State of Science Education Then and Now 

Why?!

We’ve all been there when kids persistently ask “why, why, why…” then it continues with “but why?”  I still remember the day my 3 year old daughter pushed me to the limits with “what is water?”… “Well it’s what we drink and wash with.  All living things need it to grow, you have water in rivers, lakes, the sea and in the clouds and there is actually more water than land on this planet” was my response.  Quite satisfied with my answer, I continued trying to play eye spy, but she would not let it go… “But what is it mummy? What is it made of?”   A bit taken aback by her persistence, I went on to explain that everything in this world is made of atoms and that these atoms will come together to form molecules.  In water, there are two Hydrogen atoms bonded to one Oxygen atom.  I even tried to demonstrate being an Oxygen atom with two hands being my bonds ready to attach to her single Hydrogen bond (hand) whilst my other hand tries to find another Hydrogen atom.  You can imagine the next question… “But what is an atom mummy?”  I explained that atoms are microscopic and can’t be seen by the eye – you need a very powerful microscope to magnify it so that it can be seen, but each atom is made by having a central bit called a nucleus, which has positively charged protons and neutral neutrons, but they also have negatively charged electrons which whizzes around the outside and can move between atoms.  When these electrons bond with another atom, they become a molecule. I was astounded by her questioning and acceptance of deeply complicated topics such as this.  For about a week, she walked around telling everyone she met that they were made of atoms.  Three years on, I was invited to speak at Science Week in school and talk to the children about my job as a Civil Engineer.  Trying to engage kids and help them learn something new for 20-30 minutes is the toughest job in the world…  I ended up turning to the natural world to explain how different shapes in nature form some of the strongest structures we know and hence mimicking nature that has evolved over millions of years is generally a good option when it comes to adapting our built environment to be one that is functional, protecting and interesting.  

…A Look Back

Science teachings date to Anglo-Saxon times around 600AD when early subjects included astronomy.  Natural Science was generally split between Natural Philosophy (reasoning and explanation of nature in what was primarily Physics and Chemistry) and Natural History (all living things in what was primarily Biology).  Only in the 1800’s was science recognised in the Education Curriculum within schools in England.  During this time, Elementary Education was divided into Primary and Secondary.  When compulsory education up to the age of 11 was passed through Acts of Parliament, there were six standards for children to pass, but science was not one of these standards.  Instead, it was seen as an “add on” subject at some high standard schools but was not recognised or featured on the curriculum.  Our Prussian relatives at this time were already dedicating 2 hours a week to sciences of pure observation, such as zoology and botany with the younger aged children and experimental sciences, such as pneumatics and hydrostatics with the upper schools.

The Endowed Schools Act in 1869 took on board much of the recommendations from the Taunton Report.  There were 2 key arguments in favour of science:

·   It provides the best discipline in observation and collection of facts, in the combination of inductive and deductive reasoning, and in accuracy both of thought and language.

·   The methods and results of science have so profoundly affected all the philosophical thought of the age, that an educated man is under a very great disadvantage if he is unacquainted with them.

The 3 key recommendations made were that:

1.     Natural science should be taught in all schools and at least 1 natural science master should be appointed in every public school.

2.     Minimum 3 hours per week should be devoted to scientific instruction.

3.     Natural science should be placed in equal footing with maths and the modern languages.

Subsequently, in 1988, The Education Reform Act established the National Curriculum and made Science compulsory across Secondary and Primary Schools alongside Maths and English.

Teaching Science Today

So has science teaching in our Early Years, Key Stage 1 – Key Stage 4 changed much since it was set in 1869?  Broadly the method of teaching largely remains the same, though the content would have had to keep with the time of current modern-day advances.  Whilst there is generally an appointed Head of Science in most schools, a recent state of the nation report has shown that approximately a third of teachers said that they lacked confidence in teaching science or being asked a question by a child that they did not know the answer to, particularly in the Primary age category.  Where the Taunton Report recommended that a minimum of 3 hours per week should be devoted to scientific instruction, the National Curriculum currently recommends minimum 2 hours per week be dedicated in Primary Schools.  Alarmingly, 36% of schools teaching Key Stage 2 said they were not meeting this minimum and 53% of the teachers surveyed by YouGov for the Confederation British Industry said that science has become less of a priority over the years.

Moving Forward…

Science is very much embedded in our everyday life and is a necessity to support all living things on this planet.  It should therefore, rightly have equal importance placed on it as numeracy and literacy skills required within education.  With our ever-changing world, phenomenal advancements in technology, climate crisis, abundance of data, new and faster methods of communication, the world has been led by science and technology for quite some time now.   The human influence of politics, economics and religious beliefs ultimately governs and uses scientific knowledge as a means of power and commodity, which unfortunately can result in detrimental outcomes on nature and humankind.  It is therefore more important now than ever to ensure that the teaching of science in schools keeps our children’s young minds engaged with the modern world, so that our future generations are equipped not just with knowledge, but also the skills to make ethical choices for the benefit of all society.  My experience of supporting kids to understand science over the years has left me astounded at how adaptable children are when you reveal the world around them.  They are born to be receptive to their environment from day one and have a natural curiosity for why things are and how they come to be.  Regrettably, I have also observed that girls in particular have a tendency to go from taking the lead, actively probing, asking questions and thinking creatively to conforming and sticking to the rules between the ages of 7 to 11.  Conversely, boys become louder, more dominant and have increasing self confidence.  Whilst there are a multitude of factors that can contribute to these changes, I believe it is vital that convincing young people to take up an interest in STEM can be both rewarding and satisfying for them, especially during these times of rapid change.  Ensuring sufficiently skilled people wanting a career in this sector has been recognised as a problem for several decades now. The combination of all my personal experience to date has led me to wonder whether our science curriculum should be delivered in a different manner to supplement the traditional classroom approach which is based purely on a set of academic theoretical testing and controlled practicals.  In my mind, science teaching should also promote the natural curiosity of how theoretical and practical knowledge is applied everyday within the world and how you harness current knowledge into good innovation by recognising where it’s been done poorly in the past and the key things that should be considered within good science practice surrounding harmonisation of the built environment with the natural world.  There is a place for each and everyone of us in the science field, where girls need not be put off it because it has historically been a male dominated industry and those who have an interest or thirst for curiosity and finding out how to do things better do not need to feel like they are not technical or clever enough to work in this industry.