Science education post-16 is facing major threats, particularly vocational science in further education. University science faculties struggle each year to hit targets. They are increasingly lowering their entry requirements and poaching students already enrolled for college higher national diplomas. Reasons for the threats include the continued hostility to science and technology, particularly the vocational awards, despite a world increasingly oriented towards science and technology. If Britain is to survive as a global economy and deal with changes from the information revolution, we need more employees highly qualified in science and technology and more basic scientific literacy among the general public.
Browsing 14 Articles Filed under: “Science”
Public Awareness of Science and Technology
A contribution from Dr R.G. Evans, Principal, Stockport College of Further & Higher Education. Introduction Following a recent lecture at the ASE’s Annual Meeting, on the public understanding of science, I reflected on some of the issues raised and would like to share some of my thoughts in this article. I accept that a lot of the issues have already been aired before, but hope the article will trigger further discussion and debate on this important topic. The need to raise awareness and greater understanding of science is now irrefutable, as we all live in an increasingly scientific and technological
Participation in Science – Could This be a Problem? – VIEWPOINT
Following a recent seminar on post-16 science, I reflected on the age-old issue of why science and technology do not attract more students into the post-16 phase. It has been evident since the Great Exhibition of 1851 that the culture in this country is hostile to science, engineering and technology. Could it be that some of the problems can be placed at the door of the science teaching community? I ask this question to provoke debate! Increasingly students choose a mixed economy of A levels and whereas 20-30 years ago students would take combinations of the separate sciences with applied
Post-16 Science in Further Education
Dick Evans, Cornwall College and chair of the post 16 ASE Committee.. The teaching of science figures significantly in the further education sector (FE), both as a single discipline and a subject servicing vocational or pre-vocational courses. For convenience, the courses in a typical FE college can be mapped into three basic course pathways namely: academic/general vocational. pre-vocational. This approach is somewhat simplistic, as increasingly students will pursue mixed-economy courses, that is courses, modules or parts of courses from more than one of these pathways. Provision covers a wide spectrum with courses possessing various levels and unfortunately at present having