| 2005 |
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YEAR BOOK |
Department of Education, Northern Ireland
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Opportunities and challenges for science teaching in Northern Ireland schools
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A Science Strategy for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Science Education Forum, which was established in the mid 1980s as a medium for the exchange of information and ideas between people and agencies working in science education in Northern Ireland, organised a successful conference at Queen's University, Belfast, in May 2005. Distinguished speakers such as Lord Winston, pointed up the need for better science education during compulsory schooling and beyond; he identified the importance of ethics in science and the need for young people to understand the relationship between scientific research and ethical principles. He was concerned that the scientific community was interested in communicating with the general public but was not engaging them sufficiently. The need for more science-based industry in NI was highlighted as well as the consequences of young people not choosing careers involving innovation and wealth creation in NI. The conference identified the need for an overarching science strategy in NI, which will promote cohesion and communication among schools, colleges, further and higher education, industry and innovation. A working group has been set up to advance this process.
Science and the new curriculum in NI
The Department of Education has approved proposals for a revised NI curriculum that will be phased in over a period of years. The new curriculum, which places an emphasis on the acquisition of skills and capabilities such as personal and social education, citizenship and employability, will provide opportunities and challenges for all involved in science education. While the skills required in the new science curriculum are well defined, there is no statutory content for pupils aged 4 to 14. Also, there is no statutory obligation to study science beyond 14. The science education community is investigating ways of ensuring that the progress made in science over the last 15 years is consolidated and that suitable contexts for learning science are defined and disseminated widely. Since the study of science to age 16 will no longer be compulsory, ways of encouraging students to study some science are being developed. There is also a concern that the number of post-16 students taking GCE A- level physical science courses does not diminish even further. The revised curriculum has the potential to develop investigative science, and to encourage critical, creative and higher order thinking capabilities within the context of science. The challenge of developing teachers' attitudes to cope with the change of emphasis from content to the development of the pupils' skills is significant.
Curriculum support for science teachers
The Wellcome Trust has funded a major initiative to improve teacher education in science in the United Kingdom. A National Science Learning Centre (NSLC) has been established at York University to provide elements of continuous professional development (CPD) for all science teachers in the UK. A state of the art building was completed in September 2005. As it is vital that science teachers keep in touch with the latest advances in their subjects, the provision of high quality, low cost medium and long-term professional development in a wide variety of forms is an important priority. Ways of ensuring that science teachers in NI benefit from the UK-wide initiative are currently under consideration.
Uptake of science in schools and colleges
The fall in the uptake of post-16 physical science courses in schools and colleges in NI continues to cause concern. The number of physical science graduates entering Post Graduate Certificate in Education courses is insufficient to meet demand in schools and colleges and, as a consequence, non-specialist teachers are teaching young people. Creative ways of addressing this challenging issue are a priority.
Science in further and higher education
Science inspectors carried out a survey of science provision in colleges of further and higher education in 2004. The team found many strengths in provision, including the adult ethos in science classes, the wide range of teaching approaches employed, the standards achieved by the students, the good opportunities provided by Access science courses for adults to return to study science and progress to higher education and the innovative science programmes, which have been introduced by a few colleges. Areas for development include; the need for a coherent science strategy, which is linked to developing the NI economy; the rationalisation and specialisation of science provision in NI colleges; the provision of appropriate modern science accommodation and resources and the need for an integrated programme of curriculum development, staff development and resource management in science.
Sharing Science Across Ireland
Sharing Science Across Ireland is a joint initiative between the Association for Science Education (ASE) in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Irish Science Teachers Association (ISTA) in the Republic of Ireland (RoI), supported for two years by European Structural Funds from the Department of Education and Science in RoI and the Department of Education in NI, under the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in the Border Region of Ireland. This involves pupils in the 10 to 14 age range in the border counties working together on science and technology topics related to their respective curricula. Currently, 52 primary and 29 post-primary schools are engaged in the project, arranged in 22 clusters having cross-community and cross-border representation. A wide variety of seminars, industrial visits, workshops and lectures focused on science education developments in RoI and NI have taken place and/or are planned for 2005/06. Participants have opportunities to share ideas and learn about curricula and organisation in the two jurisdictions. Much has been achieved since the project was launched at Dundalk in March 2004, teachers and pupils have established good working relationships and the many innovative projects are generating much interest and enthusiasm for science. The annual British Association for the Advancement of Science Festival, held in Dublin in September 2005, provided a valuable showcase for the initiative.
Contact: Irvine Richardson,
Department of Education Northern Ireland,
Rathgael House, 43 Balloo Road, Bangor, Co Down, BT19 7PR;
Tel: 028 9127 9279