Popularising science has always been an uphill battle.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo has long felt the need to address the poor situation science education finds itself in at schools. Even before he assumed ministerial responsibility, he criticised the manner in which science is taught and the time allocated to it, apart from other aspects.
In a 2008 report entitled ‘Science education in Europe: critical reflections’, the Nuffield Foundation, a British charity trust, had noted that the sort of education being imparted “does not meet the needs of the majority of students who require a broad overview of the major ideas that science offers, how it produces reliable knowledge and the limits to certainty”.
It also found that both the content and pedagogy associated with curriculums were increasingly failing to engage young people with the further study of science, leading to “a strong negative correlation between students’ interest in science and their achievement in science tests”.
The research indicated that, in most cases, interest in and attitudes towards school science come about before a student is 14. Therefore, the foundation pointed out, to address the matter effectively it must be ensured that the quality of science education up to that age is of the highest standard and that the opportunities to engage with science, in and out of school, are stimulating. When it comes to schooling, it results that what really determines student interest is the quality of the teaching.
The foundation may have focused on the UK but what it said can very well be applied to Malta too. In fact, two studies, published by the education authorities in 2013 and covering research carried out in 2011 and 2009, paint a bleak picture of the situation here.
The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study showed that Malta’s mean science score (446) was significantly lower than the international average (500) and was ranked 40th out of 50 participating countries.
The findings of an international comparative survey of educational achievement of 15-year-olds – the Programme for International Student Assessment – implied that the mean science and mathematics scores for Malta were significantly lower than the EU and OECD averages.
No wonder Mr Bartolo keeps referring to the poor attention given to science in schools and insists that more time be dedicated to science in a hands-on manner.
He noted that Malta was the country which dedicated the least amount of time to sciences. While the international median was 85 hours a year, Malta dedicated 39. He feels the way sciences are taught must continue to change.
Hope there is, as indicates the NSTS (Foundation) Science Expo, an annual week-long presentation of scientific experiments, innovation, artistic expressions of science concepts, interactive presentations and workshops by invited professional science communicators. This year, NSTF also launched Science Days in Gozo.
NSTF boasts – not without good reason, perhaps – of enjoying long years of success as the only national organisation active in the popularisation of science in this country through diverse projects for schoolchildren and students up to University level.
There is a lot of work to be done in this regard and a concerted effort needs to be made if we are to address the issue successfully.
In this case, we need to go against the science principle that unlike forces attract and like forces repel and make sure that those who can contribute to boost science education put their heads together and pool their resources to reach the ultimate aim.