Leaving Cert reforms gather dust

KEY reforms designed to make the Leaving Certificate more relevant to modern needs are gathering dust in the Department of Education.

Plans for four revised subjects are on hold indefinitely because of budgetary pressures.

The delays mean that students are leaving school without a foundation in skills crucial to the so-called smart economy.

It flies in the face of the image of Ireland as the 'innovation hub' of Europe which is being marketed by Taoiseach Brian Cowen in New York this week.

The Department of Education has admitted that it has 'no timescale' for the introduction of the revised syllabi in architectural technology, engineering technology, art and economics.

The use of cutting-edge technology is a critical element in proposals to modernise the syllabi in architectural technology - a replacement for construction studies - engineering technology, which is replacing engineering, and art.

The revised art syllabus would broaden out traditional teaching of the subject to include digital media.

The introduction of a new syllabus in economics, drawn up in 2006, is also awaiting the go-ahead from the department.

The change to the economics syllabus would see students engaged in a real-life application of their learning, through the completion of a case study.

Process

The proposed changes are part of an ongoing process to modernise the Leaving Certificate, being undertaken by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).

But modernising the syllabus has financial implications, such as the cost of training teachers and the purchase of equipment.

The department spokesperson said the priority in the current budgetary environment was the maintenance of frontline services in schools to the optimum extent possible.

'Of necessity this means that the scope for new developments, and the overall number of posts which can be devoted to curriculum support and professional development services for teachers, is limited.'

The spokesperson said that professional development services were being devoted to core priorities such as major reform of mathematics under project maths, integration of students with special needs, supporting positive behavioural strategies in schools and training on the implementation of Child Protection Guidelines.

They are also being devoted to supporting the changes in assessment in Irish, under which up to 40pc of the marks will be available for oral assessment in the Leaving Certificate in 2012.

Tony Donohoe, the head of education and innovation policy with the employers' body, IBEC, said curriculum reform was fundamental to the success of the education system.

'Today's economy demands not only a high-level competence in the traditional academic disciplines but also what might be called 21st Century skills,' he said.

'As globalisation, technology and other factors change the nature of the skills required in the economy, we need to ensure that our education system responds in terms of what it teaches and how it teaches.

'The economic returns from investment in education tend to accrue mainly in the medium to long term but it is vital that we treat it as a priority area,' he added.

- Katherine Donnelly

Irish Independent