MORE THAN one-third of maths teachers in secondary schools are not graduates in the subject, according to new figures supplied by Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe.
The figures will raise fresh concerns about the so-called “crisis in maths” which have been voiced by industry and employer groups.
In response to a Dáil question, the Minister said only 3,858 of the 5,900 maths teachers at second level (65 per cent ) had maths as a major subject in their degree.
While some of these teachers may have studied maths as part of a degree in science, business, technology or related subjects, their actual degree was not in maths.
Last night Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes – who tabled the question – said these alarming figures made a case for “root and branch” reform of maths teaching and learning.
Mr Hayes said maths graduates should be given incentives to become teachers. “It is integral to developing a ‘smart economy’.”
John Power of Engineers Ireland said the lack of maths expertise in the classroom was a matter of serious concern.
“One of the issues we must address is the quality of maths teaching at second level – if we want to inspire the next generation in science and engineering,” he said.
In his response to the Dáil question, the Minister stressed that teachers in second-level schools were appointed and employed by the managerial authorities of the schools; it was their responsibility, he said, to ensure that appropriately qualified teachers were employed.
The Government has identified maths as a key building block for the “smart economy” but there is concern about the performance of Irish students in the subject and the poor level of interest.
Irish students rank 16th out of 30 OECD countries in maths. There have also been persistently high failure rates in Leaving Cert maths: more than 4,000 failed the subject this year.
Other worrying trends in the subject include:
Only 16 per cent of Leaving Cert students sit the higher-level paper, the lowest figure for any honours subject. This means a huge number of students are ineligible for many science and related courses at third level which require a minimum C3 grade.
Nearly two-thirds of students who sit higher-level maths at Junior Cert level drop to ordinary level for the Leaving Cert.
Many honours maths classes have been merged with ordinary-level maths classes because of recent cutbacks in teacher numbers, according to a recent survey by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland.