then VEC sector, now ETB sector. Having discussed the potential benefits of the proposal to the teaching and learning in VEC schools/colleges it was agreed that I would take the proposal to the CEEOA[4], the professional organisation for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Education Officers (EOs) of VECs. Interest and support was generated through the organisation; one CEO and one other EO offered their support in terms of the organisation and administration associated with the proposal.

It was agreed that Professor Bennett would be invited to lead a series of one-day workshops to provide an introduction to his work and to outline the potential improvements in teaching and learning that can be achieved through a research based and collaborative a approach.

Five one-day workshops were planned and hosted strategically around the country to facilitate ease of access by school personnel. All VEC schools/colleges were invited to send representatives. Figure 1

Workshop number:	Location:	Number of VECs represented:	Number of VEC schools /Colleges represented:
2	Adare, Co. Limerick	4	38
3	Cavan	3	13
4	Naas	3	27
5	Portlaoise*	This session was for the CEOs and EOs of VECs. The then Chief Inspector was also present.

Table 1: The location and level of attendance at the Introductory Workshops, facilitated by Professor Barrie Bennet

These workshops generated a very level of interest within the VEC sector, which provided an impetus to develop context-based programme for schools in the VEC sector. A once off grant of €70,000 was secured from the DoESk to support the programme and was lodged to the account of The IVEA. No further funding was received. Participation in the programme is funded through the school/college/centre budget.

Work commenced on the procurement of a venue, The Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort was the successful tender. This venue was chosen for a number of reasons, in no particular order;

• It’s relative centrality for ease of access by schools/colleges across the country.
• The relative remoteness of the venue and non-ease of access to services in the locality that could result in the dispersion of the group at the end of each day.
• The services available at the hotel in terms of leisure.
• The per person conference package cost.
• The conference facilities.
• The number of bedrooms available.

Programme Development:

The Programme was ambitious in its time as it is aimed specifically at improving pedagogy. It required a school collaborative approach, requiring the principal or deputy principal to participate, and was based on a model of learning that provided for engagement & emersion (it was residential based) and  modelling & practice (participants were actively involved in the learning and were required to implement their learning between sessions). Work began on developing a professional learning programme for schools in the VEC sector which aimed to:

• Make teachers ‘consciously competent’
• Develop teacher’s ‘instructional repertoire’ of skills, tactics and strategies.
• Develop a common language among teachers that will support and enhance professional conversation.
• Foster an awareness of how a teacher’s actions can impact on student learning – motivation, novelty, authenticity, accountability and safety.
• Re/Acquaint teachers with the extent to which learning is affected by; diverse learning styles, multiple intelligences, ‘at risk environment’ etc.

In discussion with Prof Bennett the following ground rules were set in terms of registering schools:

• The programme was to be focused on instruction and systemic change, Professor Bennett outlined his lack of interest in delivering workshops that would not make a difference to classroom practice. He was particularly interested in ‘changing a country’ and pledged his support to work with us for ten years.
• Each workshop would be of 2.5-day duration and would be residential based.
• The programme would focus on upskilling three members of the school team, one of which, had to be the principal or deputy principal. The other two members were at the discretion of the school management. ‘School leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an influence on pupil learning’ (Leithwood et al, 2008, p. 27).
• Two workshops per year would be held.
• The programme would be organised through CCVEC, the EO for which she and her PA would take responsibility on behalf of IVEA and CEEOA.  The finance would be managed by the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA). IVEA would also be the branding authority and the awarding body for the Certificate of Completion.
• No substitution was available to schools/college, attendance at the workshops had to be met from the school Substitution & Supervision allocation or by other means at the discretion of the school.

Participating Schools – Cohort 1

A letter of invitation to participate in the programme was issued to all VEC schools/colleges and copied to the CEOs and EOs of the VECs. This invitation generated the first Cohort of participating schools (Table 2).

