Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 April 2004
103 Mr. Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of students currently participating in transition year programmes; if he has satisfied himself with the type of programme on offer throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11036/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe transition year programme is being offered in the current school year to almost 24,000 students. It is operated in accordance with guidelines issued to schools by my Department. The choice of whether to offer the transition year programme is a matter for the individual school.
A unique feature of transition year is that it does not have a prescribed national curriculum. Schools design their own individual programmes according to a recommended curriculum framework laid down by my Department. Each school should have an up-to-date transition year programme document that defines the school's curriculum for the year. Control over curriculum content enables teachers to design programmes and courses tailored to the needs and interests of students. It also enables parents, the community and local enterprise to bring new kinds of learning opportunities to the students.
I am broadly happy with how the current arrangements for the transition year programme are operating. A major evaluation of the transition year programme was carried out by the inspectorate of my Department in 146 schools offering the programme in the 1994-95 school year. This showed that most schools offering the programme used the freedom afforded in a responsible and creative manner. My Department has followed up on this evaluation report in a number of ways including ongoing evaluation of the programme in schools and support to schools in the area of assessment of pupils' work and evaluation of the programme by schools themselves.
A longitudinal study carried out for the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, by the Education Research Centre, Drumcondra, on 1994 junior certificate students who sat their leaving certificate examination in 1997 provides useful evidence that the transition year programme enhances students' performance at leaving certificate level by 26 points, offsets the handicap of disadvantage and makes students more ready to attempt higher level papers in their leaving certificate examinations.
104 Mr. Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Science if he has satisfied himself with the number of students currently pursuing science and IT courses at second and third level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11037/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt leaving certificate level there are three main science subjects, biology, chemistry and physics. Biology remains a popular subject with 40.3% of the cohort sitting the examination in June 2003, an increase from 39.8% in 2002. The uptake of physics and chemistry has been a cause of concern for some time. The decline in uptake of these subjects started in the 1980s and continued until recently. There has been a reversal of the trend in 2002. In the leaving certificate examination in June 2002, 15.6% of the cohort took physics — up from 14.1% in 2000 — and 11.7% took chemistry — up from 11.1% in 1999. In 2003, 15.7% took physics and 11.9% took chemistry. At junior certificate level there is one science subject and the uptake of this subject has been consistently high; 85.7% of the cohort took it in 2003.
A range of actions are being taken to promote an increased uptake of science and IT. In particular, important progress is being made in regard to: curricular reform and inservice support, with new syllabi already implemented in leaving certificate biology, physics and chemistry; revised syllabi in primary science and junior certificate science beginning in schools in 2003-04; and work is under way on a new leaving certificate physical sciences syllabus to replace the physics and chemistry combined syllabus. All of these developments are being or have been supported by national inservice programmes for teachers.
Progress is being made in regard to: resourcing, with substantial grants issued to schools at primary level in 1999, 2001 and 2002; an additional per capita grant for physics and chemistry at leaving certificate; a capital grants programme for senior cycle science ICT and science equipment; and allied with the announcement in 2003 of a once-off grant scheme, likely to cost of the order of €12 million to support the implementation of the new junior certificate science syllabus. To date some 614 schools in the free education scheme have opted to provide the revised junior certificate science syllabus from 2003-04. Grants of €5.1 million were issued to these schools at the end of January 2004 and a further tranche of payments to certain schools is currently being processed. The revised junior certificate science syllabus provides for a more investigative approach to science education with some 30 experiments and investigations which have to be carried out over the period of the programme. This hands-on approach is seen as critically important to enhance the attractiveness of the subject and encourage more students to choose the physical sciences at senior cycle.
Progress is being made on ICT integration projects in teaching and learning under the schools IT initiative and the new TV Scope programme in partnership with RTE, NCCA and the National Centre for Technology in Education; on the provision of materials and publications to schools to promote the attractiveness and relevance of science for students as a subject option and career path; on reviews on mathematics, grading of subjects in the leaving certificate, gender equity issues in science, and initial reports on teacher training undertaken; on awareness measures supported by industry and third level colleges linking with schools; on the launch of the new discover science and engineering programme in October 2003 bringing together all the existing awareness activities in a unified strategy; and on the announcement by the Tánaiste in December 2003 of plans for Ireland's first interactive learning centre for children and adults, designed to give visitors a hands-on experience and understanding of science, and to be an education and outreach centre for teachers and pupils. The exploration station is due to open in 2006 and will be sited in the OPW Heuston gate development in Kilmainham, Dublin.
This work continues to be progressed and enhanced as resources permit in collaboration and consultation with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Forfás and industry. My Department is fully committed to strengthening the quality of science teaching and learning, promoting increased scientific literacy and encouraging more students to choose science subjects at senior cycle and progress to third level options in this critical area as a vitally important part of the national strategy to support competitiveness and employment.
The CAO data show small declines in first preference applications for technology/engineering and science degree courses and somewhat larger declines in these areas for diploma/certificate courses. I am concerned at this trend, particularly given the longer term requirements for skilled graduates. In its fourth report, published last year, the expert group on future skills needs reported that the ICT industry would return to growth and that by 2006 a skills gap in ICT would re-emerge. Clearly, this points to the importance of strong enrolment on these courses.
As part of a response to this issue, the Higher Education Authority has this year, in conjunction with the ICT sector, launched an active publicity campaign to support students in considering the value of ICT when making their higher education choices through the CAO. This is in addition to measures, which have been taken in all the third level institutions, to reduce the non-completion rates on ICT courses. It is hoped that these measures will help to stimulate the supply of graduates in these areas over the medium to long term. These measures, in addition to those I have already identified at second level, will support and enhance Ireland's innovative capacity through the availability of a strong supply of technologically skilled graduates over the longer term.
