TRAJfSACTlONS OP SECTION h. 933 



of te&,clier8. In conuection with this, it is desirable to urge the value of carefully 

 arranged summer courses of instruction as a means of aflbrding supplementary 

 training of the type in view, for teachers. 



MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7. 

 1. Discussion on Education in Ireland. 



(i) Character and Educational Efficiency. By T. P. GiLL. 



This author, while dealing with the general question in the title,"referred also to 

 the situation in Ireland, which is now at a moment of great significance for education. 

 A new university system is about to be organised, and the country is being called 

 on to take_^stock of her whole educational equipment and to consider the end to 

 which she wishes it to conduce. The situation is thus one of general as 

 well as particular interest. AVhat results does the country intend her educational 

 system to produce? By what means does she propose that the results are to be 

 produced ? How does she propose to assure herself that she is getting these results ? 

 In other words, what is to be the aim, the method, and the test of the educational 

 activity of the nation ? It is one of the most practical tasks of the hour in 

 Ireland to consider these questions, and the answers to them should be known 

 and undersjpod hy the teachers in every school — from the kindergarten to the uni- 

 versity — and, if possible, by every parent. 



In connection with the aim of a national system of education it is desirable to 

 examine what is meant by educational efficiency. Efficiency must be considered 

 (1) from the individual and (2) from the social and national point of view. It must 

 be all-round efficiency, physical, mental, and moral — aspects closely related yet 

 distinct in themselves. It is the business of education to develop all-three. Again, 

 eificiency is the fitting of the individual {a) to pursue efficiently his calling in life, 

 his trade or profession, and (6) to be a good man and a good citizen. The profes- 

 sional, the bread-and-butter efficiency is necessary ; and not only is it necessary to 

 aim at it in connection with professional or technical education, but from an early 

 stage in general education it is essential that the pupil should be made to think of 

 what is to be his calling in life, and how he is best to prepare himself for it. This 

 object of education, however, must be pursued in such a way as not to eclipse the 

 )iigher end of producing the good man and the good citizen. On the contrary, it 

 must be realised that the practical efficiency itself is impaired in proportion as the 

 higher end is neglected or lost sight of. National and individual efficiency in 

 every country has suffered from this error. So has national and individual happi- 

 ness. Ireland must study to avoid this error. 



In connection with methods and tests, the suitability of certain methods and 

 tests to produce the results aimed at must be considered. The influence of the 

 test on the method is sometimes so great that it is impossible to separate them. 

 For instance, the fact that a written examination was imposed by law as the sole 

 test has fatally governed the whole character of the Irish intermediate system for 

 nearly two generations. Tests and methods must vary with the things being dealt 

 with. Physical, mental, and moral things cannot be tested in the same way._ The 

 subject, the circumstances, and the end in view must always be borne in mind in 

 devising a test or a method. Moreover, in a test, in considering any one part, we 

 must provisionally examine the whole — see if all the parts are there and if the 

 proportions are right. In other words, the time-table, the very vital question of 

 the disposal of the pupil's time, must be taken into account. In a test we cannot 

 look at the individual pupil alone, we cannot judge the pupil apart from the system 

 and the teacher. 



Educational tests may be considered under the three aspects, physical, mental,^ 

 and moral. (1) Physical : in connection with the general bodily development of 

 the pupil, and the effects of bodily health and occupation upon intellectual 



