Chemistry sets vanishing in school revolution

Press, 28 July 1987, Page 21

Chemistry sets vanishing in school revolution

GEORGE LOW,

, editor of a weekly British

magazine, “Education,” reports on how physics, chemistry, and biology lessons will soon be a thing of the past

School science is currently undergoing a sea change. Instead of trooping into the laboratory for practicals in physics, chemistry and biology — the Holy Trinity of the school science timetable — youngsters are more likely to be making their own yoghurt, testing athletes’ lung capacity or measuring acid rain.

British parents looking at their children’s reports or next year’s option choices will see references to Combined Science, Coordinated Science, Modular Science and Double Certificate Science. It is the biggest thing in science education for nearly half a century. Curiously, this educational reform, which was given the blessing of the British Education Secretary, Kenneth Baker, recently, began 20 years ago with a handful of idealistic teachers in the Association for Science Education putting forward an agenda for "science for all.” The traditional science curriculum, they argued, was rapidly becoming out of date. It was suited for turning out a fairly small elite of future scientists, but not for providing a broad and balanced science experience for all pupils, which would equip them with at least a survival kit of scientific knowledge, understanding and skills.

From that time onward the growing band of enthusiasts within the teaching profession have worked hard to bring the great reform to fruition. At first they had to face the suspicion of employers, the universities and parents. There were fierce confrontations and fisticuffs in the staffrooms. lij their long march towards public acceptance, the “science for all” devotees led by Dr Richard West had to contend with many vested interests in the professions and learned societies. In 1982 came a decisive turn-ing-point when the Department of Education and Science and the Schools Council (just before it was abolished by Sir Keith Joseph) set up the Secondary Science Curriculum Review. The review generated unforeseen en-

thusiasm from teachers: even during the teachers’ pay dispute, when the unions placed a ban on all curriculum developments, the science teacher groups used to meet in each other’s houses to plan their courses together. Now the new science courses have been publicly welcomed by the Royal Society and such influential bodies as the Society of Education Officers and the Engineering Council. The university vice-chancellors have enrolled among the great and the good to welcome the new courses. The Headmasters’ Conference, which represents the top 300 public schools, has even changed step. It is a safe bet that the basic principle of “broad and balanced science for all” up to the age of 16 will be incorporated into Mr Baker’s new National Curriculum.

Why have the walls of Jericho suddenly fallen? The answer could be that the traditional diet of three separate sciences was leading to severe malnutrition. The supply of qualified physics teachers was drying up and the new graduates were heading for industry and commerce. Girls were still being put off the physical sciences as a “difficult” subject area and in some schools inspectors had discovered that as

many as 30 per cent of the,l4 to 16-year-olds were doing no science at all.

So the new concept “broad, balanced science” has taken off at last. Local education authorities have started to introduce it right across their schools — notably in Hertfordshire, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Hampshire. Ron Bibby, head of science at The Trinity School in Surrey where the hew science was introduced last autumn, has found it popular with staff, pupils and parents. “We are ; teaching science by themes, such as energy, materials, the body and the environment, with plenty of practical work and problem-solv-ing. We have had no problem with the parents — we told them that the Royal Society and Mr Baker were in favour of it and those are names which carry a lot of weight in these parts.” ■ The science teachers are proud of their achievement in bringing in a reform after years of battling with entrenched interests. They find it Ironical that Mr Baker should espouse their ideas just at the same time as he is saying that the school curriculum should be'taken out of the hands of the teachers and handed over to the consumers. Copyright London Observer.;