Getting good science students

In the next couple of weeks the main rounds of university place offers will be made. Anecdotally I hear that the number of high school students choosing a science degree as their first preference has dropped again. Why?

Reasons abound - is it because the HECS is higher for practical degrees? Is it because government funding is tied to commercial interests? Is it because scientists are always portrayed with Albert Einstein-inspired hair in the media? Is it because scientists are reputed to have shorter life spans than any other profession? Is it because scientists are reputed to be poorly remunerated?

Maybe it is a bit of all of these things but I think the finger can also be pointed at high school science curricula and teachers. According to the 2005 report ''Who''s Teaching Science? Meeting the demand for qualified science teachers in Australian secondary schools'' prepared for Australian Council of Deans of Science:

• Nearly 43% of senior school physics teachers lacked a physics major, and one in four had not studied the subject beyond first year.
• Among senior school chemistry teachers, one in four lacked a chemistry major, whereas 14% of senior school biology teachers lacked a biology major.
• There is a relatively high percentage of Year 7/8 teachers with no university exposure to any of the four surveyed disciplines: even at the senior years of schooling, up to 6% of teachers have not studied these subjects beyond first year at university, if at all.

If the teachers were not enthused enough by science to major in the area they teach, how can they be expected to enthuse their students?

The high school woes are only going to be exacerbated in the next few years as the ''baby-boomer'' teachers retire - these teachers are the last to have gone through university under the old Teacher''s Scholarship system.

I sympathise with the Science Deans - they want to attract the brightest and best students but are fighting an uphill battle. It is a chicken and egg scenario - to attract good tertiary students the unis need good high school teachers but the schools can''t get good teachers unless the unis get lots of good students.

While I''m whinging about school science, I also think the system needs a huge injection of funds and resources. How can you stimulate kids when your prac equipment consists of antiquated, semi-functioning apparatus and an old jar of iron filings?

I hope the Productivity Commission''s draft report - Public Support for Science and Innovation - spurs the government to realise how vital funding science as the base level is.