Memorandum submitted by The Royal Society
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Royal Society is an independent
academy promoting the natural and applied sciences. Founded in
1660, the Society has three roles; as the UK academy of science,
as a learned society and as a funding agency. Working across the
whole range of science, technology and engineering, one of the
Society's main aims is to support science communication and education.
Its education programme considers formal education in science
and mathematics from primary level through to higher education.
As with all Royal Society programmes, the education programme
upholds the values of excellence in science, leadership, independence,
equality of opportunity, inclusiveness, and scrupulous attention
to evidence.
1.2 In December 2003, a Royal Society working
group1 was established under the chairmanship of Sir Patrick Bateson
FRS to examine the broader place of fieldwork in science education
and concerns that it was being diminished. Following the first
meeting of this group in January 2004 the statement (see section
2) was prepared. The comments and conclusions that follow are
based on discussions emerging from this meeting and are focused
specifically on issues relating to science fieldwork. The Society
continues to engage with organisations and individuals taking
these issues forward, and awaits the Committee's report with interest.
2. ROYAL SOCIETY
STATEMENT ON
THE PLACE
OF FIELDWORK
IN SCIENCE
EDUCATION
2.1 The Royal Society considers that the
skills and knowledge developed through fieldwork can be integral
to the purposes of science education: to train experts able to
serve science and society through research; to educate all young
people in the fundamental processes of scientific investigation;
and to prepare citizens of the future for responsible management
of their environment. The Society is therefore concerned that
the available research data (from small scale studies2, 3) suggest
that fieldwork is being diminished throughout the education system
by a number of pressures on schools, colleges and universities.
To assess accurately the decline, it is crucial that large-scale
data relating to the extent and type of fieldwork provision on
offer is obtained. To take appropriate action, it is important
that the benefits of fieldwork are thoroughly researched, reliably
documented and widely communicated.
2.2 The Society recognises that out-of-classroom
activities place demands on teachers, students and institutions
but thinks that, with proper support and management, such demands
can be accommodated within the existing education system. The
Society also considers that, whilst health and safety risks are
involved in fieldwork, such risks vary greatly between activities
and can be managed by professional teaching staff given appropriate
training and support in risk assessment and fieldwork provision.
In Higher Education, the Society is concerned that as undergraduates
are increasingly expected to pay for their degree education, the
cost of fieldwork, for the individual and the institution, may
increasingly impact on the availability and uptake of such opportunities.
2.3 The Royal Society welcomes work done
by organisations like the Field Studies Council and British Ecological
Society in raising awareness of a decline in biology fieldwork,
particularly residential experiences for post-16 students. It
is interesting to note their comparisons with geography in which
fieldwork appears to have been more effectively sustained in recent
times. This suggests that many of the barriers related to science
are not insurmountable. The Society also welcomes curriculum developments
that strongly encourage fieldwork as part of science courses,
particularly in the biological sciences. Its potential benefits
suggest that the place of fieldwork within science education needs
to be thoroughly reviewed to ensure that, where appropriate, the
opportunities fieldwork offers young people become entitlements.
3. KEY ISSUES
FOR THE
COMMITTEE'S
CONSIDERATION
3.1 Definition and purpose
As the Committee notes, "Education Outside
the Classroom" is a very broad term encompassing a range
of activities, some of which more obviously support the objectives
of formal classroom teaching and learning than others. While we
restrict our comments in this submission to science fieldwork,
even this narrow definition masks a diversity of possible activities,
from an hour in the school grounds exploring the physics of shadows
to a week's residential course surveying heathland ecology. Indeed
for some schools the definition extends to trips to leisure parks
to explore scientific concepts.4 The definitions and purposes
of these activities need to be made clear not only by those involved
in shaping and implementing education policy, but also at the
practitioner level in schools and colleges. Such clarification
should give as much attention to benefits as is currently given
to risks, to enable young people, their parents and their teachers
to make the best possible decisions.
