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PAPER PRESENTED TO EDUCATION QUEENSLAND

Priorities in science, mathematics and technologies
2 August 2001

Professor Robert Porter, AC

In August 2000, the Commonwealth Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs produced a major report entitled  The Status and Quality of Teaching and Learning of Science in Australian Schools. The study interrogated a large number of teachers in public and private schools, surveyed a sample of students in years 5 to 11, studied examples of best practice in each State and Territory, and explored the experience of school systems in other countries. The report set out to provide a definition of the 'ideal' picture of quality in science teaching and then to compare this with the reality of what is the 'actual' state of affairs. An effort was made to describe what is happening in schools and what changes could be recommended to move towards closing the gap between the actual and the ideal. While I am sure that most of the people involved in this conference are very familiar with that report and its recommendations, I wish to refer to some of the key features which emphasise the importance of the present initiative of Education Queensland in setting up these Technology, Maths and Science Centres of Excellence.

To quote from the Executive Summary of the report:

This ideal picture refers to education in general, to the role of primary and secondary schools in providing the level of understanding of science that equates to scientific literacy of this ideal kind for ALL citizens, and perhaps especially for policy makers, journalists, administrators and decision makers. But it is also important to consider the role of educational establishments, including schools, in promoting the mastery of science by those who will be engaged in the leadership of developments in technology and industry and in the applications of science and technology to economic growth, the preservation of our planet and its environment, sustainable use of resources and improvements in health and welfare. It is well understood by deans of science in universities that the organised development of scientific skills within university study depends very substantially on the training and orientation received during secondary education. Foundations are laid in the school years. Interest in subsequent studies in science develops as a result of this school experience. University enrolments in science, particularly in the enabling sciences of mathematics, chemistry and physics, give cause for concern about the nature of those foundations – and this is a matter to which I shall return. I mention it now only to emphasise that the challenge that will be presented to the Centres of Excellence goes beyond the general issue of scientific literacy for everyone to the stimulation and encouragement of the gifted and talented to realise a fulfilling and productive future for themselves and for the whole community in the pursuit of the mastery of science.

Some of the characteristics of the ideal picture of science education in schools deserve to be highlighted:

• The science curriculum should be relevant to the needs, concerns and personal experiences of the students. So much science is now incorporated in everyday experience that primary school children are aware of the fibre and calorie content of the ingredients of their favourite breakfast cereal, and high school students are more familiar with the use of devices like video recorders than many of their parents. Children watch programs on television about global warming, land clearing and salinity, and human and animal health. Newspapers report on the use of DNA testing in criminal investigations and express concerns about the introduction of genetically modified foods in supermarkets. The use of computers in every modern motor vehicle to control fuel efficiency, braking, and inside temperature is a fact of everyday life as are microwave ovens and mobile telephones. These are some of the personal experiences on which science education should be based and the level can be adjusted to be appropriate for primary or for secondary students.

• Teaching and learning of science is centred on enquiry. In the ideal educational environment, students investigate and test ideas and explanations about the natural world. 'Cook-book' practical exercises do not convey understandings about the nature of science. The learning of science should be characterised by enjoyment, fulfilment, excitement about the engagement in an investigation and satisfaction in the process of discovery.

• Science teaching is highly valued, is seen as exciting and rewarding, and contributes significantly to the development of persons and to the economic and social well-being of the nation. This is the ideal picture. Many of us will remember what it was that stimulated our interest in science. For me it was a demonstration given by a chemistry teacher in the local technical school which gave me my first realisation that a question could be posed and the answer obtained by experiment. I was at the time a junior student in primary school and this was my first experience of what science was.

The DETYA report identifies several more features of the ideal teaching/learning context for science. But I identify these three as the ones that signal best the shortfall between the ideal and the actual and provide the background to the recommendations for change which the report goes on to make. That shortfall could be listed in some detail. Among the elements included in the list would be the following:

• In some primary schools science is not taught at all.
• The curriculum as it is presented in many secondary schools departs from the framework which is intended to focus on developing scientific literacy. It is neither relevant or engaging and fails to connect with their interests and experiences. Copying notes, and repeating dull 'cook-book' practical lessons offers little challenge and excitement.
• Many science teachers feel undervalued, under-resourced and over-loaded with non-teaching duties. Many teachers need additional professional development support and a recognised career path to allow personal growth and development.

From these and other observations the report goes on to conclude that

• Change is required to close the gap between the actual and the ideal arrangements for school science education.
• Teachers are the key to change.
• Time and resources are required to promote change, and importantly
• Collaboration between jurisdictions is essential for developing quality science education resources.

