Dr. Cornelia Connolly:

Dia daoibh, a Chathaoirligh agus a dhaoine uaisle. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht an chuiridh a bheith anseo agus caint libh faoi thodhchaí eolaíochta, teicneolaíochta, innealtóireachta agus mata i gcóras oideachais na hÉireann. I am a computer engineering graduate, an associate professor at the school of education in University of Galway and a funded investigator with Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, research centre for software. I state this merely because the terms "software", "IT" and "computing" do not fall within the STEM acronym, yet coding and computational thinking, constituent elements of computer science, are fundamental and underpin all of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Computer science is a key discipline necessary for our future and societal development, as outlined in my written submission. In considering the disposition of young people when completing their formal education, the key competencies necessary for their future, I will emphasise three points about computer science education and its role in the future of STEM in Irish education.

Ireland is working to become a digital leader at the heart of European and global development. The recently published digital Ireland framework sets out a roadmap for the ongoing digital transformation of the economy and the need to strengthen the centrality of education, research and innovation. Digital skills and a flourishing computer science education ecosystem are essential to our national digital transformation. To grow our digital economy, Ireland needs an advanced workforce ready to take advantage of the opportunities that transformation will bring. Opportunities to learn digital skills must be provided from an early age. That includes computer science education, along with comprehensive knowledge and understanding of data-intensive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, AI. Computer science, CS, is an important part of STEM. CS is the study of computing technology, how coding, programming and computational thinking can be used to solve problems and how computing technology impacts the world around us. The knowledge, ways of thinking, problem-solving and creativity involved in the diverse field of CS are invaluable skills which bring the benefits of innovation and digital transformation to everyone in society.

In recent years, the Irish education system has embraced CS by bringing it into the curriculum. Nevertheless, we are a long way off making this important subject available to all students. Equity of access is a matter of concern. Currently, CS at senior cycle is limited by the low number of post-primary schools offering coding at junior cycle and by a significant shortage of teachers qualified to teach the subject. The capacity of the Irish education system to facilitate CS education is highly contested, with constraints being placed on school timetables. Coupled with this is the low level of awareness and a pervading misunderstanding of what the discipline is and what it is not. For example, digital literacy, on the one hand, would allow a Deputy or Senator to write his or her election manifesto and circulate it via email; computer science, on the other hand, would allow him or her to use an algorithm to monitor voting patterns or constituents' concerns.

The Programme for International Student Assessment, PISA, review on education will examine informatics, as the subject is commonly known in Europe, in 2024, which will include the study of the data, structure and computational systems. As a result, the new primary curriculum framework offers a promising opportunity for the introduction of CS to all school children in Ireland. Professional development in CS education should no longer be viewed as an elective for primary teachers but, rather, embedded within all initial teacher education at primary and post-primary.

We need to develop a shared understanding and strengthen the acceptance of CS as a foundational competence for every child, irrespective of race, gender or socioeconomic background, enabling the young people of today to become active participants in the digital society of tomorrow and to become the designers and developers, not just the consumers, of technology. Broad engagement is needed with key stakeholders across the education system and with industry partners in an appropriate manner to highlight and optimise the benefits of CS as a key competency. We also need a holistic approach to the introduction of CS in formal education and to create a learning pathway from preschool to primary to post-primary. To ensure this pathway, CS must be embedded within initial teacher education and we need continued investment in in-service teacher programmes.

In preparing the groundbreaking 1965 Investment in Education report, one of the distinguished authors, Bill Hyland, used CS in analysing the use of resources in schools. That seminal report was informed by the concept of education as a means by which we invest in the next generation. That mission remains of importance today, particularly in the context of CS education.