VEC:	School/College
Co. Cork VEC	Davis College
Co. Cork VEC	St. Aidan’s College
Co. Cork VEC	Coláiste Mhuire
Co. Cork VEC	Coláiste an Chraoibhín
Co. Cork VEC	St. Goban’s College
Co. Cork VEC	Ardscoil Phobal Bheanntraí
Co. Cork VEC	St. Colman’s College
Co. Cork VEC	Mannix College
Co. Cork VEC	McEgan College
Co. Wicklow VEC	Abbey Community College
Co. Wicklow VEC	Arklow Community College
Co. Wicklow VEC	Avondale Community College
Co. Wicklow VEC	Blessington Community College
Co. Wicklow VEC	Coláiste Bhríde
Co. Wicklow VEC	Gael Choláiste na Mara
Co. Wicklow VEC	St. Kevin’s Community College
Co. Wicklow VEC	St. Thomas’s Community College
Co. Wicklow VEC	Scoil Chonglais
Co. Wicklow VEC	Coláiste Chraobh Abhann
Tipperary South Riding VEC	Coláiste Chluain Meala
Tipperary South Riding VEC	St. Sheelan’s College
Tipperary South Riding VEC	St. Ailbe’s College
Co. Kildare VEC	Pipers Hill College
Co. Kildare VEC	Athy College
Co. Kerry VEC	Listowel Community College
Co. Kerry VEC	Tralee Community College
Co. Kerry VEC	Causeway Comprehensive School
Co. Kerry VEC	Coláiste na Sceilge
Co. Kerry VEC	Killorglin Community College
Co. Kerry VEC	Killarney Community College
Co. Kerry VEC	Castleisland Community College
Co. Kerry VEC	Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí
Co. Galway VEC	Coláiste na Coiribe
Co. Galway VEC	Galway Community College
Co. Donegal VEC	Coláiste Magh Éne
Co. Donegal VEC	Moville Community College
Co. Donegal VEC	St. Catherine’s Vocational School
Co. Waterford VEC	Coláiste Chathail Naofa
Co. Waterford VEC	St. Declan’s Community College
Co. Cavan VEC	Breifne College
Co. Carlow VEC	Carlow Vocational School
Co. Carlow VEC	Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach

Table 2: List of participating VECs and schools/colleges in Cohort 1.

Programme Structure:

The programme for Cohort 1 was hosted over five, 2.5-day workshops in a two-and-a-half-year period, commencing in March 2009 with the Cohort graduating in September 2011. 

As Cohort 1 followed the programme, there was significant interest and demand to participate from other schools/colleges in the VEC and sectors. This led to the establishment of Cohort 2.

As time progressed our colleague sectors, JMB and ACCS, showed significant interest in being involved in the programme and as a result an invitation to participate was issued resulting in the establishment of Cohort 3 (Table 3).

Sector VEC:	Number of School/College
ETB	45
JMB	4
ACCS	4
Youthreach	N/A
FEC	N/A

Table 3: Cross sectoral enrolment for Cohort 3.

Ongoing Participation in the Programme.

The programme has gone from strength to strength since its’ inception. A total of 1,653 teachers have now accessed the programme at national level (Table 4).

Table 4. Number of participant teachers in each cohort.

The programme not only has been extended to include the non-ETB sectors but to also include Youthreach centres and colleges of further education (Table 5).

Cohort:	ETB Schools:	Voluntary Secondary Schools:	Community Schools:	Comprehensive Schools:	Youthreach Centres:	FE Colleges:	Total Participants
1	44	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	117
2	45	4	2	2	N/A	N/A	139
3	16	4	4	0	5	3	90
4	24	4	2	1	13	1	107
5	22	8	3	0	7	1	108
6	21	11	7	1	3	1	120
7	18	8	7	1	3	0	97
8	17	6	4	1	1	2	109
9	26	12	5	0	0	1	118
10	35	7	3	1	0	1	111
11	10	25	3	0	1	3	119
12	21	11	5	0	0	6	115
13	16	11	3	1	1	3	102
14	13	12	2	0	0	2	91
15	22	12	3	1	0	0	110

Table 5: The number of participating schools and centres across the sectors.

As the Cohorts progressed new schools/centres to the programme were prioritised over schools that had previously engaged in the programme. However, two significant facts resulted in the need to review the enrolment procedure; the rapid changes to the public sector, with teachers, principals and deputy principals retiring resulted in the depletion of the core trained ‘Instructional Leadership Team’ in a school/centre and the need for a larger core team in the bigger schools, which is becoming a feature of post-primary education in Ireland. The programme is now available on a first come first served basis. Interesting at present we no longer need to produce promotional material, the programme is generating a ‘waiting list’. It was policy that two cohorts would be hosted simultaneously but with effect spring 2016, three cohorts will be hosted simultaneously arising from the demand.

The establishment of and work of the Steering Committee

By 2010 the interest in accessing the programme increased even more resulting in an intensified workload associated with the programme. It was agreed that a Steering Committee should be established to assist in the organisation and development of the programme. The committee members were chosen for their experience with the programme and/or their role within the sector. The committee, which has since extended its composition, initially comprised of:

• EO CCVEC
• The DoESk Inspector, in an advisory capacity.
• Members of Cohort 1
• 2 EOs of VECs

We went on to draft a plan of action to further develop and implement the programme.

