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Which degree? Fashion design or science?

By Kurt Lambeck - posted Thursday, 22 February 2007


Solid research and previous experience tell us that science education in Australia is in need of a serious overhaul. Not because it’s a poor system or on the verge of breakdown but because future demands and pressures on the youth of the nation are likely to be very different from those of the past.

And we’re not alone. Australia is in the same boat as most developed and developing countries, who are struggling with how to prepare their populations for a future in which the only safe bet is that it will be different - very different.

Fortunately, thanks to the recent political focus on all levels and areas of education, in the media and across the professional and general communities, there is now an opportunity - a watershed moment - in which to make significant gains in securing a more balanced, secure and fulfilling educational future for our children.

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It’s also an opportunity to secure a better deal for the hard-working people whose job is central to achieving that future - our often hard-pressed and under-resourced teachers. For the nation, the flow-on will be a workforce that is happier, more skilled and more flexible and productive.

However, Carpe Diem springs to mind immediately, for if governments, bureaucracies and educational authorities are not pressured to act on the cold, hard facts very soon, another such opportunity may not present itself for a long time to come.

Warning bells have been rung in all quarters, including the federal Department of Education, Science and Training, whose first audit of science, engineering and technology skills makes compelling but depressing reading. The Department’s statistical radar shows that of the 55,000 extra science professionals the nation needs by 2011, we’ll fall short by 35 per cent. Put in human terms, that’s a staggering 19,250. Put in practical terms on the educational front, it means that in the near future, science teachers may be very hard to find.

As for research, even contemporary Nobel prize winners like the Academy’s Peter Doherty, Robin Warren and Barry Marshall had to begin somewhere - which poses a number of questions:

How many potential Australian breakthroughs in medical and other research will slip through the cracks because of our nation’s short-sightedness on education?

How will we maintain and consolidate our still-high levels of scientific knowledge if we are no longer a clever nation?

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And ultimately, how long will our economy survive if not underpinned by excellence in science in the face of emerging economic superpowers such as China and India, which are working hard to ensure that science is the keystone of their economic edifices?

Trends show that students are not choosing to study science once it is no longer compulsory. This trend continues into the tertiary education sector with fewer students choosing to study the physical and natural sciences and to a lesser extent engineering.

This trend is expected to worsen over the next five years unless action is taken. A strong skills base in science, engineering and technology is crucial to the foundations of national competitiveness - and qualified scientists and engineers are essential to research and development, innovation and productivity growth.

Image is one part of the equation and one that seriously needs to be addressed. Nerdy people in lab coats and thick-rimmed glasses may not be the reality of science and scientists. But it is very real as perceived by many young people in junior and senior secondary classes across the country.

Science in Australia has largely lost the prestige value that was once taken for granted: medicine, law, tourism, public relations, merchant banking and IT seem much more attractive in the eyes of young people than a science career in research, industry or teaching - and the marketplace is driving demand for these other areas of endeavour.

This is reinforced when secondary students compare the tertiary scores needed for university entry. Scores for science have been declining for a number of years and are now at an overall all-time low, with one national newspaper commenting recently that higher marks are needed to enrol in degree courses for sports teaching or fashion design.

Adding to the vicious circle is the lack of interest in the teaching of science itself, which has led to a fall in the standards required by education authorities for their teaching staff. Compounding the problem is a poor career path. As school education is largely the responsibility of the state and territories, perhaps they need to see themselves as part of the problem.

It’s generally agreed that a large part of the answer lies in changing perceptions about science as a career at primary and secondary-school levels.

Various commentators have quite correctly called for the highlighting of scientists in the public eye, perception research and the introduction of new curricula linked to professional development opportunities … which brings us to the current state of play in the political halls of power.

The Labor Opposition and Federal Government are battling for the hearts and minds of voters in the run-up to the General Election later this year and as far as exposing the issues and forcing both sides to develop policies goes, it’s a stoush to be welcomed, because the resultant debate helps to turn the spotlight on the practices of our state and territory governments, local authorities and educational institutions from primary to university level.

At the federal political level, Government and Opposition have a lot to offer: the Coalition and through it the Department of Education, Science and Training have provided much good policy, support, recognition of innovation and the resources to support such initiatives.

But the system is not perfect and the Government needs to recognise this through further solid policy development and implementation: voters these days are well aware of pork-barrelling, especially as elections loom, and have been increasingly vocal - and effective - in lobbying on educational issues.

Labor is embracing the idea of an “education revolution” and its vision is to be welcomed, although “evolution” is a better word and a better way than “revolution” - after all, we do have an educational system that has been among the best in the world.

