An analysis of Holistic Education/Development

regarding Junior Cycle reforms at second level

in Irish education

Lorcan Gibney G00323548

Submitted for the Award of

Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Education

(Design, Graphics and Construction)

to
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Letterfrack

Research Supervisor: Anthony Clare

Readers: Dr Susan Rogers & Dr Pauline Logue-Collins

Programme: B.Sc. (Hons) in Education (Design, Graphics and Construction)

Module Title: Dissertation

Date Submitted: 23 / March / 2018

PLAGIARISM DISCLAIMER
STUDENT NAME: LORCAN GIBNEY
STUDENT NUMBER: G00323548

PROGRAMME: B.SC. IN EDUCATION (DESIGN, GRAPHICS AND

CONSTRUCTION)

YEAR: 4TH

MODULE: DISSERTATION

ASSIGNMENT TITLE: An analysis of Holistic Education/Development

regarding Junior Cycle reforms at second level in Irish education
DUE DATE: 23/3/18
DATE SUBMITTED: 23/3/18
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1. Abstract

When it comes to reconsidering the existing educational structure, Holistic Education offers an
exciting alternate. In past decades our knowledge on student development has expanded and
with this new-found knowledge an emphasis on implementing new teaching methodologies in
the Irish Education system has evolved. For many years leading educators have called for the
overhaul of the Irish education system particularly at second level. Tom Boland (2010) chief
executive of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) believes that although students may
achieve success in exams they are leaving schools lacking in skills such as ‘critical analysis,
communication, initiative and teamwork’ (Flynn, 2010). In 2012 the Minister of Education &
Skills announced reforms for the Junior Cycle that are hoped to combat this lack of skill
development and include all students differing abilities and strengths. In modern education,
parents and teachers alike want to see more from their children’s/student’s education. They are
looking for an approach that will develop the child skills and produce a more well-rounded
person. The author will in this study attempt to link the strong parallels between the new Junior
Cycle and Holistic Education and therefore hopefully provide more information to teachers and
parents on the reforms and the theory behind these. Many educators in the past, most famously
John Dewey and Maria Montessori, although not identifying as ‘holistic educators’, have
adopted many of the principles of Holistic Education put forward by key figures in this field
such as Rudolf Steiner and his principles for education. The author will examine the history of
Holistic Education and its implementation within education systems. Therefore, it is the aim of
this study to examine Holistic Education, its history and uses in education and its influence in
Junior Cycle reform. The author will argue that Holistic Education and the new Junior Cycle
reforms adopt the same ideals for education.

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 2. Introduction
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all”
Aristotle
On 4th October 2012 then Minister for Education and Skills Ruarí Quinn announced a radical

shake up of the Junior Certificate which will see students at the centre of a new educational

approach that incorporates continuous assessment along with examinations, many education

experts described it as the biggest shake up in the Irish education system since the

discontinuation of the Intermediate Certificate. The reforms were recommended by the

National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, who recommended that the new Junior

Cycle focus on developing eight key skills: being literate, managing myself, staying well,

managing information & thinking, being numerate, being creative, working with others, and

communicating. It could be argued that these skills and principles for Junior Cycle reform are

derived from the ideals behind Holistic Education and Development. Education from a holistic

perspective concerns itself with the development of every person's intellectual, emotional,

social, physical, artistic, creative and spiritual potentials. It seeks to engage students in the

teaching and learning process, whilst encouraging personal and collective responsibility.

The aim of this dissertation is to develop a deeper understanding of the theory behind holistic

development of students and evaluate its benefits to modern education, while also analysing

the Junior Cycle reforms and their connections to the ideals behind Holistic Education and

Development.

The objectives of this dissertation are to:

 Conduct a detailed literature review of the history and development of the theory of Holistic

Education and Development and describe the principles behind it

 Analyse the key points behind the Junior Cycle reform and critique its values

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 Critically assess Holistic Education and Development and its values to modern education

The research methodology adopted for this dissertation is secondary research using books and

journal articles while also examining the new Junior Cycle itself. While primary research would

be evidently valid also for this dissertation, the allocated time frame does not allow for extensive

primary research to be conducted into the topic.