This work included:

• Giving the programme an official title.
• The documenting of the programme in a modular format to assist graduates in the delivery of the programme in their own settings.
• The development of a website to facilitate discussion, the sharing of resources and the promotion of the programme.
• The formal launch and ongoing delivery of the programme.
• The organisation of an Annual National Conference.
• The publication of information and promotional materials.

Over the course of the next number of years much of the action plan was implemented. The Steering Committee agreed that the programme needed a title as it was fast gaining ground as the ‘Barrie Bennett Programme’, this needed to be curbed so as to reflect the nature of our vision for systemic change and develop a position with the educational field that reflected what we were trying to achieve in developing the pedagogy of teachers to ensure high quality teaching and learning in classrooms. After much reflection the title The Instructional Leadership Programme (ILP) was decided upon as it was considered to be reflective of the focus of the programme.

Once a title was assigned the programme was documented and organised into fourteen distinct modules, using the material of Professor Bennett and supplemented with materials pertinent to Irish education i.e. School Self-Evaluation, and Assessment. PowerPoint resources were developed to accompany each module and video footage was take of workshops to support the delivery of each module at local level.

Modules:

• The Principles of ILP
• The Concepts of ILP
• Instructional Concepts and Skills
• Instructional Tactics
• Instructional Organisers
• Lesson Design
• Co-operative Learning
• Concept Attainment
• Concept Formation
• Mind & Concept Mapping
• Academic Controversy
• Assessment
• Instructional Skills
• Self-Evaluation and Improvement

The Official Launch of the Programme

A website was developed, and a host of material was uploaded. In 2011 the then Minister for Education & Skills, Mr. Ruairí Quinn T.D. officially launched the programme and the website at the Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort.

Other Developments:

National Conference

The inaugural National Instructional Leadership Conference took place in September 2012 and has since become an annual event in the IL calendar, with teachers coming from all over the country to share practice and experience as well as to gain insight from the keynote speakers. Figure 6

Conference:	Keynote Speaker:	Number in attendance:
2012	Dr. Harold Hislop, Chief Inspector with the DoESk	86
2013	Mr. Tomás O Ruairc, Director of the Teaching Council of Ireland	45
2014	Dr. Barrie Bennett, Professor Emeritus, University of Ontario   Dr. Pádraig Hogan, Senior Lecturer, NUIM   Mr. Anthony Malone, Lecturer, NUIM	73
2015	Mr. Clive Byrne, Director of NAPD	138
2016 International Conference	Professor David Hopkins, Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Education, University of London     Dr. Barrie Bennett, Professor Emeritus, University of Ontario, Canada     Ms. Joanne Myers, Elementary Teachers’ Federation, Ontario, Canada     Ms Pat Byrne, President, State Schools Teachers’ Union of Western Australia     Ms. Carmen Druyen, Teacher for English, Pedagogics and Psychology in Duisburg, Germany     Ms. Paola Debernardi, A teacher of English in State Secondary Schools in Italy     Dr. Becky Saunders, Murdoch University-School of Education, Perth, Australia     Professor John Coolahan, Professor Emeritus of Education, NUI, Maynooth.     Mr. Tomás Ó Ruairc, Director of e Teaching Council of Ireland	173
2017	Dr. Barrie Bennett, Professor Emeritus, University of Ontario, Canada	48
2018	Mr Tomás Ó Ruairc, Director of the Teaching Council of Ireland   Dr. Becky Saunders, Murdoch University-School of Education, Perth, Australia   Barry Slattery, Director of Curriculum an Assessment, NCCA	78
2023	Ms Yvonne Keating, Chief Inspector, Department of Education   Dr Rebecca Saunders, Assistant Professor Mary Immaculate College, (MIC), Thurles   Dr Joseph Moynihan, Lecturer, University College Cork   Mr. Coran Swayne, Primary School Teacher	64

Reference: www.instructionalleadership.ie

If you are interested in learning more about the history of the ILP, please visit tab 4, Publications on this website to view our publication Instructional Leadership History,  2008-2018 or email us at [email protected]

[1] CCVEC and City of Cork VEC were amalgamated in 2013 to form Cork ETB

[2] DoESk is now the Department of Education (DE)

[3] SESS is now part Oide

[4] CEEOA was a professional association for CEOs and Education Officers of VECs.