Science Education in Lower Hutt Secondary Schools Proposed Actions for Hutt City Council
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Science Education In Lower Hutt Secondary Schools Proposed Actions for Hutt City Council Anne Jackson Jackson Strategy June 2014 Contents 1 Summary .......................................................................................................3 2 Introduction ....................................................................................................6 2.1 Purpose of the Study 6 2.2 Approach to the Study 6 3 Summary of Research Findings on Secondary Science Education ...............8 3.1 The Purpose of Science Education 8 3.2 Student Attitudes and Motivation 9 3.3 The Organisation of Science in Schools 10 3.4 Engagements Between Schools and the Science Community 12 4 Existing Initiatives to Support Science Education in Schools ....................... 16 4.1 The National Context 16 4.2 Existing School/Science Community Engagement Initiatives – Illustrative Examples 18 5 Secondary Education In Hutt City ................................................................ 22 5.1 The Schools 22 5.2 Education Initiative for 16 to 19 year olds 22 6 Results from the Interviews .......................................................................... 24 6.1 Interviews with Schools 24 6.2 Interviews with Science Organisations 28 6.3 Possible initiatives to Support Science Education 29 7 Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................ 35 7.1 Recommendations 36 Annex A – Interview Questions ......................................................................... 37 Questions for Schools (Principals and Science Teachers) 37 Questions for Employers and Tertiary Institutions 37 Annex B – People Interviewed In the Study ...................................................... 39 Acknowledgement 39 Annex C – Youth Guarantee Information for Mayoral Meeting .......................... 40 2 1 Summary Hutt City Council is home to a number of science based organisations and is keen to encourage the development of a work force suited to high value jobs and a high technology based economy. The Council commissioned this study to investigate the current state of science education in secondary schools in Lower Hutt and determine if there were any actions the Council could take to support science education, encourage students to pursue careers in science and promote engagement between schools and science organisations in the city. The study involved seeking the views of Lower Hutt secondary schools about their priorities for science education, the barriers they saw to students progressing to more senior levels, and how the Council could most effectively support them. It also sought the views of a sample of science organisations about their recruitment needs and the opportunities they saw for greater engagement with local secondary schools. To ensure that proposed initiatives were based on good practice and drew on successful developments elsewhere, the study looked at relevant research, national priorities for science education and partnerships between schools and the science community in other parts of New Zealand. Over the last few years there has been considerable interest in science education in New Zealand, driven by recognition of the importance of science education to developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation. A wide range of networks and partnerships has been established including one-off events, ongoing work with schools, web-based initiatives and support for teachers. The study found that secondary schools in Lower Hutt were placing a high priority on how best to engage students with science and were providing different programmes to reflect students’ interests and abilities. Many also had established links with local employers with a view to stimulating students’ interest and encouraging them to consider careers in science. Employers were generally keen to be involved in education but varied in the extent to which they had established mechanisms to do so. Both schools and employers were positive about the Council’s initiative in commissioning the study and put forward a number of useful ideas about how the Council could use its unique role in the community to promote science careers, facilitate networks, broker services and provide community facilities. These proposals varied in their scale, cost, ease of implementation and the extent to which they were specific to Hutt City or reflected developments elsewhere. Bringing together the results of research, national priorities and the views of schools and employers, this study recommends that the Council should focus on initiatives to support science education that: • Are specifically designed to support teaching and learning – driven by the needs of schools and the New Zealand curriculum 3 • Involve collaboration between schools and the science community, including the input of science educators • Include teacher professional development as an important component • Are sustainable over time and have sufficient structure and organisation to be not solely dependent on the enthusiasm and personal time commitment of individuals • Focus on the value that the Council can add through its unique role in the community • Provide a range of different types of support to students – recognising that the needs of students differ at different stages of their schooling, and in terms of their motivations, interests and career aspirations • Aim to complement national initiatives in science education, including the possible establishment of a national strategy for school/science community engagement In the short term, the Council should consider implementing the following initiatives: • Developing a register of local employers indicating areas where they are willing to be involved with schools (visits, mentoring, internships etc) • Developing a range publicity material about young local scientists and their career pathways • Developing a pool of local scientists to visit schools to talk about their careers (in consultation with the existing FutureinTech initiative) • Hosting a science fair/convention involving local employers and science teachers in Hutt City. The Mayor has recently established a group of education leaders in Hutt City to consider providing new educational opportunities for young people under the umbrella of the Government’s Youth Guarantee policy. Youth Guarantee aims among other things to support a wider range of work and tertiary-based opportunities for school students. The above initiatives could be referred to this group to progress as part of its work programme. Other proposals put forward in this study include: • Supporting travel costs for students to visit science based employers • Facilitating access to community based science equipment • Establishing a science centre for use by schools and the community • Employment of a science co-ordinator/educator 4 • Establishing a cluster of science teachers and providing joint professional development • Providing/supporting teacher fellowships • Providing/supporting student awards and scholarships These initiatives should ideally be progressed in the context of national developments such as the Government’s Science and Society Project and the establishment of Science Learning and Change Networks. It is recommended that the Council discuss these initiatives with the Ministry of Education with a view to Lower Hutt becoming an “early adopter” of national initiatives, perhaps with the Ministry providing some funding and support and Lower Hutt contributing its knowledge and experience to inform developments in other parts of New Zealand. 5 2 Introduction 2.1 Purpose of the Study Hutt City Council commissioned this study to investigate the current state of science education in secondary schools in Lower Hutt and determine if there were any actions that the Council and other interested parties could take to support science education. The Council and other science based and economic development organisations in the city are keen to encourage the development of a work force suited to high value jobs and a high technology based economy. The city is home to a number of significant science and health based organisations (e.g. Callaghan Innovation; GNS Science; Hutt Valley District Health Board) that rely on a highly skilled workforce with a background in science. The Council recently partnered with the Open Polytechnic offering a Mayoral Scholarship to encourage primary school teachers in Lower Hutt to undertake the Graduate Certificate in Primary Science Teaching. The Council is also involved in supporting the Hutt Valley Primary Science Education Network which aims to bring together key stakeholders, including school principals, to address challenges in science education in primary schools. The Council is now seeking to get a better understanding of science education in the City’s secondary schools and determine what steps the Council could take to work with secondary schools to encourage more young people to continue their involvement in the science subjects. 2.2 Approach to the Study The study was designed to seek the views of Lower Hutt secondary schools about their priorities for science education, barriers to students progressing to more senior levels, and how the Council and other organisations could most effectively support them. It also sought the views of a sample of science organisations the Council had established relationships with about their recruitment needs and the opportunities they saw for greater engagement with local secondary schools. To ensure that proposed