In a recent statement to the media, I expressed my pleasure that education was now at the core of Labor’s long-term national integrated policy strategy for the nation. However, I stressed also that Labor must underpin its rhetoric with a structured, detailed and costed plan - that the devil really is in the detail. To its credit, the first slabs of that detail, on early childhood education policy and the study and teaching of maths and science, already have been issued, as has its plan to encourage young Australians to study and teach science and maths.

Of special merit on the latter item is Labor’s move to slash HECS fees by half for new maths and science students during study as well as halving the repayments if they take up relevant jobs, especially teaching, after graduation. A consistent policy plank of the Academy of Science for many years has been its recommendation that HECS-exempt scholarships be provided for students commencing science teacher education - and that a percentage of the HECS debt of science and maths teachers is cancelled for each year of teaching service.

A nice touch of the Labor policy is the promise that universities will not be disadvantaged financially as a result of the reduction in student contributions.

Of course, the Government disputes the value of the Labor proposal. That may just be politics, but the issue is sufficiently important to call for a bipartisan solution. The long-term consequences are greater than short-term political games.

Our particular interest is in science but our aim is not only to foster the next generation of scientists but also to take steps to ensure the better education of children generally. Our method - to identify the nexus between literacy and science and exploit this in ways that make education effective, beneficial and a pleasure for all involved, children and teachers.

The Academy certainly doesn’t have all the answers but it does have over 40 years experience in the development of successful, innovative science resources in Australian schools - resources that are not only user-friendly for the teachers but have changed their behaviour and attitude to science.

Here are a few words from a letter we received from a teacher in Toowoomba involved in one of our programs, Primary Connections:

In most if not all schools I have taught in, there hasn’t been a recognition of what science can offer children . . . I have always dodged teaching science as much as I could, as have many of my colleagues. What a shame that it’s the children who have missed out - if only I’d had the experience of [Primary Connections] early in my career.

And that’s what the program is all about - giving teachers the competence and confidence to deliver effective teaching of science and literacy.

Primary Connections, a partnership between the Academy of Science and the Department of Education, Science and Training, is our science and literacy educational program and has been an overwhelming success around the country. This national award-winning program has been highly effective in giving primary school teachers the tools to engage their students and harness their natural curiosity for exploring how the world works.

It uses everyday literacies to learn those of science - and science provides the context for learning literacy, catering for the needs of all learners.

Teaching and learning is active and contextualised - and program evaluation shows increased teacher confidence and improved student learning in science and literacy through the use of engaging, hands-on activities.

In two years we have trained 210 professional learning facilitators, who are now developing support models for schools, presenting information sessions to teachers and principals, running workshops for schools interesting in implementing the program and facilitating a professional learning program for groups of school co-ordinators. The program also has professional learning facilitator co-ordinators in every state and jurisdiction within each state (more information).

In a breakthrough link to higher education, I was pleased to welcome to the Academy in Canberra in early February 65 tertiary educators of primary pre-service teachers from every university in Australia to learn in depth about the Primary Connections and its benefits, which they will then incorporate it into their courses of study. As well as giving the pre-service teachers knowledge of and skills in the program, they will also learn about the effective teaching and learning model that underpins the project.

But the benefits of Primary Connections are transient if enthused primary school students enter secondary schools where it is “not cool” to do science. Primary Connections needs continuation into the secondary system to reverse the worrying trends in falling student participation at secondary level.

To this end the Academy has developed a comprehensive research-based initiative called Science by Doing. This ambitious five-year project aims to change science education in Australian secondary schools so that our students are more engaged in developing their scientific literacy. It will promote a science curriculum relevant to the needs, concerns and personal experiences of students, where teaching and learning of science is centred on inquiry with students investigating, constructing and testing ideas about the natural world.

Assessment will be embedded in the instructional units and the teaching-learning environment will be enjoyable, fulfilling and offer ownership of and engagement in learning. The benefits will be significant - improved scientific literacy of junior secondary science students. More students continuing their science studies into senior secondary school. More students choosing science at tertiary level.

Other major benefits comes by involving teachers of junior secondary science in professional learning, enabling them to create a network of science professional learning communities across Australia, and incorporating inquiry-based teaching and learning into science programs across an increasing number of schools and classes.

The initial business-plan development has had the support and encouragement of the Department of Education, Science and Training. We have the track record and committed professional staff who are itching to transform the plan into reality. Watch this space.

Until now, we’ve always seen ourselves as the Lucky Country. But as Louis Pasteur observed: “Luck favours the prepared mind.”

At the Academy, we aim to contribute towards Australia becoming renowned as a Clever Country. And so I urge the nation’s political, bureaucratic and educative “movers and shakers” to do the same, to make the country’s own luck on excellence in science education.

We all know that knowledge will carry the nation much further than luck so, as I said when I embarked on this piece: Carpe Diem!

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About the Author

Professor Kurt Lambeck is the President of the Australian Academy of Science and Distinguished Professor of Geophysics at the Australian National University.

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