Danisa Abiel is well known for her practical solutions to teaching and learning in the advancing fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). She is the founder of International Teaching Learning Assessment Consultants and Online Schools (ITLACO). She has authored 20 editions of her newsletter, "The Educator's Diaries," on LinkedIn.
Having been in several schools that required support in Teaching and Learning in science, one moved on to one school whose primary focus was mentoring science teachers and looking into changing the curriculum for science, which is core to the STEM subjects as it has the three branches of science (these are Biology, Physics and Chemistry). The role also ensured the integration of cross-curricula teaching of STEM subjects. It focused on the relevance and applications of STEM subjects to the national and global society and economies.
Observations made
Observations made in these schools that are now Academies (previously known as comprehensive state/government schools) were that they needed help to attract enough A’ level (KS5) students (equivalent to 12th grade in the United States) into Science STEM subjects. Students from these schools were predominantly from working-class communities. There was a struggle to engage students in the sciences, especially at these levels. The reasons included the following:
1. There are not enough black and brown teachers
At secondary and high school levels, teaching science students need motivation, especially students from black and ethnic minority groups who lack confidence due to socio-economic factors to excel in education, let alone STEM subjects. Research has found that 46% of schools in England had no Black or ethnic minority teaching staff at all (Richards et al., 2023). The students then feel it is not a subject for “them”. It is worth noting that according to stem.org.uk, less than 5% of Black Caribbean students progress to science A levels, compared to less than 10% of white British students, though Black African pupils generally fare better than Black Caribbean pupils (Roberts & Bolton, 2023).
The solutions
To have incentives and working conditions that promote black and ethnic minority teachers. Such as having them lead STEM activities in collaboration with external STEM institutions. These are usually incentivised through time in lieu or monetised, depending on the school.
It also enables black and ethnic minority STEM teachers to take up leadership roles, especially in remote areas of the country where there are no Black or Ethnic minority teachers.
2. Lack of interest and student exposure
Students lack interest in STEM due to a lack of exposure to and application of abstract science concepts from an early age. The exposure implied here is not in the institution where the student is enrolled but at home, where basic concepts such as nutritional value, for example, could be taught during meals, how a blow drier works using electricity, and how cleaning agents remove dirt due to their alkalinity or acidity compositions. Simple mathematical monetary exchanges and calculations and using Chromebooks for home learning will boost students’ curiosity and understanding to find science, technology, and mathematics easier and more enjoyable when they learn the concepts in school. The same principles apply to television and children's sites, but only some families can access these facilities.
The solutions
The Government has introduced pupil premium benefits in schools to ensure children from underprivileged backgrounds receive Chromebooks for use at home and in school for research and home learning.
Expanding access to STEM Careers by schools linking with STEM industries for talks and visits and including addressing gender role stereotypes
Perhaps science play centres should be established where primary and pre-primary children can explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, develop an interest in them, and carry them through to higher key stage levels.
3. Lack of full utilisation of resources in science departments
Science is a practical subject. It can be theoretical but has complex and abstract concepts that must be proven and shown practically. Virtual demonstrations can also be a substitute, but the student needs hands-on experience to apply the practical skills later in employment. Teachers often skip practical sessions to go through a specification or scheme of work in time for examinations. The skipping of practical sessions makes it harder for students to understand concepts fully. The Ofsted Science Subject Report 2023 (Finding the Optimum) has backed this observation.
The solution
It is important to make room for practical sessions and experiences in the curriculum timetable, such as having after-school biology, physics, chemistry, and general science clubs where practical skills can be taught and learnt. The Ofsted Science Subject Report 2023 (Finding the Optimum) has described further solutions:
4. Lack of laboratory technicians
Laboratory technicians are important in the science aspect of teaching STEM as they support teachers in learning lessons that require practical sessions. On the other hand, science technicians have specialist skills required at higher levels, such as KS5 (12th grade in the USA). Schools must employ chemistry, biology, and Physics technicians to prepare the practical materials and equipment required for each discipline. Now, because some schools are teaching to the KS4 level (Grade 9 and 10 in the USA) in their curricula, the technicians then do not find work as a technician in the schools challenging and fulfilling enough, so they move on to work in further education colleges, universities, pharmaceutical industries and hospital laboratories.