The structure of the article is as follows: firstly, an analysis into what is Holistic Education and

what is meant by Holistic Development. Leading on from this will be an examination into key

theories on Holistic ideals in education, leading onto a critical analysis of Holistic Education and

Development. Moving on, there will be a brief background on the Junior Cycle reform and an

outline of the key principles. Following on will be a deeper analysis of these principles and key

skills with an evaluation of the reform so far. Finally, this dissertation will focus on how Holistic

Education and Development ideals and Junior Cycle reform are intertwined, if not obvious at

first glance, with a focus on the similar principles and an analysis into the newly introduced

subject of ‘Wellbeing’, and its effects on the Irish education system.

3. Holistic Education and Development

3.1. What is Holistic Education

The demands of the twenty first century require a new approach to education in order to fully

prepare students for college, long-term careers, and citizenship. Research, practice, and

common sense confirm that a ‘whole child’ approach to education, similar to a holistic

approach will develop and prepare students for the challenges and opportunities ahead

(Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2018). Ron Miller describes

Holistic Education as a philosophy of education based on the premise that each person finds

5
identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural

world, and to humanitarian values such as compassion and peace.

Ron Miller (1991) defines it as “Holistic education aims to call forth from people an intrinsic

reverence for life and a passionate love of learning”. (Miller, 1991). Robin Ann Martin (2002)

described this further by stating, "at its most general level, what distinguishes holistic education

from other forms of education are its goals, its attention to experiential learning, and the

significance that it places on relationships and primary human values within the learning

environment." (Martin, 2002) Throughout the two-hundred-year history of public schooling, a

broadly scattered group of critics have pointed out that the education of young human beings

should involve much more than simply moulding them into future workers or citizens. The

Swiss humanitarian Johann Pestalozzi, the founders of “progressive” education Francis Parker

and John Dewey and pioneers such as Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner, among numerous

others, all insisted that education should be understood as the art of cultivating the moral,

emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions of the developing child. (Miller,

2000). Ron Miller goes on to state his disdain for modern education or ‘teaching to the test’ as

many would describe not only Irish education but education across the globe: “every child is

more than a future employee; every person’s intelligence and abilities are far more complex

than his or her scores on standardized tests” (Miller, 2000).

A Holistic Education cannot be achieved through the modern curriculum adopted by most

modern educational institutes which condenses the world into instructional packages, but more

so can be simply achieved through direct engagement with the environment that is surrounding

the teachers and students. “There is no one best way to accomplish this goal, there are many

paths of learning and the holistic educator values them all; what is appropriate for some

children and adults, in some situations, in some historical and social contexts, may not be best

for others” (Miller, 2000)

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 3.2. Key Theorists and Theories

Socrates and Plato believed that the soul existed before birth and that by being put in a physical

body it had forgotten its identity; commonly called ‘doctrine of reminiscence’ (Ozman &

Craver, 1981, p.5). Plato described his approach to education in ‘The Republic’. He suggested

a comprehensive educational system run by the state which would develop students to their full

potential. Education, in Plato’s view, should teach the person to see beyond the impermanence

of the material world to intuit the real world of ideas (Miller, 2007, p.69)

Rudolf Steiner was an Austrian philosopher who was a keen advocate of Holistic Education,

and believed every child should be developed as a whole for the betterment of the person and

the society around them. His conception of education was influenced by the Herbartian

pedagogy prominent in Europe during the late nineteenth century though Steiner criticized

Herbart for not sufficiently recognizing the importance of educating the will and feelings as

well as the intellect (Steiner, 1995). Steiner implemented his ideology for what he envisioned

as the future of education when he set up his own schools, Waldorf schools. The first school

based upon Steiner's ideas was opened in 1919 in response to a request by Emil Molt, the owner

and managing director of the Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Company in Stuttgart, Germany, to

serve the children of employees of the factory, henceforth the Steiner’s schools became

Waldorf schools.

