Curricula changes come hot and heavy

The huge volume of curriculum change going on at secondlevel is as exciting as it is daunting. In the past decade every class and every staffroom has been touched by some aspect of change. A new broom is sweeping through our classrooms.

New programmes, new texts, new material, new approaches, new subjects and new structures have been introduced throughout second-level schools. Tired syllabi which were set in stone, unchanged for decades, have been reviewed, revamped, revisited an revitalised and, in some cases, thrown out for a newer, better syllabus. It's a great time in education circles.

Changes have come on stream at every level, including the new Transition Year, Leaving Cert Applied and Leaving Cert Vocational programmes. There have also been changes at Junior Cert and traditional Leaving Cert level. Many schools are offering students Post Leaving Cert courses and the VTOS as well. The new Junior Cert Elementary programme was made available to schools on a national basis in August 1996. Before any new syllabus is implemented, after drafting by the National Council for Curriculum Assessment, a set of teaching guidelines and draft exam papers must be prepared. The curriculum, the guidelines and the draft exam papers are then passed on to the Minister for Education and Science for final approval.

Generally, the council would allow at least 18 months before a new syllabus would be introduced in classrooms - this allows the system to gear itself up. Publishers must be alerted, in-service training must be set up and arrangements must be made for the phased introduction of the curriculum.

"It's not just a matter of having the syllabus ready," says Albert O Ceallaigh, chief executive of the NCCA. He is aware of the presssure on schools which have to introduce and implement these new programmes. He is quick to point out that the NCCA's aim is to lessen disruption.

"At the moment we are conscious of the volume of curriculum change," he says. The council's aim at the moment is to look at all the changes and see how it can arrange things so that there are fewer demands on teachers and schools.

It wants to look at ways of lessening disruption when new programmes are introduced in schools. It is concerned in particular that disruption at senior level should be lessened.

Two new syllabi were introduced at senior level last September. Seven further new programmes were introduced into schools in the recent past - French, German, Italian, Spanish, maths, accounting and Irish and a further 13 subjects are at various stages of readiness. The point at which these are introduced has yet to be decided but the determining factor will the need to ensure that the system does not suffer from overload. However, it is definite that the new English curriculum will be introduced in schools in September 1999, and that there will be a respite from change next year.

The NCCA is also anxious to ensure that the introduction of these programmes is managed as efficiently as possible. But the sea of changes coming in at all levels will continue.

"Curriculum change is a fact of the educational life," says O Ceallaigh. "A curriculum needs to be constantly updated but the issue is how the system can deal with such changes."

An NCCA committee is currently reviewing the entire Junior Cert curriculum at the request of the Minister, Micheal Martin. The objective is not to bring about further changes in syllabi and courses but to review the effectiveness of the Junior Cert.

It is expected that the commitee will produce a first report in the summer and a final report by the end of this year. According to recent reports, PE will be introduced as an exam subject at both Junior and Leaving Cert level in the next few years.

Technology, a new junior cert subject, is being phased in. Religious education, an optional subject, will be introduced shortly. The civic, social an political education programme is in schools since last September and a final draft of the social, personal and health education programme, which includes the much talked about Relationships and sexuality education (RSE) module, is almost ready.

As for senior cycle, the council is reviewing the Leaving Cert Vocational programme, the Leaving Cert Applied programme and the Transition Year programme, while a range of new syllabi in traditional Leaving Cert subjects - physics, chemistry, biology, home economics, agricultural science and a new combined physics and chemistry course - are just about ready for implementation. Their introduction will depend on the Department and, once the green light is given, in-service training will get underway. Dr Carl O Dalaigh, deputy chief inspector at the Department, has responsibility in this area. He is also conscious of "the broader picture." There will be a breathing space of one year from next September when no new Leaving Cert syllabi are introduced. The following year a new English syllabyus will be introduced and teachers and students will once again have to cope with change.

At least 34 subjects are on the Department's approved Leaving Cert list. Already new syllabi have been developed for seven of these subjects and introduced into the schools and examined at Leaving Cert. These include four modern languages - French, German, Italian and Spanish - as well as maths, accounting and Irish. These are all being taught in second-level schools now and the first students were examined on the new syllabi last summer.

Some of newly introduced curricula, such as the new Leaving Cert Irish, can also take a while to be ironed out. "Thainig an siollabas nua i bhfeidhm i 1995 agus scrudaiodh na daltai don chead uair i 1997," arsa O Ceallaigh. "I bhfiannaise an taithi ins na scoileanna sa dha bhliain sin ta leasaithe a ndeanamh go hairithe ar an siollabas ar an gnath leibheal. Taimid ag breathnu go hairithe ar an bpros agus ar an bhfiliocht ata mar chuid den siollabas sin."

Just two new syllabi were introduced at senior level in September last - music and business. A support service is already in place to help teachers cope with teething problems and iron out difficulties.

The NCCA has completed the syllabus for physics and for chemistry. The new curricula have been ready for some time. The new syllabi for biology and agricultural science are also ready. The council is preparing guidelines for the new curricula. It is also working on a revision of the combined syllabus for physics and chemistry "and we have a considerable amount of work done".