Curriculum
6.12 Science became a core subject of the
National Curriculum for all children aged 5-16 in 1989. The syllabus,
however, has not changed fundamentally since the days when science
lessons were largely an option, chosen by the minority of children
who hoped to proceed to science at A-level and university. We
have been told from several quarters that science in schools must
now adapt itself to a dual role: it must maintain its traditional
and vital focus on preparing the most interested and talented
pupils for science courses at university; at the same time, it
must equip all students for what has been called "scientific
literacy" or "science for citizenship" (Irwin/Healey
Q 66, Ogilvie Q 132, British Council Q 534, BAAS p 47, Nuffield
p 372, Osborne p 375).
6.13 This means, among other things, spending
less time imparting established facts, and more on teaching about
the nature and process of science. In the words of the BBSRC,
"the National Curriculum and 16-19 Science syllabuses could
provide a much clearer indication of what science is and how scientists
work" (p 260). Paul Nurse and John Tooze, and Dr Graham
Farmelo, Head of Exhibitions at the Science Museum, all point
to the traditional emphasis in school science on facts, which
in their view leaves people unprepared to encounter as adults
the uncertainties of much current science. Dr Nurse and Dr Tooze
blame this emphasis on facts for "a profound misunderstanding
of the whole scientific process amongst the general public"
(p 374); Dr Farmelo calls it "quite a hurdle" for
his institution's efforts to engage with the public (Q 249).
6.14 It may also be that the emphasis on
the acquisition of factual knowledge is partly to blame for the
common perception among children that science is both difficult
and dull. Dr Jonathan Osborne of King's College London gives this
explanation for a "decline in interest in science" in
the United Kingdom (p 375); we found the same to be happening
in Denmark. It is of course a challenge for teachers in all disciplines
to impart a framework of facts and techniques in a way which is
exciting rather than boring, and the best science teachers have
always found ways to do it. We are aware, however, that one of
the traditional methods, dramatic demonstration, is becoming more
and more difficult for reasons of both cost and health-and-safety
regulation. We regret this trend; we would encourage those
involved in developing science teaching materials to find acceptable
forms of live demonstration.
6.15 Our attention has been drawn to the
recent report Beyond 2000, which embodies the outcome of
a series of seminars on science education supported by the Nuffield
Foundation. Dr Osborne was one of its editors. The report observes
that since 1989 the National Curriculum has turned science from
a set of minority subjects into a core part of the curriculum
for every child aged 5-16; yet the contents of the science curriculum
have not evolved accordingly. In today's world, a "healthy
and vibrant democracy" needs a public "with a broad
understanding of major scientific ideas who, whilst appreciating
the value of science and its contribution to our culture, can
engage critically with issues and arguments which involve scientific
knowledge".
6.16 To achieve this, while still providing
a foundation for the specialist scientists and engineers of the
future, Beyond 2000 recommends that the curriculum be differentiated
at Key Stage 4 (14-16), with a basic course in scientific literacy
for all complemented with a wide choice of modules, some academic
and some vocational, for further study according to each pupil's
ambitions. It recommends that the contents of the curriculum at
all stages be adjusted, to incorporate more technology and more
"ideas-about-science" (see Box 2). And it recommends
that the factual content of the curriculum should be streamlined,
to allow more time for looking behind and beyond the facts into
their sources and implications, and the processes of which they
are a part.
6.17 We find much in the analysis in Beyond
2000 with which to agree, but we do not have enough
evidence to pass a considered judgment on its detailed recommendations.
We would comment only that dramatic changes to the curriculum
place an enormous burden on teachers; we would therefore recommend
a gradual approach.
6.18 Besides the science curriculum, we
note other developments which may in the long term improve the
situation. First, the first year of A-level studies is to be broadened
in England and Wales, with the expectation that most pupils will
take five subjects instead of three; this may encourage pupils
who would formerly have taken no science subjects at this level
to take at least one. Second, as recommended in the Crick Report[64],
"Citizenship" is to enter the curriculum (MRC p 351);
there should be plenty of scope within such a syllabus for issues
of science and society to be covered. While these developments
are welcome, they are beyond the scope of our inquiry.
Box 2
Proposed learning targets for "ideas-about-science",
from Beyond 2000
"As pupils progress into Key Stage 4 [15-16],
they should
- Appreciate that a correlation between two variables
does not necessarily mean that one causes the other;
- Be able to design well-controlled investigations
of situations involving several independent variables;
- Recognise that the variations in repeated measurements
of a quantity give an indication of the reliability of the measurement.
Pupils should become familiar with stories about
the development of important ideas in science which illustrate
the following general ideas:
- Evidence is often uncertain and does not point
conclusively to any single explanation;
- If an explanation predicts an event which would
otherwise be unexpected, and this is then observed, this greatly
increases our confidence in the explanation (e.g. Adams' predictions
of the existence of [the planet] Neptune);
- That scientific progress can depend on careful
and painstaking work, and also on creative conjecture (e.g. the
roles of Franklin and of Watson and Crick in establishing the
structure of DNA).
By considering some current issues involving the
application of science, pupils should:
- Recognise that a person's views may be influenced
by their professional and/or social affiliations;
- Appreciate that many things which we would like
to understand cannot (yet) be explained fully in terms of a predictive
theoretical model; because of the complexity of the systems involved,
the best we can do is to identify correlations between possible
factors and the probability of a certain outcome (such
as the links between smoking and lung disease, or between saturated
fat consumption and heart disease);
- Understand the ideas of probability and risk;
- Be aware of the range of factors which can influence
people's willingness to accept specific risks;
- Be able to distinguish between technical issues
(what is possible) and ethical issues (what ought to be done)
when considering issues involving science and technology."
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