Teaching outdoor and adventure activities: an investigation of a primary school physical education professional development p

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and professional 
development.
Primary teaching in Ireland is highly unionised with 98% of teachers 
members of the INTO (Coolahan, 2003). The INTO is the only trade union for primary 
teachers and represents over 31,500 teachers in the Republic of Ireland, and has done so 
for the past 130 years. It claims, ‘always to be at the forefront of change and has often 
sought change in order to enhance teaching and learning in schools’ (Irish National 
Teachers' Organisation, 2004a, p. 1). The INTO has ready access to the Department of 
Education and Skills and although there may be differences of opinions at times, there 
are good relationships between the personnel involved, and the INTO participates fully 
in all dealings regarding primary teaching (Coolahan, 2003). 
The INTO state that the investment made by the government at pre-service level 
should be maximised and built upon with the provision of a comprehensive programme 
of induction leading onto continuing professional development (Irish National Teachers' 
Organisation, 2004a). The INTO believes that lifelong professional development 
opportunities should be ‘an expectation for all teachers’ (p. 69). The INTO also 
recognise the complexity involved in providing professional development opportunities 
for over 20,000 teachers, in diverse geographic conditions with varying teacher and 
school needs. Following dissemination of a Professional Development Needs Analysis 
questionnaire in 2005, the INTO found that a high percentage of teachers regularly 
undertake professional development voluntarily, underlining their commitment to 
professional learning. A total of 75% (N= 706) of respondents had undertaken 
professional development, not related to the primary curriculum in the previous three 
years (Irish National Teachers' Organisation, 2006) and 57% of these were through 
summer courses and 21% were accredited courses leading to postgraduate 
qualifications. Funding for school related professional development was the remit of 
the Department of Education and Science, according to 83% of respondents, and the 

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majority of respondents (70%) preferred that professional development occur during 
school time.
The INTO also highlight that alongside funding ‘time for planning must become 
an integral part of the school timetable. And schools must continue to have access to 
support and advice as required’ (2006, p. 1). The INTO recognise that there are 
increased opportunities for teachers to engage in professional development activities 
but relatively little time allowed to engage with these opportunities, with many of the 
opportunities provided outside of school hours. It maintains that ‘one of the most 
pressing requirements is the need to develop comprehensive and high quality in-service 
training. This training must be broad enough to cover all aspects of change and deep 
enough to cover them accurately’ (Irish National Teachers' Organisation, 2004a). The 
INTO have been lobbying for a National Framework for Professional Development for 
a number of years. This framework would meet, 
system, school and individual needs and address the issues of funding, time and 
accreditation. A variety of approaches… needs to be facilitated…in-school 
days, off-site seminars, summer courses, evening courses, certificate, diploma 
and masters courses, online courses, sabbatical leave and study leave. (Irish 
National Teachers' Organisation, 2006, p. 37-38)
The INTO are well organised and have a very strong say in policy issues 
sometimes requiring protracted negotiation (Coolahan, 2003), however the fact remains 
that they are the main trade union representing Irish primary school teachers. The 
INTO are one of the main providers of professional development opportunities for 
teachers and although teachers complete formal evaluation forms which ‘testify to their 
re-energising effect and the fresh sense of direction it gives their work’ (Coolahan, 
2003, p. 60), these professional development opportunities have not been scrutinised by 
any independent evaluation.