About us – City of Dublin ETB Curriculum Development Unit

Brief Historical Note

The CDU came into existence in 1972 through the sponsorship of three agencies namely the CDVEC represented by Jeremiah Sheehan CEO, Trinity College Dublin represented by Prof Val Rice and Brian Powell and the Dept. of Education represented by the assistant secretary Sean O Connor.

On 7th April 1972 the Unit’s steering committee held its first meeting adopting the provisions of the “Proposal for the Joint Curriculum Development Project for Junior Cycle Post-Primary Courses”. During 1972 the project was approved by the CDVEC committee in February, by the Board and Council of Trinity College in May and finally by the Dept. of Education in December with a remit to extend the work to include non CDVEC schools.

1978 the CDU was reaffirmed as a sub-committee of the CDVEC/University of Dublin Joint Liaison Council. The CDVEC/University of Dublin Joint Liaison Council was formed in 1976 to enable the University to give degree status to a number of courses within the five CDVEC third level colleges.

More detailed information can be sourced in “Curriculum Matters” by Anton Trant; copies available from the librarian.

About our work

The CDU is a curriculum research and development organisation which over the years has initiated a number of projects which have subsequently been mainstreamed in whole or in part through the post-primary and further education sector including Civic Social and Political Education (CSPE), Youthreach, Environment and Social Studies. Earlier work on the Humanities and ISCIP are congruent with many aspects of the new Junior Certificate proposals.

At the heart of the work of the CDU is:

the professional development of the teacher;
the development of the curriculum in partnership with teachers and stakeholders in education;
the promotion of the concept of the teacher as researcher.
The CDU responds to the needs of teachers in CDETB and the broader national and international educational community by initiating, developing, implementing, supporting, or managing teacher initiatives, projects and support services with funding provided by CDETB/DES and other national and international governmental and non governmental organisations.

Find us on Twitter @cdetbcdu