Press release
Minister Bruton welcomes significant subject changes for start of new school year
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The Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD, today (Monday the 10th September) welcomed the introduction of a number of changes to the subject choices available to post primary school students from the start of this school year.
Minister Bruton said:
“We are continuing to modernise and equip children to excel in a modern world. The changes coming in will focus more on the individual student, developing their capacity to analyse and discern, to problem solve and collaborate. The new subjects also reflect the need to respond to a changing economy and global environment.”
From this September, the first students will begin studying the Leaving Certificate Computer Science and Physical Education courses. Both subjects are being introduced to an initial group of schools, before both are rolled out nationally in 2020 to all schools who wish to teach them. Politics and Society, which has gone through this initial phase, with its first set of students sitting the Leaving Certificate exam this year, is now available to all schools who wish to teach the subject.
The new Junior Cycle, which puts the student at the centre of the learning process, with a greater emphasis on group work, creativity, project-based learning and non-academic performance and achievements is now being extended. New specifications for Mathematics, Home Economics, History, Music and Geography are all being introduced under the new Junior Cycle for the first time this school year.
The Minister also today announced the introduction of Lithuanian as a new short-course for Junior Cycle and Korean as a module for Transition Year. Plans to further diversify the range of languages on offer have commenced with work on developing specifications for Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Lithuanian and Portuguese, due for implementation in schools from September 2020.
The Minister said:
“I am keen to prioritise the teaching and learning of foreign languages during my time as Minister. Not only do we need to increase the number of languages taught, but we need to deepen the level of fluency and competency in these languages among our students. In the context of Brexit and the increasing importance globally of non-English speaking countries, I want to take action to ensure Ireland is well prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.”
All of these changes are important actions under the Minister’s Action Plan for Education, the government’s plan to make Ireland’s education and training service the best in Europe by 2026.
ENDS
This September marks the introduction of the new Junior Cycle specifications for Mathematics, Home Economics, History, Music and Geography, as part of the Framework for Junior Cycle. All specifications were informed by extensive consultation and engagement with stakeholders. This will be the fourth and penultimate phase of rollout of new subject specifications under the Framework.
The development of the Mathematics specification built on the Junior Certificate specification developed in recent years as part of the Project Maths initiative. The new specification is also aligned with international developments and good practice in mathematics education.
The specification for Junior Cycle Home Economics focuses on developing students’ knowledge, attitudes, understanding, skills and values to achieve optimal, healthy and sustainable living as an individual and as a member of families and society.
The specification for History in Junior Cycle is closely linked to the philosophy, key skills, statements of learning and principles of the Framework for Junior Cycle 2015. There is a considerable emphasis on developing the research skills of students, through project work,engagement with oral sources, archives and with the physical environment. In particular, students will get the opportunity to develop their research skills when undertaking Classroom based Assessments in the subject.
The new music specification builds on the excellent components that exist in the current Music syllabus. There are some essential key differences that will make it more effective and attractive for schools. Students will study a range of works within a wide range of styles and genres. The teacher and student can now choose the songs and works to be studied while ensuring that the integrity of the specification is honoured.
The specification for Geography sits firmly within the overall Framework for Junior Cycle. Central to the specification for Geography is the concept of Geoliteracy. The specification aims, though innovative and effective classroom practice, and through formative assessment strategies, to enable students to become geographically literate. The experience of the specification will facilitate students to analyse, synthesise, comment on, and discuss, their immediate environment and the wider world.
This September, 120 schools will commence implementation of three new Senior Cycle specifications. 80 schools will implement either the examinable Leaving Certificate Physical Education subject or the non-examinable Senior Cycle Physical Education Framework, or both. Some 40 schools will begin implementation of Leaving Certificate Computer Science.
Implementation of Leaving Certificate Politics and Society continues with the national rollout of the subject this September, bringing the total number of schools providing this subject to almost 100.
Korean and Lithuanian are the most recent languages to be added to the post-primary school curriculum in Ireland by the Department of Education and Skills, Lithuanian as a heritage language in Junior Cycle and Korean as a unit for Transition Year. This is being done in the context of one of the goals in Languages Connect Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education, which aims to diversify and increase the uptake of languages learned and cultivate the languages of the new Irish.
Lithuanian has been introduced as a short course for Junior Cycle in a number of schools in Dublin and Monaghan, two of the areas with the highest density of speakers of Lithuanian as a heritage language.
According to the official Irish population census, there were 36,683 Lithuanians living in Ireland in 2016. Approximately 16,000 of these are children and young people. There is an imperative to support and capitalise on the multilingual abilities of young people, not only because of the economic benefits, but also because of the well-documented social, analytical and psychological benefits.
The Lithuanian course is designed to stimulate students’ interest in Lithuanian language and culture and to nurture their desire to maintain proficiency in Lithuanian. The Foreign Languages Strategy identifies the need to support the immigrant communities to maintain their own languages, which constitute a new resource, as yet largely untapped, for Ireland. These immigrant communities are providing Ireland with a rich and diverse source of new languages, and the Strategy seeks to harness the language potential of the 13 per cent of our population who speak a language other than English or Irish at home.
Four schools in Dublin are piloting the Korean language unit for Transition Year for the academic year 2018/19.
Korean is the 17th most widely spoken language in the world with approximately 80 million native speakers. South Korea is a key partner for Ireland in Asia; in 2016, total Irish goods exports to South Korea reached €980m; an increase of some 70% on 2015. Total trade in goods and services between the two countries increased to €1.8bn in 2015. There are also over 200 Irish companies active in the South Korean market. The introduction of new trade languages in Irish schools is indicative of the identified need to diversify Ireland’s trading partners globally in the context of Brexit.