3.2 Coherence and co-ordination
The Society notes other efforts being made to
raise the profile of fieldwork in science5 and the significant,
positive support given to fieldwork by some key policy-influencers6,7,8,9
despite some unions advising their members otherwise. 10 It should
therefore be both possible, and timely, to apply a greater degree
of coherence and co-ordination to these efforts. This would require
leadership, a statement of purpose and intention, a plan of action
and success criteria. Whether this be a "manifesto"
led by Government or a campaign led by NGOs may be an interesting
discussion for the Committee, but without doubt any such action
needs to be based on evidence and be conducted as openly and honestly
as possible.
3.3 Evidence
In 1998, Roger Lock of the University of Birmingham
concluded that despite the opportunities offered, "Evidence
about the provision and success of fieldwork as a teaching and
learning opportunity is scant".11 Six years later, Steve
Tilling of the Field Studies Council again noted "there is
a remarkable dearth of national data which would enable effective
assessment of the levels and quality of fieldwork" and states
that there is "no published evidence in secondary biology
to support improved academic performance or other personal development
measures".12 In 2004, a thorough "Review of Research
on Outdoor Learning"13 concluded that while substantial evidence
exists as to the opportunities offered through high-quality fieldwork,
"Poor fieldwork is likely to lead to poor learning"
and, perhaps as a result, "there is still a need for more
work on the outcomes of fieldwork in science education".
The Committee would do well to establish exactly where and how
these gaps in knowledge are being filled.
3.3.1 As part of the inspection and monitoring
process, regulatory authorities such as the Qualifications and
Curriculum Authority (QCA) and Office for Standards in Education
(Ofsted) collect a large amount of information on what goes on
in schools. But the continuing difficulty in identifying reliable,
large-scale data on fieldwork, alongside evidence from limited
studies such as those undertaken by the Field Studies Council,
suggest that tracking trends in the quality and quantity of fieldwork
provision should be given a higher priority by the relevant agencies.
If this is thought to add a burden to schools then some other
sampling method should be considered, but the Society would like
to see a swift resolution to the ongoing questions regarding the
validity of evidence and accurate benchmarking of fieldwork provision.
3.3.2 In addition to such information, a
greater understanding of the role fieldwork plays in strengthening
science learning at all stages, and any hard evidence of de-skilling
or reduced supply of skilled, professional fieldworkers in scientific
research and development, would enhance our ability to assess
how much needs to be done. However, suggesting that more research
is needed before significant changes are made to national policy
should not be taken to imply that no action is needed at all.
The Committee will be aware of the vicious circle in place whereby
lack of fieldwork experience in school and higher education produces
new teachers who themselves lack confidence and/or competence
to offer the next generation these experiences. In science, some
subjects such as systematics and taxonomy cannot be taught without
fieldwork, and in 2002, the House of Lords Science and Technology
Committee urged that "education must emphasise the importance
of taxonomy".14
3.4 Opportunities and threats
3.4.1 Ideally no science teacher who feels
a fieldwork experience is vital to their pupils' education should
feel that barriers to achieving their aims are insurmountable.
Experience with the 250 schools who have received a Royal Society
Partnership Grant to work with a scientist or engineer has shown
that money can overcome a significant barrier to undertaking exciting,
inspiring science in the field. Indeed we are grateful to the
DfES for their current funding of this scheme.
3.4.2 Undoubtedly the Committee will receive
a great deal of information about the opportunities for, and threats
to, education outside the classroom. The Society suggests that
the most important consideration when assembling the priorities
for action, and associated recommendations, will be equality of
opportunity for all young people throughout the UK education system.
Whilst many believe the only way of ensuring this is through affecting
statutory regulation and ring-fenced funding, the Society notes
that such reactions are not favoured by the current Government.
If the only way forward is through the identification and promotion
of "best practice", then the Government must show that
all teachers have equal opportunity and adequate support to profit
from that best practice.
