The new curriculum will be phased in gradually, over the next three to five years, to more than 3,000 schools around the State.
The 1999 curriculum builds on the "new curriculum" of 1971, Curaclam na Bunscoile. The process of revising the curriculum began with the work of the Review Body on the Primary Curriculum, which published its report in May 1990. The report was a detailed appraisal of the 1971 curriculum and provided the basis for the current redesign.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment took over responsibility for devising a revised primary curriculum. It established committees representing all the educational partners to work on the six curricular areas. This partnership approach to educational issues has served the Department of Education and Science well in the recent past, giving the partners, including the National Parents' Council-Primary, a considerable stake in educational developments and, there by, ensuring their support for implementation. However, the INTO has now balked, saying it welcomes the curriculum but is "highly doubtful" it can be implemented successfully, due to lack of resources.
The 1999 curriculum comprises languages (English and Gaeilge); mathematics; social, environmental and scientific education (history, geography and science); arts education (visual arts, music and drama); physical education; and social, personal and health education.
A religious education curriculum is not included in the curriculum documents as the Department of Education and Science, in the context of the Education Act (1998), recognises the rights of the different church authorities to design curricula in religious education at primary level and to supervise their teaching and implementation.
Key changes include new content in the form of science, educational drama and social, personal and health education (SPHE). At present, primary school pupils encounter science only in the form of nature studies. The advent of science at primary level is timely in light of the falling numbers of students taking physics and chemistry to Leaving Certificate.
Science in the new curriculum is split into four strands - living things, energy and forces, materials and environmental awareness and care. The emphasis is on development of scientific skills, including observation, hypothesis, prediction, experimentation, planning and analysis of results. It seeks to foster positive attitudes to science and to develop an appreciation of its relevance and the contribution science and technology make to the social, economic and cultural dimensions of society.
The new SPHE curriculum is designed to foster self-esteem and self-confidence, while drama will be used in the classroom as a developmental and learning tool.
The teaching of Irish has long been a thorny issue, with many students leaving primary school after eight years with only a cursory knowledge of the language. A new Irish curriculum, based on a communicative approach, is designed to foster enjoyment of the language as well as competency.
The English curriculum has been revised, with new approaches to language learning, reading and writing. There is a greater emphasis on problem-solving in maths. Concrete materials will also be used as a teaching aid.
Concerns have been expressed over assessment which the Minister says will be ongoing but will not be certified.
Implementation of the changes will take place over a three to five-year period. All primary teachers will be supplied with a box set of 23 books - including an introduction, 11 curriculum statements and 11 teacher guidelines - within the next 12 days. The Minister said that will enable teachers to dip in and out of the curriculum and will allow them to implement it as early as they choose.
Extensive support is being provided to teachers, in an effort to avoid the mistakes of 1971 when implementation was hindered by lack of support structure. Teachers will be invited to participate in six days' in-service training in the current school year. This includes a two-day introduction to the curriculum, and at a later stage, four days on the Gaeilge or English curriculum, depending on which language is the primary language of the school. Since May of this year, 40 teachers have been seconded from their posts to work, together with a co-ordinator and assistant co-ordinator, on a national team dedicated to curriculum implementation.
In the near future, a separate booklet of guidelines on the use of information and communications technology will be published by the NCCA.
Modern languages are not included in the revised curriculum launched today but the Minister for Education and Science said it was envisaged that the pilot programme in modern languages now in place in 300 schools would be expanded.
The NCCA is developing a curriculum for modern languages and the Minister has asked the review body on pre-service training at primary level to look at current provision for modern languages in the colleges of education. He has also asked the NCCA to consider the development of a curriculum aimed at children with special educational needs.