20-year decline in year 12 science and maths participation, study finds

Governments, industry and the education sector should be "alarmed" by the growing numbers of students abandoning science and mathematics in their final year of high school, say the authors of a landmark report that found a continuing decline in the percentage of year 12 science and maths students over the past two decades.

While the overall number of students attending year 12 increased by 16 per cent between 1992 and 2012 the portion of those students studying chemistry, biology, physics and advanced or intermediate maths subjects decreased dramatically.

In 2012 there were 30,800 more students in year 12 than in 1992 but 8000 fewer physics students, 4000 fewer chemistry students and 12,000 fewer biology students than two decades previously. Earth science, the least popular science subject, was the only science course analysed where participation rates increased.

 

The percentage of students studying advanced and intermediate maths also declined over a similar period but the proportion of students selecting entry-level maths grew by 60 per cent.

John Kennedy, the lead author of the report and the head of science at St Andrew's Cathedral School in Sydney, said the downward trends had slowed but showed no sign of reversing and were "undoubtedly serious cause for concern".

"No one really knows why it's happening, which I found rather disturbing," Mr Kennedy, whose report was published in Teaching Science: The Journal of the Australian Science Teachers Association, said.

 

Terry Lyons, a collaborator on the study with Frances Quinn, said previous research suggested the most likely cause of the decline was the smorgasbord of subjects final year students were now offered.

At the same time science and mathematics participation had declined, physical education, business studies and VET subjects had increased in popularity, Dr Lyons, an associate professor of science education at Queensland University of Technology, said.

He said the trend against studying final-year science and maths was concerning because it meant students might not have a sufficient grasp of scientific concepts that would help them understand important issues affecting society, such as climate change, GM crops and coal seam gas.

"People who have a background in science beyond year 10 are more likely to persist in trying to understand [these issues] than someone who thinks, 'It's all too hard, I'm just going to go with what someone else says'," Dr Lyons said.

The decline in senior science participation could also lead to a deficit in the country's future scientific workforce, he said.

A recent chief scientist's report stated that 75 per cent of the fastest growing occupations required science, technology, engineering or mathematics skills and knowledge.

Dr Lyons said there were no easy solutions to the problem but teachers who were engaging and well-supported might help reserve participation rates.

Mr Kennedy said engaging teachers helped spark a child's interest in science at a young age and helped retain older students in their final school years.

"It's not that [students] find the sciences or the maths hard," said Mr Kennedy.

"If the teacher is engaging, wanting to work with the [student], then the [student] wanted to study it the next year," he said.

Lukas Sikes-Gerogiannis, 17, who will sit HSC exams in intermediate maths and chemistry in the coming weeks, said he chose to carry on with year 12 chemistry because he found the subject stimulating and had performed well in junior school.

"When you're studying an in-depth, content-heavy subject like that, you definitely need to be interested otherwise you're going to get lost," said the student from Sydney secondary college Blackwattle Bay campus.

"I enjoyed maths as much as one can enjoy maths but I didn't know what I wanted to do [as a career] when I picked my subjects and figured it opened up the most avenues," he said.

Research has found engaging children in science before the age of 11 to 14 was critical to their long-term interest in the subject.

One of the recommendations of chief scientist Ian Chubb's national science strategy was for all primary schools to have a dedicated science teacher.

Since 2004, the Australian Academy of Science has run Primary Connections, a primary school science and literacy program that has help improve teacher quality and been used in 73 per cent of Australian schools.

Program director Shelley Peers said independent evaluation had found the program could significantly improve a teacher's confidence and skills, which had increased the results of students.