Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 10 July 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Teacher Recruitment: Discussion (Resumed)

3:30 pm

Mr. Eddie Ward:

There is also an increasing emphasis on STEM in the curriculum. At primary level, aspects of coding and computational thinking will be introduced into the new mathematics curriculum as that takes shape. In the junior cycle at post-primary level, there are many options to increase the presence of STEM. From a teacher education perspective, a greater investment is being made in the upskilling of teachers on what we expect to be taught in schools. There are many options and flexibility for schools in respect of short courses in the area of STEM and the sciences generally. Computer science is a new subject being introduced at senior cycle. That will be an examinable subject for the first time next year. This introduces new challenges but it also introduces new opportunities for students. We like to think that will channel people into teaching down the road.