Ms M?ir?n N? Ch?ileachair:

The INTO is the oldest and largest teachers trade union in Ireland and represents almost 50,000 teachers at primary level in the Republic of Ireland and primary and post-primary level in Northern Ireland. Gabhaimid buíochas leis an gcoiste as ucht an deis an t-ábhar seo a phlé leis.

In January 2022, the INTO made a submission to the Department of Education as part of the Department’s consultation on phase 2 of the STEM education implementation plan. In February this year, a further submission was made to this committee. The Department’s STEM education policy statement provides a national focus on STEM education in early years settings and schools, and we welcome the launch of the second implementation plan on 2 March by the Ministers for Education, and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputies Norma Foley and Roderic O’Gorman. It sets out an ambitious journey up to 2026, which will be dynamic and evolve to meet the challenges of the future, with a vision to provide the highest quality STEM education experience for learners that nurtures curiosity, inquiry, problem-solving, creativity, ethical behaviour, confidence and persistence, along with the excitement of collaborative innovation.

The INTO welcomes this opportunity to contribute further to consultation and discussion around STEM education. The foundations for STEM education begin in early childhood. Young children naturally engage in early STEM exploration through hands-on multi-sensory and creative experiences. By doing so, they develop curiosity, inquisitiveness, critical thinking and problem-solving capacities. Such is the rapid pace of change and technological development that in 2019 the OECD predicted that more than 60% of children attending school today will work in a career that does not currently exist. STEM subjects are key enablers for the economy and the development of important skills and competencies in our young people.

The Irish primary school curriculum strives to promote the holistic development of the child, with its focus on the development of learners’ skills, knowledge and dispositions in an integrated, cross-curricular way. Science in primary school should nurture these attributes and allow children to develop the life skills they need. Learner engagement and achievement in STEM is most effective at primary level when pupils are enabled to explore, investigate and create, using cross-curricular approaches that encompass a variety of subjects and activities. This was evident in the findings of the 2020 STEM report, which found that 88% of primary schools were very aware of the national STEM education agenda, with a clear articulation by schools of the importance, value and opportunities that STEM education held for students.

Findings in this research in regard to the engagement of teachers and practitioners with, and use of, STEM pedagogies in the 2020 report were very positive. Where high-quality STEM teaching was observed at primary level, it was often characterised by children’s agency in their own learning, use of the environment and opportunities to experiment. At system level, significant work in STEM education is underway in areas such as curriculum and assessment reform, teacher professional development and the embedding of digital technologies in all classroom activities.

Our current primary curriculum is the oldest in Europe, and the process of developing a new primary curriculum framework is well under way. In fact, it will be launched by the Minister the day after tomorrow. The framework will be presented in five broad curriculum areas, one of which will be STEM. When the INTO consulted with members on the draft primary maths curriculum in 2022, some expressed concern about the grouping of mathematics with science, technology and engineering, namely that some of the fundamental mathematic skills would be lost and the critical importance of the development of foundational numeracy and maths skills in the early years of primary school should be nurtured. The INTO has many recommendations for the future of STEM.

With regard to class size, we sill have large classes - some of the largest in Europe.

A reduced pupil–teacher ratio is a prerequisite for active pedagogies. The staffing schedule has reduced by one pupil per mainstream teacher for the last three years, but we are still three pupils over the EU average.

We need to support schools in the reimagining of creative spaces where STEM education methodologies and STEM-based learning can thrive. We need Increased investment for this. It is imperative, as was stated earlier by other speakers, that both practising and student teachers are provided with the training and continuous professional development, CPD, that is necessary. The INTO recommends that CPD for STEM should be provided on a continual, planned and well-resourced basis.

In order to delegate STEM-related preparation for teaching and learning to an in-school management member, school leadership posts need to be replaced. The STEM report promotes integrated experiences across curricula, which poses challenges, which we hope will be served by the draft framework.

Outdoor learning provides children with an opportunity to experience the value of the natural world and their environment. Sufficient investment must be provided to provide these spaces to facilitate the interdisciplinary nature of STEM, particularly in schools which do not have these outdoor spaces.

I will skip over the rest of my presentation because I am conscious of time. In conclusion, STEM subjects are relevant in our everyday lives, accentuating the need for effective education from the outset, which is in early years education. As the world we live in continues to change, it is important that we equip our young learners with the STEM tools to enable them to tackle these obstacles in a problem-solving, solution-focused approach. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gcoiste as ucht éisteacht liom.  Bheinn sásta aon chuid den ráiteas nó den aighneacht a phlé agus bheinn sásta aon cheisteanna a fhreagairt.