4. CONCLUSIONS
It is hoped that the outcome of this inquiry
will help to:
4.1 establish the extent to which Government
and its agencies give priority to fieldwork, and where and how
this priority is communicated to teachers and the wider education
community;
4.2 ensure messages regarding Health and
Safety risks, and procedures for assessing and managing them,
are clear and consistent across Local Education Authorities and
Learning and Skills Councils;
4.3 understand and develop the role of teaching
unions in being both responsible to, and responsible for, the
actions of their members with regard to fieldwork;
4.4 encourage multi-agency partnerships
in:
4.4.1 agreeing appropriate entitlements for
all young people to high-quality fieldwork as part of their statutory
science education;
4.4.2 improving monitoring of fieldwork provision
and brokering an agreed set of definitions and criteria to establish
good baseline data;
4.4.3 research into the effects of fieldwork
on science learning;
4.4.4 investment in the sustained development
and delivery of resources and training to support Primary and
Secondary teachers, as well as FE lecturers (particularly involving
Science Learning Centres and other CPD providers, subject associations
and professional bodies);
4.4.5 obtaining more reliable knowledge regarding
the effects of changes to university science courses on secondary
science teachers' ability to undertake fieldwork, particularly
the implications that changes to funding and fees may have on
availability of fieldwork in undergraduate courses;
4.4.6 development work regarding changes
to GCSE and A level specifications offered by awarding bodies
to ensure the place of fieldwork in science qualifications is
unambiguous;
4.4.7 delivery of the DfES' Growing Schools
and London Challenge initiatives;
4.4.8 exploring the opportunities inherent
in proposals for 14-19 reform.
It is vital to raise the profile of fieldwork
throughout the education community and tackle the need for an
evidence-based approach to its implementation. We look forward
to taking an appropriate role in any outcomes from this inquiry
and assist progress on securing the place of fieldwork in science
education.
REFERENCES
1 Full details of membership and terms of reference
can be found at http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/page.asp?tip=1&id=1991
2 Barker, S, Slingsby, D and Tilling, S (2002)
Teaching biology outside the classroom. Is it heading for extinction?
Field Studies Council/British Ecological Society.
3 Lock, R and Tilling, S (2002) Ecology fieldwork
in 16-19 biology, School Science Review, 84 (307).
4 Science 2002-03 annual report on curriculum
and assessment (2004) Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
5 "Save our Biology" campaign—Field
Studies Council and British Ecological Society (http://www.field-studies-council.org/campaigns/biologyfieldwork/index.aspx)
and "Real World Learning" campaign—Field Studies
Council, RSPB, National Trust, 3D Education and Adventure and
the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust.
6 "Teachers should not abandon school visits—safely
conducted and properly supervised, they are an important part
of any child's education", David Miliband MP, Schools Standards
Minister, DfES Press Notice 2003/0195.
7 The London Student Pledge, launched by Stephen
Twigg MP, Schools Minister, in November 2003, aims to offer every
secondary student in the capital the opportunity to "take
part in a residential experience or visit that will further their
education. This could include a geography fieldtrip, an overseas
exchange, or a Duke of Edinburgh Awards trip", DfES Press
Notice 2003/0222.
8 "Practical work, including fieldwork,
is a vital part of science education. It helps students to develop
their understanding of science, appreciate that science is based
on evidence, and acquire hands-on skills that are essential if
students are to progress in science", Science Education
from 14 to 19, Volume 1: Report and Proceedings of the Committee
(2002) House of Commons Science & Technology Committee, p19.
9 The Growing Schools initiative is a Government-funded
programme which aims to encourage, support and inspire all schools
(nursery, primary, secondary and special) to use the outdoor classroom,
both with and beyond the school grounds, as a context for learning
across the curriculum.
10 "NASUWT reaffirms advice to members to
avoid taking school trips", Press Release issued by the National
Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, 18 February
2004.
11 Lock, R (1998) Fieldwork in the life sciences,
International Journal of Science Education, 20,
633-642.
12 Tilling, S (2004) Fieldwork in UK secondary
schools: influences and provision, Journal of Biological Education,
38(2), 54-58.
13 Rickinson, M, Dillon, J et al (2004)
A Review of Research on Outdoor Learning, National Foundation
for Educational Research and King's College London.
14 What on earth? The threat to science underpinning
conservation. Third Report (2002) House of Lords Science &
Technology Committee.
November 2004
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