Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 21 Nov 2000

Vol. 526 No. 3

Written Answers. - School Curriculum.

Pádraic McCormack

Ceist:

99 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Education and Science the way in which he proposes to expedite the introduction of science to the primary school curriculum; the plans he has to make science a more attractive subject at second level; the further plans he has to encourage more students to take science at third level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26501/00]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods)

Since September 1999, preparations for the introduction of science, as part of social environment and scientific education in the revised primary school curriculum, have been under way. During the 1999-2000 school year, a number of supports were provided for schools: the science curriculum and teacher guidelines were disseminated to all primary teachers; a total of £1.7 million in the form of grants was made available to schools for the purchase of science equipment; a school development planning initiative was launched to assist schools in curriculum planning; and a comprehensive programme of courses for teachers in primary science was run during the summer of 2000.

In the current school year, as part of the work of the primary curriculum support programme, a developmental project in science has already been initiated with a representative sample of schools. This work will facilitate teachers in exploring the approaches and methodologies and the range of materials necessary for teaching science.

As is the case with all subjects in the revised primary school curriculum, schools may com mence implementation of science in advance of the formal support programme if they so wish.

At present, my Department is implementing a range of measures designed to make the physical science subjects more attractive to students at second level including: revised syllabi in leaving certificate physics and leaving certificate chemistry were introduced in September 2000 with an increased emphasis on student practical work – these changes are intended to highlight for students the relevance of these subjects to their everyday lives; a new format of examination paper in ordinary level junior certificate science has been introduced; in leaving certificate physics and leaving certificate chemistry the structure and layout of questions on the ordinary level papers have been revised – these changes have been designed to make these examination papers more accessible to the cohort of candidates for whom they are intended and exemplar materials illustrating the changes were distributed to schools at the end of last year; a comprehensive in-career development programme for teachers of chemistry and physics commenced in September 1999 and is designed to run for three years; and comprehensive reference handbooks in both chemistry and physics, in both printed and CD-ROM formats, have been distributed to all second level schools.

While the numbers of full-time third level students pursuing science in the broadest sense, including life sciences, physical sciences, maths and statistics and information technology courses have increased over the past decade, to some 20,000 in the 1998-9 academic year, there is evidence of a decline in the numbers taking the physical sciences.

A range of initiatives are now in place to enhance the perception of the physical sciences including: the science, technology and innovation awareness programme which is managed by Forfás; the skills review group under the aegis of the Irish Pharmaceutical and Chemical Manufacturers Federation on which my Department is represented; a physics website to counter the negative image that physics has among school children is being run by the Department of Physics at Trinity College Dublin; and a number of institutes of technology have also initiated a number of schemes at a local level to encourage students to pursue third level science related courses.

I recently announced the setting up of a task force on the uptake of the physical sciences at both second and third level. Its brief is to identify the issues contributing to the falling uptake of the physical sciences and to recommend additional measures to address these issues. The work of the task force will range across both second and third levels and will also interact with industry, thus providing insights for students into the many courses and careers that are available to them as a result of a study of the physical sciences. I have requested a report from the task force within three months of its establishment.