Workforce development
Research from ASE (ASE 2006) suggests that the main factor determining attitudes towards school science is the quality of the education experience provided by the teacher. Thus, part of the explanation for student attitudes towards science may be a shortage of well-qualified science teachers capable of providing a positive experience - although this does vary between schools, regions and disciplines.
Extending the science curriculum at Key stage 4 will increase the need for more general and specialist science teachers. Forty-four per cent (44%) of specialists in science departments have qualifications in biology, 25% have qualifications in chemistry, only 19% have qualifications in physics and the rest are generalists.
The level of specialist qualification of the teacher has been found to be the second most effective predictor of pupil performance in physics, after pupil characteristics. Planning to deliver the full science curriculum entitlement provides an opportunity to refocus on the teaching and learning of science, particularly as the theme How Science Works is common to all GCSE sciences, whether it be single science or Triple Science. Analysis of the additional content required to bridge the gap between science GCSEs and Triple Science GCSEs will begin to identify skills shortages. Other gaps in teacher skills and knowledge may appear as the assessment for science GCSEs is extended to accommodate separately assessed physics, chemistry and biology.
Qualifications are only part of the picture in effective teaching and learning. An enthusiastic non-specialist with a confident delivery, which comes about with a thorough understanding of the topic, can often provide a far more worthwhile learning experience for pupils than an unimaginative but well-qualified subject specialist. Some challenges that face curriculum managers are:
- how to improve the pedagogical skills of staff - the best ways of teaching science content and concepts to different groups of students
- the development of the pedagogical skills of staff teaching in an unfamiliar discipline area, eg biology graduate teaching physics
- how to expand the number of teachers of science to cope with increased demands of Triple Science.
Setting up local collaboration and partnerships, particularly where there are few specialists in a particular discipline, can provide opportunities to share and exchange continuing professional development and capitalise on networking opportunities provided by support organisations.