this article today in the independent
One in 10 teachers of maths never qualified
ONE-IN-TEN Junior Cert maths teachers is not qualified to teach the subject.
And a further 20pc did not take maths or a related subject such as applied maths, statistics or maths physics as a major component of their degree.
The shocking figures emerged in a survey of 856 maths teachers.
It is not known how many of the unqualified maths teachers teach the subject at higher level for the Junior Cert, nor is it known how many also teach at the Leaving Certificate stage.
The survey - carried out by a team from the Educational Research Centre in St Patrick's, Drumcondra - also found that the use of computers in maths classes in Irish schools is very low.
Details are carried in the current issue of the Irish Journal of Education which is published by the centre.
One of the four researchers Dr Gerry Sheil said that given the continuing concern about failure rates in maths and the 'mediocre' performance of Irish 15-year-olds in an international study, the qualifications of our maths teachers was one area that should be monitored closely.
In the 2003 PISA study (Programme for International Student Assessment) the average score for Irish pupils was not significantly different from the OECD average.
Secondary schools are not obliged to confine teachers only to the subjects they are qualified in, but they generally try to match them as closely as possible.
Degrees
However, it's not always easy to get teachers with the right mix of subjects from their degrees for the available jobs in schools.
But, Dr Sheil said a difficulty may arise in the case of teachers whose major area of study did not include maths, or a subject that is heavily dependent on maths such as statistics, maths physics, etc.
"Mathematics teachers who are not specialists in the subject may not be able to contribute or respond to curricular change in the same way as specialists.
"Moreover, they may be more likely to teach the syllabus in a mechanical way designed to help students pass exams, rather than in ways that develop problem solving skills," he added.
John Walshe
I wonder will Mary Hanafin tackle this one seen how cosy she is with the teachers.