Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 April 2024
296. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education the reason her Department appears to have no quality control system in place to ensure that the standard of syllabi being published by the NCCA is in keeping with international best practice in syllabus design (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18971/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2022, I set out an ambitious programme for the redevelopment of Senior Cycle, guided by the vision of a Senior Cycle that delivers “equity and excellence for all.” Under this redevelopment, specifications for all Leaving Certificate subjects will be revised on an annual basis in groupings called “tranches.” By 2029, all Leaving Certificate subjects will be revised. It is an ambitious programme of work which aims to ensure students experience Senior Cycle in a way that reflects who they are, their values and dispositions, and prepares them for their chosen pathway following post-primary school education.
Next year, in 2025, those entering Fifth Year of post-primary school may avail of nine new and revised subject specifications in Tranche 1 – including revised specifications for the science subjects of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
I requested the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to develop the specifications for these three subjects as part of Tranche 1. The draft specifications were developed by Subject Development Groups (SDGs), whose membership includes expertise in science, as well as representation from education stakeholders, including those in the tertiary sector. Representatives from the organisation who authored the report referred to by the Deputy in his question also form part of the membership of the SDGs for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.
The NCCA has published a research paper on the Technical Form of Curriculum Specifications, which is informing the redevelopment work. This research paper provides a template for how the curriculum in each revised subject is developed. This paper sets out the need for an appropriate level of detail in subject curricula and has helped to guide the work of the Subject Development Groups drafting the revised science curricula. It also points to the experience internationally. This paper, available on the NCCA website, sets out that there are a variety of approaches internationally to curricular design and definition and indicates, through the review of syllabi/specifications from upper secondary education in a range of other jurisdictions, that there is no single approach internationally to the technical form of curriculum specification.
The NCCA is currently reviewing the feedback received during the extensive public consultation period for the three revised science subjects, which ran from December last year to late February this year. This feedback is informing the work of the relevant Development Groups in finalising the specifications, and work on this is ongoing. Once the Subject Development Groups finalise the draft curricula, these will be brought to me as Minister for approval.
