16 December 2004

Submission to Education and Training Committee 

Opportunities to promote mathematics and science education in Victoria

I would like to comment on the following issues, which are relevant to the terms of reference 4, 5 and 7 of the committee:

•	student participation in mathematics, at the secondary and tertiary levels

•	supply of suitably qualified teachers in the mathematical sciences into teaching
.
Please find attached a table of consolidated data for the period 1995-2002 from Departments of Mathematics and Statistics at University of Canberra, Flinders University, University of Melbourne, University of South Australia, Sydney University, Murdoch University, Newcastle University,  Monash University, University of Western Australia, Adelaide University, Australian Defence Forces Academy, University of NSW, Macquarie University, Charles Darwin University, Deakin University and the Australian National University. So this represents a large and diverse sample of national trends. Also please find attached a second table, giving similar data for Melbourne, Monash, La Trobe, Bendigo and Deakin Universities. 

What the data shows is that first year student numbers are increasing, second year numbers are stable and third year numbers are declining. Staff numbers have declined by around 20% and postgraduate numbers by around 25%. Staff age profile is dominated by the 45-60 bracket.  At this stage we have not been able to get comparable figures for 2003 for all these institutions but for the ones who have reported, the trends are maintained from previous years. 

The data shows there is a long term decline in the number of students majoring in mathematics and statistics at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Such students are critical for teaching at all levels and areas of industry such as financial services, biological sciences (genomics, biostatics, epidemiology), resource allocation (operations research) etc. The necessity of maintaining the supply of such students has been recognised as a priority in the US and in the UK. 

Note that during this period, the decline in staff numbers and number of students majoring in mathematics and statistics in Victorian Universities is much more dramatic than the national data. 
This should be a source of considerable concern, since there are strong demands for skills in areas as listed above, with perceived better career prospects than school teaching. 

In the UK, the Blair government has proposed a large increase in the pay of mathematics teachers in high schools, to boost the supply of properly qualified teachers and solve chronic shortages. This will inevitably attract such teachers from Australia, further compounding similar problems here. 

The May/June Newsletter Forum of the Mathematical Association of America (the organization representing mathematics teachers in four year Colleges) has an article about the testimony of Professor Ron Graham,, President of MAA, to a committee of the US House or Representatives committee. The National Science Foundation in the US funds undergraduate mathematics education, to ensure that the number of mathematically trained US citizens does not drop below the level needed to maintain the US technological leadership. 

In 1998, the National Academy of Sciences in the US concluded that based on the present trends, it is unlikely that the US will be able to maintain world leadership in the mathematical sciences. In response to this report and others, the NSF and Congress doubled the research budget for the mathematical sciences in the period 1998-2005. 

However as Professor Graham noted, attracting and educating students in the mathematical sciences is a major difficulty facing the US. He also commented `Not getting the education of teachers right the first time, results in large expenditures for teacher training later’. 

I would suggest actions in the following areas for consideration by the committee. These have the potential to improve both participation in, and the quality of, mathematical sciences in Victoria. The actions are:
1.	Improving school mathematics through changes in teachers’ training programs and professional development. 
2.	Develop more opportunities for teachers to spend time in industry and suitable people in industry to deliver short programs in schools. Expose teachers to latest applications of mathematics and statistics in all areas of science, technology and industry. 
3.	Introduce a scheme of HECS exemption scholarships for university students majoring in the mathematical sciences, who are then obligated to teach in schools for a specified period
4.	Ensuring future financial stability of Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute

For item 3, Western Australia has introduced a scheme of HECS scholarships in mathematics and sciences for school teachers.

For the last item, the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) is a national collaborative centre which was set up as a partnership, with matching funds between the Strategic Technology scheme (STI) of the Victorian Government and a consortium of a majority of Australian University Mathematics and Statistics Departments, to foster activity in research, education and industry links. This has been extremely successful, with two Commonwealth funded centres being attracted to Victoria as a result – a Centre of Excellence in the Mathematics and Statistics of Complex Systems (MASCOS) and the International Centre of Excellence in Education in Mathematics (ICE-EM). ICE-EM has just started and a major theme will be the production of innovative materials for the teaching of mathematics in schools. AMSI is however the overall coordinating body and it would be a major problem if AMSI was not able to continue due to lack of funds. 