In his book, The Child’s Changing Consciousness, Steiner explained that essentially, there is

no education other than self- education, whatever the level may be. Every education is self-

education, and as teachers we can only provide the environment for children’s self-education.

We must provide the most favourable conditions where, through our agency, children can

educate themselves according to their own destinies. (Steiner, 1988). Timothy Clapper backs

up the idea of a ‘self-education’, by stating that in this day of accountability, we hear too often

7
the complaints from teachers that they are not able to teach the way they would like to because

of a need to prepare their students to be successful on a standardized testing scale. The reality

is that too many teachers have not changed their teaching styles in years (Clapper, 2009).

Clapper argues that teachers have not changed in years, and it is their own fear to change to a

more active classroom where students engage and discover for themselves, while the teacher

takes the role of a facilitator in this process. Facilitators using simulations in learning

incorporate all three learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinaesthetic, as well as nearly all the

multiple intelligences identified by Gardner (2011). The theory of multiple intelligences was

developed in 1983 by Dr Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. It

suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing is far too limited.

Thomas Armstrong goes on to say that one of the most remarkable features of the theory of

multiple intelligences is how it provides eight different potential pathways to learning. If a

teacher is having difficulty reaching a student in the more traditional linguistic or logical ways

of instruction, the theory of multiple intelligences suggests several other ways in which the

material might be presented to facilitate effective learning

Miller (1991) has proposed that education may be described as holistic when it exemplifies the

following characteristics:

 Nurturing the broad development of the students, focusing on their intellectual,

emotional, social, physical, creative or intuitive, aesthetic and spiritual potentials.

 Promoting the importance of relationships at all levels within a learning community

in which the educator and student work together in an open and collaborative

relationship.

 An emphasis on life experience and learning beyond the confines of the classroom and

the formal educational environment towards education as growth, discovery and a

8
 broadening of horizons. It encourages a desire to elicit meaning and understanding

and to engage with the world.

Holistic education does not exist in a single, consistent form. It is best described as a group of

beliefs, feelings, principles and general ideas that share a family resemblance (Forbes 1999). It

is more than the education of the whole student and addresses the very broadest development

of the whole person at the cognitive and affective levels. It emphasizes the education of the

student beyond the confines of the classroom and moves the concept of a child-centred

educational approach to a much more radical programme of education. (Hare, 2010)

Global education shares the same principles as holistic education, particularly regarding the

concept of interdependence. David Selby (2001) argues that holistic and global education are

founded on the principle of interconnectedness in which everything is in constant change. Selby

believes that a connection between holistic and global is the need to recognize the importance

of the inner journey and how this journey is linked to the outside world. He argues that the

holistic curriculum should include the following strategies:

 Cooperative, Interactive learning

 Children centred

 Mixed paced learning (differentiation)

 Empathetic, embodied learning

 Spiritual learning

Gandhi said the mind, body, and spirit (the head, hands, and heart) comprise an "indivisible

whole," and that it is a "gross fallacy" to think these three can be developed independently of

one another. Abarbanel argued that schools at every level all over the world are dedicating

more and more of their days to fitting square pegs into round holes and preparing staff and

students for standardized tests. (2016) Only 18% of teachers in the United States say the tests

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they are asked to administer are useful, writes Jack Miller, in his 2010 book ‘Whole Child

Education’.

