Vol. 517 No. 3
291 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the technical support in science, at primary level, which will be provided over the next five years; the number of hours of in-service courses to be provided; the number of specialist teachers in science as a resource to schools to be provided; and his views on the establishment of a national centre for the support of science teaching. [9734/00]
As a first step leading to the implementation of the revised primary science curriculum, all teachers have been issued with copies of both the curriculum statement and the teacher guidelines in science. These books constitute a most important resource for teachers who wish to introduce the subject to their classes. The teacher guidelines include detailed suggestions and recommendations as to how the various topics in the programme might best be approached with pupils of primary age. They set out comprehensive guidelines on materials and methodologies in all the curricular strands and incorporate in all almost 50 exemplars of good practice. By way of concrete support for the expansion of science teaching, my Department last October paid out an approximate total of £1.75 million in the form of science grants to primary schools.
292 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the plans, if any, he has for providing interactive CDs as a tool in support of education in science subjects, particularly at primary level. [9735/00]
Under the school integration project – SIP – of Schools IT 2000, a number of information and communication technology – ICT – projects have been initiated to explore and evaluate the use of software in various subjects at primary level, including science subjects. The outcomes from these projects will inform decisions regarding the development of software for use at primary level. The development of interactive CDs as a tool in support of education in science subjects, at primary level, will also be guided by these outcomes. The National Centre for Technology in Education – NCTE – is co-operating with educational software publishers regarding the development of appropriate software for schools.
In November 1999, every school was provided with grant aid for the purchase of educational software. The cost of this grant was £3.2 million. The NCTE, through the ScoilNet web site, provided all schools with wide-ranging advice on software purchase. The ScoilNet site also includes resources for the teaching of science.
293 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of secondary schools which offer leaving certificate physics, chemistry and biology; the number which offer all three; and the number which offer at least two. [9736/00]
The information requested by the Deputy is set out below.
294 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of girls who sat the leaving certificate in each of the past five years; and the number who sat physics, chemistry and biology respectively. [9737/00]
The information requested by the Deputy is as follows: total number of female candidates 1995 – 32,431; 1996 – 30,560; 1997 – 33,239; 1998 – 34,589; 1999 – 33,086. Biology – 1995 – 20,617, 1996 – 17,959, 1997 – 19,245, 1998 – 20,263, 1999 – 19,312; Physics – 1995 – 2,808, 1996 – 2,376, 1997 – 2,431, 1998 – 2,539, 1999 – 2290; Chemistry – 1995 – 4050, 1996 – 3,533, 1997 – 3,524, 1998 – 3,733, 1999 – 3,639.