Professor J.H. Rubinstein, F.A.A
Head, Department of Mathematics and Statistics,
University of Melbourne
Chair, National Committee for Mathematical Sciences.

 

Mathematical sciences-national data	
									
Staff Numbers:									
	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	
level E	40.5	39.25	37.85	37.5	39.7	38.82	40.4	38.2	
level B-D	322.45	315.2	293.05	266.85	275.55	262.8	258.45	260.82	
level A	56.2	51.45	42.55	38.7	27.1	30.52	28.45	26.55	
research	93.35	90.87	112.25	109.74	96.41	98.66	108.68	111.03	
non-academic	99.12	92.7	92.4	83.26	70.84	75.13	77.7	68	
									
Teaching Load (EFTSU):									
	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	
Y1	3828.717	4015.185	4099.198	3783.47	3868.815	4102.326	4250.249	4770.53	
Y2	1578.661	1565.565	1602.372	1699.124	1722.251	1602.659	1686.407	1314.564	
Y3	709.762	641.146	608.083	598.746	573.095	604.664	550.769	541.537	
PG coursework	186.928	174.233	160.88	140.95	118.736	122.407	128.676	133.16	
PG research	319.22	290.59	283.22	263.44	246.63	237.556	215.15	212.622	
									
Subjects and Completions:									
	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	
UG subjects	452	463	565	531	516	507	586	573.5	
Honours completions	72	59	75	56	66	72	114	106	
MSc research completions	9	6	13	12	3	8	12	10	
PhD completions	24	11	38	35	25	48	55	36	
									
Staff Age Profile:		2002							
	20-29	30-34	35-39	40-44	45-49	50-54	55-59	60+	
level E	0	0	0	3	5	8	16	6.5	
level B-D	7.05	14.45	27.5	30.6	39	40.6	44.42	40.5	
level A	1.25	2	4	4	5.8	5	1	1	
research-only	19	20.7	40.1	15	6.4	5	3.25	4.83	
									
	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	
UG EFTSU	6117.1	6221.9	6309.7	6081.3	6164.2	6309.6	6487.4	6626.6	
Teaching staff	419.2	405.9	373.5	343.1	342.4	332.1	327.3	325.6	
S/S ratio	14.6	15.3	16.9	17.7	18.0	19.0	19.8	20.4	

Victorian Universities  (Melb, Monash, Latrobe, Bendigo, Deakin)	
										
Staff Numbers:									
 	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	
level E	18	18	14	14	14	10	10	11	11	
level B-D	120	115	102	83	92	83	76	70	67	
level A	21	21	21	20	19	18	14	12	13	
research	25	22	30	22	23	26	31	28	29	
non-academic	37	34	29	26	24	24	20	25	22	
										
Teaching Load (EFTSU):									
	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	
Y1	1480	1580	1493	1344	1266	1293	1281	1270	1301	
Y2	579	611	614	616	610	502	477	425	499	
Y3	360	318	273	280	249	249	219	227	214	
PG coursework	96	78	77	66	42	48	57	41	58	
PG research	154	133	116	112	116	101	84	77	82	
										
Subjects and Completions:								
	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	
UG subjects	162	180	162	153	189	124	146	115	140	
Honours completions	23	10	29	20	33	29	44	45	44	
MSc research completions	8	12	8	5	3	5	10	8	8	
PhD completions	11	6	16	15	12	18	22	12	16	
										
Staff Age Profile:	2001								
	20-29	30-34	35-39	40-44	45-49	50-54	55-59	60+		
level E	0	0	0	2	1	3	4	2		
level B-D	0	2	9	7	12	12	10	12		
level A	1	1	1	3	6	2	0	0		
research-only	8	6	10	4	1	0	1	0