Our second level system is forcing the creativity out of our young people, and must change with the times.
Writing in the Irish Independent, Professor Sarah Glennie discusses the value of a creative education
An island of saints and scholars, of culture, of art and ideas. It’s the way we pitch ourselves to the world, and we do it so well. Are we really fostering those clever taglines when it comes to the next generation?
Recently, Andreas Schleicher, Director of Education and Skills at the OECD mused that exam types, like the ones we have at state level in Ireland, celebrate what we consider to be an ‘average’ student. An apparent aim of such exams seems to be removal of any creative or individual thought from our school leavers before ever they head for further education or employment, and we have to change our approach.
Ireland’s outdated second level curriculum is focused on achieving points in academic subjects that are out of step with a rapidly changing world and work environment, and we are simply not equipping our students with the capabilities they need for their own development never mind society’s future needs.
It’s a topic we seem to talk publicly about only as the state exams are ongoing. Parents, students themselves and higher education institutions make observations about the need for change, about the pressure and stress. We collectively sympathise with the students of the year, and then we move on until it’s results season.
Schleicher has called for a move from ‘content based’ learning that is focused on teaching our students something, to an education that provides a compass for learners to construct their own knowledge and to find their own way in a digital world where not everything can be accepted on face value or to be fact. As the use of artificial intelligence increases, we will need to focus on the capacities that are intrinsically human, and we need to get creative, and far more flexible that the rigorous approach we’re currently trapped in.
An education embracing art and design pushes learners to find their own position through rigorous research, to work collaboratively and to develop new, untested, means to express and realise their ideas. There are no set texts to learn and regurgitate in an exam room. The skills developed through art and design equip students to adapt and thrive in an unknown and rapidly changing work environment, and more importantly to help us face the significant challenges our society faces. Tried and tested knowledge systems are not working.
The lack of focus on creativity and innovation in our second level cycle has led to third level options in art and design largely being seen as a risky alternative, approached with caution by parents and careers advisors, who favour the road of third level choices that are seen as providing a more immediate route to employment. In reality, we need creative approaches and design-thinking embedded across every sector in our economy for Ireland to be competitive internationally, and we’re only beginning to recognise that demand.
It is timely for us to reevaluate our approach in Ireland, with the creative sector one of the fastest growing within the global economy. According to the Government’s Digital and Creative Industries Roadmap, the creative sector is estimated to represent over 5.5% of the EU economy or €413 billion in value added. Ireland’s creative graduates drive the work across our creative and cultural sectors, which currently contribute 3.7% of Gross Added Value.
There is enormous potential to grow this in line with our EU equivalents, but the value of a creative graduate is much more than economic. Creative practice is a deep well of innovation and courageous thinking, as well as a vital driver of social cohesion and well-being.
Internationally it is recognised by reports from the OECD, UNESCO and many others that a strong pipeline of creative graduates is critical to building societies with a strong sense of identity, wellbeing and preparedness for the significant cultural changes that will result from new technologies as well as a changing climate. We are already seeing the need for that.
There are welcome recent moves in government policy, which have seen a necessary but overdue prioritisation of supports for our artists, designers and creative producers. The Basic Income for Artists, championed by Minister Catherine Martin, is an internationally admired initiative, that if rolled out following its pilot phase will make Ireland one of the most sustainable places to live and work as an artist.
The cross government Digital Creative Industries Roadmap launched in 2023 sets out the ambition to unlock the ‘significant economic opportunity’ that the digital creative industries present, with a number of initiatives to drive growth in the sector, including the commitment to establishing a National Design Centre.
Last year, Government published a plan to embed design principles across the Public Service – not a space necessarily aligned with what people traditionally consider art and design, and yet it’s exactly where our creatives are needed. More user-friendly and effective public services benefit everyone, but we have to disrupt current thinking to get there.
Opportunities for creative graduates to find rewarding, sustainable careers in Ireland have never been stronger, making a creative education a truly viable option for students. We are fortunate in Ireland to have a rich provision of creative education at third level, from ourselves in The National College of Art and Design, now ranked in the top 1% of Art and Design Colleges globally, to the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dún Laoghaire, Limerick School of Art and Design, MTU Crawford College of Art and Design and the very unique TU Dublin BA on Sherkin Island.
Students studying art and design are driven by a desire to have impact, to find their voice and contribute in their way to making the world we live in better. The high progression rates from colleges of art and design show how important it is to study something that motivates you, challenges you but also a field in which you feel valued. Now is the time for Ireland to embrace our creatives – we’re going to need them more than we realise.
Professor Sarah Glennie is Director of the National College of Art and Design
Read Professor Glennie's comment in the Irish Independent, published on Thursday 1 August 2024 here