3. Junior Cycle Reforms

On 4th October 2012 then Minister for Education and Skills Ruarí Quinn announced a radical

shake up of the Junior Certificate which will see students at the centre of the new approach,

rather than examinations. Many education experts described it as the biggest shake up in the

Irish education system since the discontinuation of the Intermediate Certificate. The reforms

were recommended by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, who

recommended that the new Junior Cycle focus on developing eight key skills: being literate,

managing myself, staying well, managing information & thinking, being numerate, being

creative, working with others, and communicating while following the key principles of

Learning to Learn, Choice and Flexibility, Quality, Creativity and Innovation, Engagement and

Participation, Continuity and Development, Inclusive Education and Wellbeing. Upon

releasing the Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) the Minister for Education and Skills Jan

O’Sullivan (2015) stated that it would set out a clear vision of how teaching, learning and

assessment practices will evolve in the first three years of post-primary education to ensure a

learning experience for our young people that is appropriate to the needs of the 21st century.

(Framework for Junior Cycle ,2015)

The Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) gives schools greater flexibility to design programmes

that are suited to the needs of their junior cycle students and to the context of the school. Each

school’s programme:

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 will be guided by the twenty-four statements of learning, eight principles and eight key

skills that are at the core of the new Junior Cycle

 will encompass learning in subjects or a combination of subjects and short courses

 will include an area of learning entitled Wellbeing

 will provide a range of other learning experiences

 may include priority learning units (PLUs) that will help to provide a Junior Cycle

programme that is appropriate to the needs of students with significant special educational

needs.

Schools will have the flexibility and discretion to decide what combination of subjects, short

courses or other learning experiences will be provided in their three-year Junior Cycle

programme. Short courses that are developed around students’ own interests, for example,

might inhibit the phenomenon of what Smyth et al. (2006) have termed ‘student drift’ in second

year of second level. Tony Donohoe (2017) Head of Education and Social Policy at IBEC

stated: "Our economy and our prosperity are intrinsically linked to the strength of our education

system. In reforming the junior years of second-level education, we will deliver better

outcomes for our students and help underpin our long-term prosperity. The new curriculum

gives teachers the space to be innovative and provide a more rounded education experience to

their pupils. It should also equip students with the skills and appetite for continuous learning,

which will help them to fulfil their future potential” Donohue goes onto argue that the changes

to the Junior Cycle are just the beginning and that the government should push on and reform

the Leaving Certificate so that Irish education can start ‘moving away from the dominance of

rote learning and written exams will help develop critical thinking skills”.

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 4. The Junior Cycle & Holistic Education

Today, parents and educators alike want more from their children’s education. They are

looking for an approach to education that is in tune with each child’s unique needs and skills,

and one that prepares the child to become a well-rounded individual. The aim of this

dissertation is to delve deeper into the understanding of the theory behind holistic development

of students and evaluate its benefits to modern education in particular regarding Irish education,

while also analysing the Junior Cycle reforms and their connections to the ideals behind

Holistic Education and Development. Holistic education focuses on developing the child’s

social, physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing as well as developing the child academically.

Our past educational programmes relied on the typical measurements and standardisation.

Children were prepared to memorise information and then take placement examinations. Not

only is this approach unsuccessful for children, it may also not be psychologically healthy for

students, according to research done by Sir Ken Robinson. Foxworth (1998) once said, “there

is no way to educate without including the whole person. Yet there is no ‘whole person’ without

the spirituality”. Kaili Zhang (2016) carries this point forward by maintaining a holistic

education that fosters spiritual development of the person is essential to promote a sense of

wellbeing, and is an alternative “to a more human, meaningful, and intellectually rigorous

learning environment.” On the other hand, an education that neglects the spiritual dimension

fosters disconnection; when authentic relationships and union with community are absent, a

sense of fragmentation and isolation is unavoidable.

The author believes that the Junior Cycle reforms ‘eight key skills of education’ are drawn

from the holistic principles of education and this will be discussed and reinforced throughout

this paper. The key skills of the new cycle were developed by the NCCA in conjunction with

the Department of Education and Skills and these eight skills were identified as being important

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for the advancement of the Irish education system at Junior Certificate level. It is of the authors

opinion that these skills are derived from what many educators describe as the key principles

of the holistic development of a child, these principles being social, spiritual, emotional,

mental, physical, cognitive, morality, and academic.

Similarly, as holistic education is based on the idea that students can be taught with more

natural and engaging methods of teaching, the new Junior Cycle aims to do the same through

group work and cooperation among the students. An example of this in action would be the

teacher creating a classroom based assessment using groups to engage in the new learning. The

social aspects of a child’s development regarding holistic education is vital as it helps the child

learn to interact with others and gain key skills to communicate. Holistic learning and

development involves all areas of development and embraces a view of the whole child

developing in the context of family, home and community (NCCA, 2007) Working with others

and communicating are stated as being two of the key skills of Junior Cycle (NCCA, 2014)

these key skills are described as ‘building relationships, learning with others, listening and

expressing myself, performing and presenting’. In a time where there is great pressure on

educators to improve students’ academic achievement it is refreshing to see the NCCA

recommend that focus is also put on the development of social learning among students at

Junior Cycle. Research shows that a focus on social and emotional learning has produced

academic gains that can equal the results of many programmes focused exclusively on

academic work. (Durlak, 2011). An effective educator must remember that children go to

school ‘for a living’, therefore it is a critical role that a school plays in the student’s social

development. Even if your students are achieving academic success their attitudes to school

will be a result of their social standing or ‘success’ at school. Patel (1994) researched into

holistic learning and claimed that a prime concern of a reflective teacher carrying out a holistic

approach is the impact that the educator has on the learner. Patel (1994) goes onto argue that

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the social interaction between the teacher and learner will affect both but the effect on the

learner will be more profound. (Patel, 2003)

Holistic education focuses on the fullest possible development of the person, encouraging

individuals to become the very best or finest that they can be and enabling them to experience

all they can from life and reach their goals (Forbes, 2003). It can be argued that it would be

difficult to experience all that life can offer without developing the social aspect of one’s life.

Social development of the students in Holistic education refers to the way students develop

their own individuality within their own community, for this instance we can say the

community is their school where they also gain skills to communicate with their peers, develop

friendships and how to handle conflict with their peers. Richard Lavoie (1994) stated that

students can fall into four separate social categories; rejected, isolated, controversial, and

popular. He suggests a few methods to try blend these categories together to further develop

the student’s social skills. Once such method would be to enter discussions with your class

group to find your students strengths, once identified these can be celebrated. This leads back

to the Junior Cycles key skills explanation of working with others and communicating which

entails ‘expressing myself, good relationships and presenting.

John Miller (2008) argues that education has tended to emphasise individual competition rather

than group collaboration, although he acknowledges that in recent times there has been a shift

towards emphasising cooperative learning but still the current focus with is still on testing the

individual achievement with students competing against one another to progress through the

education system. It can be noticed that many modern educators and education systems are

pushing to implement a more socially compatible classroom by integrating students by means

such as cooperative learning. Cooperative learning can be seen in the Junior Cycles reforms

approach of students ‘learning together’ to achieve personal and collective goals. Cooperative

learning is at the core of problem based learning, and is closely related to collaborative learning

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which emphasises a more natural way of learning that can occur when students work together

in groups and create their own learning. Johnson & Johnson (1998) believe that ‘cooperative

learning is also underused because many students do not understand how to work cooperatively

with others. The prevailing culture and reward systems of our society and our colleges are

oriented toward competitive and individualistic work’. Cooperative learning for all its core

values of group learning and developing relationships among students also has pitfalls.

Cooperative learning methods tend to try to incorporate the theory of multiple intelligences

which was outlined previously. It is important for teachers to realise that no student is the same

as the other, every student has different learning styles and abilities that could be possibly

negatively affected in group activities. Joseph Kaminski (2017) believes that some teachers

efforts at group work is just forcing students to work together because it ‘seems better’.

Kaminski (2017) goes on to argue that some ‘gifted’ students might feel that their fellow group

members are slowing them down and might possibly feel like they’re doing all the hard work.

