Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 573: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the action he is taking to encourage greater awareness of science and technology among the public and students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17453/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is fully committed to strengthening the quality of science teaching and learning, promoting increased scientific literacy and encouraging more students, both girls and boys, to choose science subjects. Progress in these areas is a vitally important part of our national strategy to support competitiveness and employment.

Significant progress is being made in regard to curricular reform and inservice support for science at both primary and post-primary levels. Science was introduced as a key component in the revised Primary School Curriculum in 1999 and it has been implemented in all schools since September 2003. A revised syllabus in Junior Certificate Science was introduced in 2003, supporting by an investment of €16m in resources and facilities, and it was examined for the first time in June 2006. I believe that this syllabus, with its hands-on investigative approach and its new emphasis on scientific process skills, will be instrumental in encouraging more students to continue their study of science in senior cycle. Advice from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in regard to reform of science at senior cycle is expected shortly.

The book, Irish Innovators in Science and Technology, produced with the assistance of Enterprise Ireland and the Royal Irish Academy was distributed to all Post-Primary Schools. The Irish Scientist is distributed every year. 20 copies of a CD-rom called Up2u, produced for the National Skills Awareness Campaign on behalf of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and Forfás, were sent to each Post-Primary School, providing information and assistance to help students make choices about subjects, colleges and careers in the areas of science, technology and engineering. Both my Department and the Discover Science programme continue to engage with school guidance counsellors on the importance of science, technology and engineering careers, and Discover Science operates a comprehensive range of initiatives to promote the attractiveness of careers in this area. In addition, Discover Science and Engineering provides an extensive programme of activities designed to promote the take up of science and engineering, and to promote innovative approaches to science teaching.

The National Centre for Technology in Education has been established to provide advice and support to schools on the integration of ICT into teaching and learning. The centre provides professional development programmes for teachers in ICT in collaboration with other agencies and teacher support services, a virtual learning environment, advice on ICT and e–learning planning. The Centre also co-ordinates the implementation of the schools broadband programme, and maintains an educational website portal - Scoilnet- which provides access to thousands of teacher reviewed resources. Nationwide seminars on e-learning for schools are being implemented at present. My Department is currently evaluating tenders for the next round of the Schools Broadband Programme, and the range of services available to schools is being expanded.

Major reform in Mathematics at junior and senior cycle has also begun under the Project Maths Initiative. The objective is to teach Mathematics in a way which promotes real understanding, where students can appreciate the relevance of what they are learning and its application to everyday life, and how mathematics can be used to solve problems. In addition, Technology as a new subject in senior cycle was introduced in 2007, allied with a revised syllabus in Design and Graphic Communications. These subjects provide for a significant emphasis on student project work and on design, communication, ICT, CAD and practical skills and were accompanied by an investment of €15.5m in equipment for schools.

All Third Level Institutions regularly review their courses and these reviews usually include an industry representative. Most computing departments have advisory boards which include industry representation. In the computing industry where technology changes at a rapid rate there has to be a balance as to when new technological approaches get introduced into formal courses, soon enough to meet growing demand but not too soon to replace demand for existing technologies. The critical academic approach is to teach the fundaments correctly and then the new technologies can be learned as they develop.

The Government is committed to implementing the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation to significantly increase the research capacity, quality and output of the Irish higher education research system. The strategy has a particular focus on raising the quality of teaching and learning activities in the institutions. The overall strategy is overseen by an inter-Departmental Committee which reports to a Cabinet Committee on Science Technology and Innovation. This work is informed by high level inputs from industry and the industrial development agencies.