A member of a group tasked with reforming Leaving Certificate maths courses has said she resigned because she did not want to be associated with draft courses that were “incoherent and mathematically inaccurate”.
Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, associate professor of mathematics education at DCU, resigned in June from the Mathematics Development Group, which advises the National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NCCA).
She said she believed the draft specifications for the new courses being proposed would, if implemented, “do a disservice to our young people”.
Following two years of work by the group, the draft mathematics specifications were approved for public consultation by the NCCA’s council in June.
RM Block
Ní Shúilleabháin told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland that the draft specifications proposed would fail to adequately prepare students for “their future lives in society and work and study”.
“I’m very worried about the lack of rigour or the reduction in content and abstraction that we have for our high-achieving students. This seems to be a systems issue,” she said.
She said the work being done by the Mathematics Development Group was “hugely important”, given it was effectively asked to draft the specifications for how maths would be taught in schools, and that some “excellent teachers” took part, which is necessary.
She said experts were asked to participate in curriculum changes but their contributions were being ignored, which had also led to “frustrations and resignations” in science subjects.
“The balance of subject-matter experts has to be there with pedagogy experts and teachers, as is done in most other countries . . . But in this case, it’s the decision-making processes that continues to be opaque.”
She said it was not clear to those who made suggestions within the group if these were agreed with or would be adopted or ignored. She said “mathematical errors, as an example, were independently and objectively corrected by separate members of this group and that has been consistently ignored”.
Asked whether efforts were being made to dumb down the Leaving Cert maths course, Ní Shúilleabháin said she did not like such language, but there had never been an opportunity to ask what students would need in 10 years time.
“They’re going to be graduating at a time or coming into a world of work at a time that is data-driven and AI-based.”
She questioned if children could be taught mathematical skills that are not currently on the curriculum but which could benefit them into the future, adding: “That discussion was not had and I think that’s to the detriment of our young people.”
Ní Shúilleabháin said she had “consistently” shared her concerns with the group and members of the NCCA and had requested a meeting with the Minister for Education.
Pauline Mellon, a former professor in the UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics, cited similar concerns when she left the group in January. She said the process was “not fit for purpose” and she felt she could not give her stamp of approval to the proposed curricula.
She told RTÉ Radio 1’s Today with David McCullagh there were problems with the foundation, ordinary and higher level proposals and that she felt “feedback was not being taken on board”.
“There was, I believe, lack of engagement. Unfortunately, I think there’s a wider problem with the process, which is intrinsic to what’s actually going on.”
In response, the NCCA said the draft mathematics specifications were not final. It said it was inviting public engagement on them over the next three months in an attempt to “help to identify areas requiring further work or refinement”.
“The consultation feedback will play an important role in shaping the final stage of work on the two specifications,” it said.
“Such work will help to ensure that we have mathematically accurate, coherent, rigorous, inclusive and manageable mathematics specifications that prepare students appropriately for life, work and further and higher education.”