Kaminski (2017) states that this will lead to nothing but a trend of ‘group hatred’ for some

group members and for the weaker students they may learn nothing through their experience

in the groups. This may prove challenging for the head of programmes and teachers in

respective schools will have to deal with implementing group work in their classes that follow

the Junior Cycle guidelines in a way lead to a positive learning experience for teachers and

students alike.

Holistic education can relate to many recurring themes and values which are comparable to the

key skills of the Junior Cycle reform. These values are “guidelines for personal behaviour”

(Thompson 1993) and it is these personal behaviours that characterise the outcomes of the

holistic approach. The behaviours reflect a range of capabilities, skills and competencies that

the students will begin to develop as they emerge from a formal programme of holistic

education (Hare 2006). John Hare (2010) describes these behaviours and attributes associated

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with holistic education can be drawn together as outcomes within a student profile, the

significant features of holistic education some of which are listed below.

 Acts with social and academic maturity and integrity

 Demonstrates flexibility and a creative approach to problem solving

 Develops and maintains relationships through their interpersonal skills

 Demonstrates a reflective approach and an attitude of continuous improvement

 Demonstrates a reflective approach and an attitude of continuous improvement

Holistic education requires teachers to teach their students to be able to think critically, problem

solve and use reflective practices to improve one’s development, all of which are laid out by

John Hare (2010) in the above bullet points. The NCCA (2014) set out that ‘managing

information and thinking’ would be one the key skills that would be thought through the new

Junior Cycle. This skill would require students to develop the skill to ‘think creatively and

critically while also reflecting on and evaluating their own learning and development’. It is

hidden in plain sight that both Holistic education and the new Junior Cycle both place an

emphasis on the students developing critical thinking and reflective skills. The idea of students

being creative and my own subject fields of Materials Technology Wood and Technical

Graphics is interlinked immensely and with the new Junior Cycle including creativity in their

core skills it can only help but to improve my subjects. Most people believe they wouldn’t be

very creative naturally. However, creativity is not just about special people doing special

things. We all have the potential to be creative and creativity is a skill that needs to be

developed. The NCCA (2014) states that creativity is about generating ideas or producing

things and transforming them into something of value and that it can be linked to ‘working

with others and communicating’ as the NCCA (2014) believe that the forming of collaborative,

creative groups and partnerships helps to foster creativity.

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Paul and Elder (2001) state that: 'Critical thinking is that mode of thinking – about any subject,

content, or problem – in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by

skilfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards

upon them.’ Creative students are curious, question and challenge what is known, a teacher can

stimulate a student’s creativity by a variety of means. One such way that the NCCA sets out in

its guidelines for teachers is the use of questioning and encouraging questioning among the

students. As John Dewey (1983) said ‘it is a way of evoking stimulating response or stultifying

inquiry. It is, in essence, the very core of teaching’ if we as educators want our students to

become creative and critical thinkers we need to encourage them to develop higher-order

thinking skills. The renewed focus on critical thinking in the Junior Cycle has much to do with

complaints about students’ lack of preparedness for third-level learning. Barnett (1997) argues

that the purpose of a modern university is to develop critical thinking but with the new Junior

Cycle the students will have begun the development of their critical thinking skills therefore

our education system should be on the right track to produce a more well-rounded person who

is able to take information in, reflect on it and its validity and then formulate their own opinion

through critical thinking.

The emphasis on “teaching to the test” and rote learning won’t change instantaneously, but

Gerry Dunne (2015) believes a programme on epistemology would be “hugely beneficial” at

second level. (Humphreys, 2015). In recent years many people have complained that the State

Examinations are just ‘all rote learning and memory recall’. Denise Burns (2016) refers to

recent study in Trinity College investigated this belief through analysis of exam papers and

marking schemes for twenty-three subjects, using key words that signified whether students

had to think for themselves or rely on memory recall. The study also interviewed thirty students

who had completed the exam on ten subjects. A significant finding was that the major method

of preparing for the exams was predicting the questions, preparing answers and learning them

17
off. However, it raises serious questions as to the quality of learning, as students frequently

indicated they could not recall information they had learned off for the exam a mere two months

later (Burns, 2016). The new Junior Cycle hopes to help the students to develop lifelong

learning skills along with the standard ‘rote learning’

Covering the course content quickly without truthfully knowing if the students have taken it in

has been at the centre of teaching for many years, however with the use of technology students

have access to boundless knowledge in seconds, the new Junior Cycle is interested in helping

students manage this information and process it while also critically thinking and reflecting on

it. Miller (2008) argues that our education system has emphasised rational and linear

approaches to problems, a more holistic approach calls for a merging of reason and intuition.