The solutions
Schools and the Government could provide incentives for laboratory technicians, enabling them to stay in school.
Schools could give technicians more authority in departments to draw up timetables independent of lesson times, where practical sessions could occur in liaison with the teachers and linked to the curriculum.
5. Bad behaviour in schools
State schools, now called Academies, that have a high percentage of SEN (Special Educational Needs) students have a growing rise in behavioural and emotional issues. Behaviour has greatly hindered conducting practical experiments in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics, where teacher and students’ safety is compromised. The schools’ focus has now been predominantly on creating systems that manage the behaviour rather than solutions to eradicate the bad behaviour. While it is a temporary solution when students are at school, it continues as a vicious cycle because students return to homes and families where the systems are not applied. After the half term and summer holidays, the students forget the protocols and procedures, and the cycle of reminding and reteaching them starts when students return to school.
Possible solution
The solution is not found in schools alone. For example, across Europe, parents are involved and engaged through innovative practices such as parents taking part in activities determined by the school, e.g., attending parents' meetings, reading at school, and participating in school events or trips. Parental engagement requires a deeper involvement, including engagement in learning at home through encouragement, support, reading with their children, and participating in school parents' assemblies. Parent assemblies help create consistency in behavioural systems and policies by having parents reinforce them at home.
6. Competition
Academies that were once comprehensive government schools and private and grammar schools in the United Kingdom often compete. Private and grammar schools have the resources and finances to attract the best staff and the few parents in deprived communities who are apt enough to aspire to improve or increase their children's chances in Science careers and who will opt and sacrifice to send their children to them. The private and grammar schools also offer subsidised tuition fees or scholarships to enable students from deprived communities to study Science subjects at KS5. They often take onboard students with the best KS4 external results and internal school entrance test scores on these scholarships.
The solution
Academies may need to create funding pots, such as school charities and school alums foundations. This enables them to have resources and staffing similar to private and grammar schools. The Government provides funds for pupil premium children, but this does not motivate students to stay or return after KS4, as private and grammar schools can also still apply for this through their education advisors.
The above is a pattern observed recently. Over the past 30 years, one has taught in private, grammar, and comprehensive schools.
Through building up a body of critical foundational knowledge and concepts, students in the United Kingdom should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to understand how science can be applied to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes (Department for Education, 2014). The national science curriculum aims to ensure that students:
Develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry, and physics.
Develop an understanding of the nature, processes, and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them.
They are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science today and in the future: scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding.
The aims should not be ignored. They should be considered and employed despite the nature of the schools and curricula, which have stayed the same over the last ten years.
Read more from Danisa Abiel
Danisa Abiel, Teaching and Learning Consultant and Founder
Danisa Abiel is a passionate leader and educator in Biology, Physics, and Chemistry, with over thirty years of experience. Witnessing firsthand how students find science subjects challenging, she founded an online school to support students in various situations to improve and excel in science. Her greatest aspiration is to ensure all children receive the best science education, regardless of where they are in the world.
References:
Department for Education. (2014, December 2). National curriculum in England: secondary curriculum. GOV.UK.
Educational outcomes of Black pupils and students. (2023). In House of Commons Library.
Finding the optimum: the science subject report. (2023, February 2). GOV.UK.
Richards, M., Mitchell, R., & Glowach, T. (n.d.). More ethnic minority teachers are needed in UK schools – but teaching can affect their mental health and wellbeing. The Conversation.
Roberts, N., & Bolton, P. (n.d..). Educational outcomes of Black pupils and students. House of Commons Library.
