the-BA : Open Letter - Roland Jackson 12 October 2006

Image of Roland Jackson, Chief Executive of the BA

I was privileged to be a member of the Advisory Committee for the new 21st Century Science GCSE course, chaired by Sir John Krebs and containing a number of other eminent scientists, and I thoroughly support the philosophy and practice advocated and developed. I write as one who has a research degree in science and has taught science in state secondary schools.

Our challenge as a country is to educate the entire cohort of young people about the content and practice of the sciences in ways that fulfil two purposes: to prepare all young people for a society in which science and technology are so pervasive, and to prepare a small but vital proportion for careers in science and technology. Young people themselves, in direct evidence that some gave to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee and as demonstrated in wider survey work, want the opportunity to place and discuss science in its wider social context.

While science is a specific intellectual and practical discipline, and should be taught as such (as indeed it is in 21st Century Science) it is so embedded in our society in terms of its implications and potential that to isolate it as an arid discipline is likely to alienate the majority, for whom science becomes boring and irrelevant to their interests and concerns, almost regardless of the excellence of the teacher. It is hardly surprising that pseudoscience has such a hold in so many quarters, if the science we offer young people is so depersonalised and abstract that they simply turn away from it.

The strength of the 21st Century Science model is that it meets the needs, through flexible options, of those who will not go on to be professional scientists and of those who will. The whole basis of this course is the study of the major explanatory theories of science and the development of practical and data-handling skills that lead to the creation of new scientific knowledge and the informed assessment of scientific claims. As to specialisation, it is perfectly possible for a student to achieve GCSEs in the three separate sciences through this course.

Going back to the model of a curriculum determined primarily by the perceived needs of universities offering single subject degree courses in the sciences is no way to offer all young people a proper education in science. This model has demonstrably not worked in terms of bringing about a widespread understanding and positive appreciation of science and the extensive research and consultation carried out for the 21st Century Science course seeks to remedy this.

The British Association for the Advancement of Science has a particular commitment to the development of experimentally-based exploration and understanding of the sciences. As part of our mission to engage and inspire young people about science and to support the development of relevant skills, our CREST (CREativity in Science and Technology) Award scheme accredits the project work of around 30,000 science and technology students aged 11-19 from across the country, every year. The scheme enables students of all abilities to explore real scientific, engineering and technological questions and encourages them to develop their scientific curiosity and their communication and problem-solving skills. It complements perfectly the aims and aspirations of 21st Century Science.

Note:

This is an open letter from Roland Jackson, Chief Executive of the BA, writing in his capacity as a member of the Advisory Committee for the new 21st Century Science GCSE course.

For further information please contact:

Lisa Hendry, Press Officer, the BA
Tel: +44 (0)20 7019 4946
Email: lisa.hendry@the-ba.net

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