Science, drama and social, personal and health education are among the new programmes introduced in the new primary school curriculum, which was launched in Dublin Castle yesterday, by the Minister for Education, Mr ?????????????eal Martin. The revised curriculum contains seven curriculum areas, some of which are further divided into subjects. The new science programme is incorporated in the curriculum for social, environmental and scientific education, which comprises history, geography and science.
The new science curriculum builds on the current programme. The science curriculum has four strands - living things (human life, plant/animal life), energy and forces (light, sound, heat, magnetism and electricity), materials (properties/characteristics, materials and change) and environmental awareness and care. In the new science programme practical investigations are prioritised.
At each level, says the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, children will be encouraged to investigate and explore their physical and natural surroundings.
Children will develop skills in observation, questioning, suggesting explanations, predicting outcomes and planning investigations and experiments to test ideas. Opportunities will be provided for pupils to explore the practical application of scientific ideas in everyday situations. Children will be encouraged to design and make models which will provide solutions to practical problems. Drama joins music and visual arts as part of the arts education programme. Spontaneous drama-making may sound like play, but it has important educational benefits. Drama enables children to address real-life issues. By "inventing the plot as they go along", children face choices, dilemmas, issues and problems and solve them.
"The content of drama is life itself," the introduction to the revised primary school curriculum notes. "It involves children's experiences, concerns and needs, things they imagine and read about, aspects of life from the past, present or possible future that arouse their curiosity. . . Learning through drama harnesses children's imaginative potential and leads them to new knowledge and perspectives not available to them in any other activity."
The drama programme contains one strand - drama to explore feelings, knowledge and ideas, leading to understanding. The primary school curriculum introduction suggests that schools allocate 30 minutes per week to the new social, personal and health education (SPHE) programme. This programme is designed to foster in children a respect for their own dignity and that of others and to promote both a healthy lifestyle and a commitment to the democratic process.
The programme will be developed within the context of a school's ethos and, importantly, in consultation with parents. SPHE will encourage children to develop skills in sharing, listening and turn-taking. Initiatives already introduced in many primary schools - Staysafe, drug misuse and sex education programmes, for example - will be incorporated into the new SPHE programme. Tolerance is a vital aspect of the programme. "The atmosphere of the school must reflect this," comments Ms Lucy Fallon-Byrne, who is assistant chief executive of the NCCA. "The school environment is a very powerful model for students." SPHE's strands include "myself", "myself and others" and "myself and the wider world".