Educating for the future

In an educational context where ‘STEM’ (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has become a dominant feature of discourse, the status of what may be perceived as the ‘softer’ subjects has been called into question. In Ireland, Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) constantly competes with the ‘harder’ subjects such as Science and Mathematics. This paper will explore the status of SPHE in Ireland using current literature and the results of a research study undertaken with a group of pre-service primary-school teachers. Informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen 1991; Fishbein and Ajzen 2010), this study explored the students’ attitudes to, and experiences of, SPHE, prior to commencing their studies. It follows on from a previous study undertaken with pre-service post-primary teachers (Mannix McNamara et al. 2012). The research methodology comprises a mixed-methods approach, incorporating a written survey of students along with a focus group interview. The results of the study indicate that, despite the increasing number of crisis situations which confront young people, SPHE and associated subjects are still subordinate to the other ‘harder’ STEM subjects.