Schools unprepared for syllabus: survey

There is concern amongst second-level biology teachers about the level of resources and laboratory facilities in schools, according to a survey just completed by the ASTI.

Moira Leydon, assistant general secretary of the ASTI, who has responsibility for education and research, says teachers are concerned about meeting the needs of the new Leaving Cert biology syllabus, which will be based on students being familiar with up to 20 mandatory experiments. In the old system, she explains, teachers could do the Leaving Cert biology course without every going near a laboratory. This survey of biology teachers shows that over a third of the respondents do not consider that they have adequate equipment for each student to perform the proposed mandatory activities listed in the revised draft syllabus. More than 60 per cent of teachers say they would favour the assessment of practical work in the new biology Leaving Cert examination, she says. The Leaving Cert biology syllabus is under review by the NCCA. The ASTI survey, which circulated to 570 schools, had a response rate of 44 per cent, - that is, 248 schools.