Dick Evans continues his ground-breaking explorations into the past, looking at the growth of societies and groups promoting public interest and awareness in science and technology. It was the advent of the industrial revolution that powered growth in public interest in science during the late eighteenth century, just as much as it powered the mills and factories springing up across the land. Interest in such matters during the previous century had stemmed from the more cerebral thinking of the Enlightenment, and this was reflected in the formation and proceedings of the Royal Society (1660), whose deliberations were focused on the
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The Academy Movement
There’s nothing new under the sun, especially in education, as Dick Evans demonstrates in his latest dig through the archives. Academies are all the rage these days, with schools turning into them, large businesses making them up for their own workforces and Sector Skills Councils jumping on the bandwagon left, right and centre. It may be salutary, therefore, to remember the existence of a small number of dissenting academies during the eighteenth century that made a lasting contribution to scientific and technical education, particularly through their former students and tutors. The Academy founded in Warrington, which flourished from 1757 to
Financial Literacy –a Personal View
Dick Evans asks questions about financial literacy as a separate subject. Concerns about financial literacy, capability and awareness continue to be very prominent. Numeracy Briefing has carried a series of highly informative articles on the topic. In spite of all the existing initiatives and key organisations involved in addressing this important topic the government has appointed yet another person who has come up with set of proposals to tackle this problem. Obviously there are concerns about the credit crunch and a personal debt level in the UK of £1.2 trillion (50% on mortgages and 50% on pension funds, corporate, credit
The Knowledge Society
The professional organisations of today were founded tn the growth of societies dedicated to the advancement of knowledge in previous centuries, as our resident historian Dick Evans explains The foundation and development of learned and professional organisations representing science and technical disciplines is a fascinating story in its own right, but a study of their history also identifies many similarities with the evolution of technical and scientific education. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, both science and technology were in rapid transition and these disciplines had to fight hard to gain recognition and a place in the education system Before
Gender and Mathematics.
Dick Evans explores the impact of gender difference on mathematical performance. Whilst writing the articles on ‘Mathematics – Why the problem’! (Numeracy Briefing issues 9 and 10) I became aware that the interacting factors that created the negative view of the subject could reflect the widely-held perception that females perform less well than the males. This view has generated a popular stereotype that the women and girls are not good at the maths. Research. A considerable amount of research has been carried out in this area from analysis of basic international statistics on numbers of females and males studying mathematics
Mathematics – What’s the Problem?
Richard Evans continues his exploration of the reasons behind negative attitudes to maths in the UK Since writing the last article (Numeracy Briefing Issue 9) on the possible factors that could contribute to the reluctance by many people to study mathematics and other mathematically-related subjects, I have reflected more on the potential interplay of the factors identified in that article. Perhaps it is too simplistic just to view the negative perception towards the subject in terms of a series of causes and effects. If the problem is about the formation of negative attitudes towards the subject then this must be
Functional Mathematics – A Context?
Richard Evans is concerned that functional maths is being distorted by a plethora of other developments Any discussion of functional mathematics must now be informed by the recent White Paper “Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances”, The Leitch Report and the reforms associated with the development of specialised diplomas and the Framework for Achievement (FfA). Specialised Diplomas. The development of the specialised diplomas highlights the current chaotic state in government thinking with a ridiculously early deadline being set for the introduction of the first five pilot programmes next year. Critical elements of the proposed framework are still unclear and/or are still
Attracting the Best
Getting enough young people to study maths after the age of 16, and then increasing the number of maths students who take up engineering and manufacturing at higher levels is a strategic issue for the UK, as Dick Evans reports Engineering is vital to economic health, especially in industries such as energy, ecology, defence and security. Many more engineering graduates will be required in future, including increased numbers of incorporated engineers and engineering technicians. How can the best students be recruited to engineering programmes? There are longstanding concerns about the number of young people studying maths post-16 and those studying degree programmes
The Importance of Statistical Literacy
Dick Evans reports on efforts to improve statistical literacy amongst the population. It is now an unquestioned and accepted fact of life that we live in a world dominated by science and technology and that this inevitably requires a workforce and members of society in general to be more scientifically literate and numerate. Employees are required to possess higher levels of the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and a greater capability in the use of IT. This is coupled with the wider skills for employability namely: team working, problem solving and managing their own learning and development. People leaving education
Mathematics – Why the Problem?
Dick Evans bemoans the negative attitudes towards mathematics that persist in British culture A great quote – ‘Nature talks to us in mathematics’ – Richard Feynman There have been a number of developments following the publication of my article in the September edition of Numeracy Briefing. Some people responded agreeing with many of the issues highlighted in the piece whilst others disagreed with the arguments. Recent announcements about the closure of the physics department at Reading University and the close call for the closure of Chemistry at Sussex have re-ignited the debate about the ongoing crisis in the state of