ETBI-News-Summer-2016-web

DCU launches Further
Education and Training
Research Centre (FETRC)
By Dr Justin Rami, coordinator of the activities of FETRC
and lecturer and researcher in the School of Education
Studies/Institute of Education, DCU.
In February 2016, DCU marked the
establishment of DCU’s Further
Education & Training Research
Centre (FETRC) with the first in a series
of public lectures designed to raise
awareness of the future role of Further
Education and Training (FET) in the
State.
The attendance was full to capacity
with over 150 specially invited guests
including: Dr Gary Granville, NCAD; Pat
O’Mahony, ETBI; Colette Harrison, QQI;
Dr Ann Campbell, President of DkIT;
staff from Department of Education
and Skills, Further Education Support
Service (FESS), ETBs and SOLAS, as
well as policy makers, practitioners and
students.
Speaking at the launch were DCU’s
President Professor Brian MacCraith,
Professor Joe O’Hara, Fiona Hartley,
Executive Director of SOLAS and Dr
Justin Rami, Director of FETRC. Dr Rami
said, ‘Part of the work of FETRC will
examine how practice can influence
policy. Using evidenced-based research
should be a significant driver of policy
development.’ By establishing this new
Research Centre, Dr Rami suggested
that ‘the time is right to raise research
above the current platforms, and
ensure that all voices are heard.’
The launch of the Research Centre
marks an historic part of the new
history of DCU and the DCU Institute
of Education. The Institute of
Education will be of internationally
significant scale and will build on
the pioneering research in priority
areas for 21st century education
previously undertaken by the four
partner institutions (DCU, Church of
Ireland College of Education, Mater Dei
Institute of Education and St Patrick’s
College, Drumcondra). The vision, scale
and expertise of the Institute give it the
potential to transform the landscape of
education in Ireland.
Giving the inaugural lecture, Adjunct
Professor Dermot Stokes reflected
on the evolution of FET in Ireland,
the influences and factors that have
shaped that evolution and issues
arising regarding policy, practice and
research both in FET itself and at
its intersections with second level
and higher education. He proposed
that wider social and cultural
processes should inform present
concerns regarding participation
and outcomes. In his lecture he
argued that institutional and system
memory are critically important in
understanding the FET landscape and
that new structural and institutional
arrangements offer a key opportunity to
build a comprehensive knowledge base
through research that is both rigorous
and relevant.
Important developments in FET in
Ireland suggest the need to develop
research capacity capable of informing
innovation across the sector at both
a regional and national level. In
2016 there were 5076 more CAO
applications than there were in 2013.
However, many observers now question
whether the continual increase in
higher-level enrolment best serves
the interests of both young people
and employers and argue the need for
a robust FET sector as an essential
complement to higher education (HE)
provision. Recent data show that on
average 11.5% of first years in HE do
not progress to second year. Ongoing
research by DCU’s Further Education
& Training Research Centre (FETRC)
suggests that this isn’t just a problem
for HEIs; it is a systemic problem that
bridges post-primary, further education
& training and higher education.
Recently John Sweeney (formerly of
NESC) addressed a gathering of FET
stakeholders at the invitation of ETBI.
He suggested that Higher Education
might be less of a guarantee of
employment success in the future.
Indeed, some HE graduates work in
elementary occupations. He said, “Past
performance is no guarantee for the
present or the future”. Dr Sweeney
suggested that over the coming
decades there will be a strong demand
for people with intermediate skills, and
"Though the drive from
government is closely focused
on job creation, youth
unemployment is still hovering
around 20% in the State."
Section 1 | National and European Events issue 3 – 2016 ETBI 35