One of the messages I have to contribute to this discussion today is that the universities and their faculties of science, and the Australian Academy of Science nationally, are interested in being engaged in that collaboration with schools and with education departments. As I shall indicate in a minute, some of this willingness to be engaged with school science education comes from self interest. But the Academy and the universities have promoted science education and have been involved with science teacher organisations over many years and through a number of activities. A recent example was the participation of a large number of secondary school science teachers in a 'Chemical Bonding' program conducted at James Cook University by Professor Richard Keene. The objective of sessions like this is to enhance science teaching and the experience of science teachers at all levels. The Academy has, of course, been involved in the production of science texts and has regularly invited science teachers to take part in its annual symposia. At the beginning of May this year, 30 science teachers from around Australia attended the New Fellows symposium at the Academy and three of them came from Queensland. Eleven Victorian teachers attended this year and five of them were funded by the state education department. All the science teachers who attended reported that the experience had been of great value and that they had used the experience to make valuable contacts with Fellows and with other science teachers. Education Queensland may wish to consider providing funds for more Queensland teachers to attend such meetings.

Deans of science in Australian universities have been very concerned about the trends in science enrolments in university courses. These trends have also been recorded in countries overseas. The reasons for concern derive from the fact that economic development internationally is at the present time critically dependent on technological advances which require a solid and well developed scientific foundation to underpin every aspect of commercial and industrial development. The nation's scientific capital, which is generated initially by our investment in science education in schools and universities, is inadequate to make us a significant contributor to global advance. While we may have a high level of uptake and usage of technological developments like information and communications technology which are founded in strong science, we are very poorly ranked as a producer of these technologies. Compared, for example, with Ireland in OECD figures concerning production of ICT based equipment, we are ranked near the bottom of the table with only about 7 per cent of Ireland's performance in output. We cannot be complacent about this. Indeed the deans of science in Australian universities consider that it is a matter of the utmost importance that requires immediate attention.

The Australian Council of Deans of Science produced a report in 1998 entitled  Trends in Science Education in Australia. This report considers that the new sciences of information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology have been the drivers of high technology developments and industrial growth. These new sciences are outgrowths from the basic sciences of biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics, which can be construed as the  enabling sciences. Within those basic sciences specific new areas of science have emerged to enlarge our knowledge base and to point the way to new technologies. Among these are the applications of enabling sciences in molecular biology, laser science, and signal and image processing to name but a few new sciences. The deans draw attention to the fact that governments in the US, Europe and Japan have made substantial investment in education in the enabling sciences in order to reap the benefit which comes from cultivating the new sciences to create their own advanced industries and high technology.

But  Trends in Science Education  reveals some of the problems Australia will have to overcome if it is to improve on its pitiful performance. The survey reveals:

• A disturbing picture of decline in university enrolments in the enabling sciences, masked by the higher growth in the broader life sciences and information technology. While DETYA statistics for the broad field of study called science indicate a growth in student numbers of almost 58 per cent from 1989 to 1997, there has actually been a fall in enrolments in mathematics by 2 per cent over that period and a similar fall in physics/materials science. The increase in chemical science enrolments has been only 16 per cent, while biological sciences have increased by 78 per cent, computer science by 79 per cent and the behavioural sciences enrolments by 93 per cent. What does this say about the role of the secondary school system in encouraging students to enrol in the enabling sciences of mathematics, physics and chemistry?

• In Victoria, where the figures could be examined in detail, less than 40 per cent of students whose year twelve subject choices best prepared them for tertiary studies in science actually undertook science studies. Students well qualified to enter the study of science chose to move into other branches of education. The deans of science concluded that, 'if Australia is to sustain a technology capable and technology aware workforce, then serious consideration must be given to cross sectoral measures that will attract more students undertaking science subjects at school into university science studies.' It was found that a larger proportion of school leavers with the highest TERs were opting for engineering ahead of science. This statement is true for data from Queensland as well as from Victoria. Something needs to be done to promote incentives for study of science and to demonstrate to pupils while they are still at school that some real advantages will accrue to them and to the nation from achievement of mastery in science.

In a recent address to the National Press Club in Canberra, the President of the Australian Academy of Science, Professor Brian Anderson, suggested that it should be necessary for the nation to find a way to do for science and technology in Australia what the AIS has been able to do for Australian sport. He considered that:

• Human capital will have to be created. Primary and secondary Schools are the source of this human capital. The Technology, Maths and Science Centres of Excellence could be instruments of this creation.

• Trainers will have to be trained in large numbers. These will be the teachers of science in primary and secondary schools. They will need to be creative, enthusiastic, dedicated and committed. The training institutions (universities and teachers colleges) will have to re-evaluate their roles and responsibilities. And governments and communities will have to accord the highest esteem and value to the science trainers.

• Staff will have to be recruited. At least some of this staff will have to come from outside the system to bring world's best practice to the task. Overseas experts with real experience in the field may be needed. And the experience and knowledge of those in community agencies, commercial and industrial organisations and universities may have to be made available to enrich the activities of the trainers. As a consequence, a feature of the Science and Technology Centres of Excellence should be:

Co-operation with organisations concerned with the application and extension of the enabling sciences and the development of technologies.

In the furthering of these important objectives for the Centres of Excellence, it will be important to put in place advisory mechanisms that will allow community groups, technology based industries, universities and academies to assist educators and organisers to generate the most interesting and exciting approaches to content, learning methods, relationship with the real world and up-to-date understandings of the needs of employers.

In their concluding comments the Council of Deans of Science had this to say:

This the challenge for the new Centres of Excellence.

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