Miller believes that when these elements are connected the students thinking is enriched. Patel

(2003) believes that the place of the holistic approach in modern education can particularly aid

the development of critical thinking in today’s students.

The NCCA (2014) sets out that ‘managing myself and staying well’ should be some of the key

skills of Junior Cycles, its states that ‘managing myself’ helps learners to understand

themselves both as individuals and as learners so they can develop personal goals and reflect

on their progress (NCCA, 2014). For a student to set and reach goals and to be able to reflect

on their progress and decision making the teacher ideally should provide the students with more

formative feedback. John Hattie describes feedback as being ‘The most powerful single

moderator that enhances achievement is feedback. The simplest prescription for improving

education must be ‘dollops of feedback’. This does not mean using many tests and providing

over-prescriptive directions. It means providing information how and why the student

understands and misunderstands, and what directions the student must take to improve.’ Mental

health and Wellbeing have become key talking points in Irish society and the NCCA recognises

this in setting out that ‘staying well’ as a key skill. The NCCA (2014) states that this key skill

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recognises that learners’ overall wellbeing must be supported alongside their intellectual

development. Being healthy, being socially active and being able to take care of themselves

and of others helps students become happy and confident. This key skill also helps young

people to be positive and engaged in their learning. Katherine Weare (2000) states that ‘there

is overwhelming evidence that students learn more effectively, including in their academic

subjects, if they are happy in their work, believe in themselves, and feel school is supporting

them.’ The whole school environment and the formal and informal relationships between

teachers and students all impact on students’ experience of wellbeing in school. Linda Thornton

(2016) describes emotional development regarding Holistic education as how ‘children

understand their own and others’ feelings and develop their ability to be empathetic and to see

things from another person’s point of view.’ This aligns with the NCCA (2014) views on

‘staying well and managing myself’

As part of the new Junior Cycle there will be the introduction of the new subject of ‘Wellbeing’

which will be implemented for first years starting in 2017 beginning with three hundred hours

student contact leading to four hundred hours of student contact in 2020 with the full

implementation of the new Junior Cycle. Student wellbeing is present when students realise

their abilities, take care of their physical wellbeing, can cope with the normal stresses of life,

and have a sense of purpose and belonging to a wider community.’ (Guidelines for Wellbeing

in Junior Cycle, NCCA, 2014). Weare (2000) stresses that ‘it is vital that those who seek to

promote high academic standards and those who seek to promote mental, emotional and social

health realise that they are on the same side, and that social and affective education can support

academic learning, not simply take time away from it.’ Thinking about learning for wellbeing

requires that teachers consider not only what students learn but also how they can learn it.

Learning for wellbeing can be nurtured in all subjects and by all teachers. The NCCA hope that

the subject of Wellbeing will enable students to build lifelong skills and develop a strong sense

19
of connection to their school and community, which is also a key element of holistic

development as Ron Miller (1991) defined Holistic education as a “philosophy of education

based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through

connections to the community, to the natural world, and to humanitarian values such as

compassion and peace.”

