Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 31 Jan 2002

Vol. 547 No. 2

Written Answers. - School Curriculum.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

179 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science his plans to encourage second level students to pursue maths and the sciences to a greater extent having regard to the most recent indicators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3066/02]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods)

Virtually all students take mathematics at one of three levels up to leaving certificate and so the need to encourage greater student uptake of this subject does not arise.

In relation to the sciences, the uptake of science at junior certificate level has remained relatively constant for a number of years at around 89%, although it has shown a slight fall over the last three years and, in the last school year, stood at 88.4%. At leaving certificate level, take-up rates for the physical sciences had been in decline since the mid-1980s but have stabilised over the last two to three years. The take-up rate for biology, which had remained relatively constant for a number of years at around 50% has declined somewhat in recent years and, in the last school year, stood at 41%.

In response to these trends, my Department is implementing a range of measures that are designed to make science subjects more attractive to students. New leaving certificate syllabi in physics and in chemistry were introduced in September 2000 and will be examined for the first time next June. As well as the addition of new, up-to-date content, these syllabi have an increased emphasis on student practical work and on the interface between science, technology and society. These changes are intended to highlight for students the relevance of these subjects to their everyday lives. A new syllabus in leaving certificate biology has been circulated to schools and will be introduced next September for first examination in June 2004 and at junior certificate level a course committee of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment will shortly finalise a draft of a new science syllabus.

The introduction of the three new leaving certificate syllabi has been supported by extensive programmes of in-career development and the provision of support materials for teachers. In addition to these materials, my Department has produced comprehensive reference handbooks in both physics and chemistry and has distributed them to all second level schools. These handbooks have been provided in both printed and CD-ROM formats. In addition to the copies sent to schools, individual teachers are being provided with further copies of the CD as part of the in-career development programme. These materials have a particular emphasis on practical work and on the interface between science, technology and society.

I have established a task force to examine all matters related to the uptake of the physical sciences and related subjects at both second and third level. I expect to receive the final report of the task force within the next few weeks and I look forward to considering the proposals of the task force in relation to the factors impacting on the uptake of the sciences.