ATT was founded in 1995 with the aim of supporting and promoting the subject Technology, its teachers and students.
Technology was introduced to the Junior Certificate curriculum in 1989 and examined for the first time in 1992. The Junior Certificate curriculum itself was conceived by the Curriculum and Examinations Board (CEB) in 1984 and developed under the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) which was replaced the CEB in 1986.
The curriculum design proposed by the CEB / NCCA identified 8 core areas of experience within the curriculum including Science and Technology. All students should have access to education in each of these core areas.
Science and Technology are spoken of frequently as crucial to the successful education of the young person. They are also seen to be crucial to the economic success of Ireland as a society and a nation.
Much concern has been expressed in recent years about the declining uptake of science subjects. This decline, so goes the argument, will undermine Ireland's future economic development by reducing the supply of Science and Technology graduates to work in research & development and in production in high technology industries. If Ireland's future lies in a knowledge based, rather than a manufacturing based, economy then highly qualified graduates in all disciplines are essential for the future.
The Science and Technology sector of the curriculum has a significant contribution to make to our future society, culture and prosperity. ATT's policy in this regard is founded on a number of core principles.
- The student is the focus of the education process. Issues in education must be discussed and decided upon with the interests and involvement of the student foremost in the frame of reference.
- Science and Technology are taught within the context of the whole curriculum. They are supported by the whole curriculum and cannot be discussed in isolation from it. Subjects complement each other in the curriculum and cannot be seen as competing or ranked by arbitrary hierarchy.
- Within the Junior Cycle Science and Technology curriculum sector there is a range of subjects on offer. This range is much wider at Senior Cycle. All students should have the opportunity of access to the widest range of choice within this sector.
- The subject Technology combines a variety of learning styles and appeals to the full range of learning domains, cognitive, affective and psychomotor. As such it is advantageously positioned to offer a broad science and technology education to the widest range of student abilities.
- ATT is committed to the development of the subject Technology as an inclusive avenue of access to the Science and Technology curriculum sector. It should become a rich learning environment capable of serving all interested students
- ATT is committed to working collaboratively with all groups, individuals and institutions in the best interests of the subject Technology, Science and Technology in the curriculum.
we know where we are coming from.....
but do we know where we are sailing to?