The NCCA (2014) acknowledges in its ‘Guidelines for Wellbeing’ that the difficulties some

schools may face due to location and stresses that the associations between poverty and poor

physical and mental health are well documented. In this context, data from the Central Statistics

Office (CSO) shows that the number of families living in consistent poverty almost doubled

between 2008 and 2014, rising from 4.2% to 8%, with inevitable impacts on the wellbeing of

children.’ (CSO, 2014). O’ Brien and O’Shea (2016) argue that factors such as social class,

ethnic identity and gender and sexual identity cannot be ignored when considering student

wellbeing, it is important, therefore, that the definition of wellbeing communicates the

multidimensional nature of wellbeing and draws on the insights of psychology, philosophy and

sociology. The ideals set out by the NCCA for the subject of ‘Wellbeing’ are the biggest proof

that the Junior Cycle reforms were influenced by the ideals of Holistic Education and

developing the whole child while paying special attention to the social, spiritual, emotional and

mental development of the student are evident throughout the various key skills as well as the

subject of Wellbeing.

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 5. Conclusion

When the then Minister for Education & Science, Batt O’Keeffe addressed the NCCA in June

2010 he asked his audience to look at the entire Junior Cycle experience and to review the

innovations happening in other systems of education. He asked the NCCA to look at what it

does and does not do for the 55,000 or so students who take the examination each year (NCCA,

2010). Studies conducted over numerous years had provided the Department of Education &

Skills with insight of the Junior Certificate experience and how these experiences affected its

participants. This included subsequent achievement in Senior Cycle and in the Leaving

Certificate examination. In this research paper, it was the aim of the author to analyse the strong

links between Holistic Education and the Junior Cycle reforms and put forward the view that

Holistic Education and the new Junior Cycle reforms adopt the same ideals for education. In

the past the Junior Certificate relied on typical standardised exams. Children were prepared by

their teachers to memorise information and then take summative exams to assess this

knowledge. The new Junior Cycle helps the student to express themselves in different creative

ways compared to the traditional approach and this can only hopefully lead to positives for the

Irish Education system. An example of the strong links between Holistic Education and the

Junior Cycle reforms is that Holistic Education encourages educators to teach their students

using more natural and engaging methods. This is in parallel to the new Junior Cycle which

encourages teachers to use more engaging teaching methods like group projects etc. and this is

emphasised to teachers when developing Classroom Based Assessments or short courses for

the Junior Cycle. Some educators would describe modern education as putting more emphasis

on individual competition than developing the skills vital to a student development. The Junior

Cycle changes this view on Irish Education regarding ‘competition’, even though this can still

apply to the Senior Cycle. The Junior Cycle reforms attempt to bridge this gap from a

competition based classroom to a more social compatible and engaging classroom by

21
integrating methods such as cooperative learning. Cooperative learning can be seen in the

Junior Cycles reforms approach of students ‘learning together’ to achieve a number of goals.

Cooperative learning is also intertwined with problem based learning. These ideals that are set

out by the Junior Cycle reforms all fall into the Holistic model for education such as social,

cognitive and language skills and are examples of why the author feels strongly that the new

Junior Cycle draws on the ideals of Holistic Education.

The ideals set out by the NCCA for the subject of ‘Wellbeing’ is a major indication that the

Junior Cycle reforms were influenced by the principles of Holistic Education and developing

the whole child while paying special attention to the social, spiritual, emotional and mental

development of the student are evident throughout the various key skills outlined in the

guidelines. Research on student wellbeing undertaken and provided to the Department of

Education & Skills by a consortium in St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra concluded that “The

balance between the academic achievements of students and their other strengths and capacities

needs urgent attention in a performance driven system where talent and achievement are so

narrowly defined. Students need to have the skills and cultural tools to participate in society,

but the current drive for higher standards of achievement and performance without genuine

commitment to holistic development is seriously problematic for the well-being of many young

people” (NCCA, 2010). From the authors analysis of the Junior Cycles reforms in this study it

is apparent that its ideals are fundamentally connected to Holistic Education principles. The

vision therein of the new Junior Cycle as explained in the above paper is a holistic one in which

the aim of education is to contribute to the development of all aspects of the student, including

aesthetic, creative, emotional, social, intellectual, moral, physical and spiritual.

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.
Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

22
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