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Dear all,

 

I thought you would find this of interest - link and full article are
below.

 

Dennis

 

_________________________________________________________

 

The following appeared on Boston.com:

Headline: Early education key to scientific career choice 

Date:     May 29, 2006

 

"Teenage career preferences are a more reliable indicator than
mathematical aptitude for predicting which students become scientists,
suggesting a flaw in federal education strategies, a University of
Virginia study found."
____________________________________________________________

 

To see this recommendation, click on the link below or cut and paste it
into a Web browser:

 

 

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/05/29/early_educ
ation_key_to_scientific_career_choice?p1=email_to_a_friend

 

 

Early education key to scientific career choice

 

By Paul Basken, Bloomberg  |  May 29, 2006

 

Teenage career preferences are a more reliable indicator than
mathematical aptitude for predicting which students become scientists,
suggesting a flaw in federal education strategies, a University of
Virginia study found.

 

The federally funded survey of 3,359 students who were in the eighth
grade in 1988 found that those who expressed interest in science yet
made only average math scores had a 34 percent chance of graduating
college with a science or engineering degree.

 

Among those with above-average math scores and no preference for
science, only 19 percent of the college graduates earned such degrees,
according to the study led by Robert Tai, an assistant professor of
science education at the University of Virginia.

 

The findings suggest that mandatory testing policies, such as the No
Child Left Behind Law promoted by the Bush administration as a solution
to low-performing US schools, might worsen the nation's output of
scientists by distracting teachers from field trips and other activities
that stimulate student interest in sciences, Tai said.

 

``We've been focused, in terms of national policy, so focused on
achievement, getting students to do better, we've pretty much ignored
their interest," Tai said in an interview. ``And it's their interest
that's going to pull them through."

 

President Bush, in his State of the Union address in January, warned
that the country is in danger of losing its technological preeminence,
and he proposed spending $5.9 billion next year on education and
research initiatives. Bush's plan, now being debated in Congress,
includes funds to train 70,000 additional teachers to lead
advanced-placement math and science courses, which provide high school
students with a college-level curriculum.

 

Tai said his research, published in the May 26 issue of Science
magazine, suggests that such efforts might be too late, since many
children have already decided career preferences by high school. In some
instances, students with no interest in science are taking the
advanced-placement science courses merely to avoid them in college, he
said.

 

The author of legislation to fund the 70,000 new teachers,
Representative Joe Schwarz, a Republican of Michigan, said Tai ``is
probably right." Schwarz agreed his measure is aimed primarily at
funding teachers in the upper grades, and after being told about the
study, he said he would review the bill ``to make certain" it also
encourages hiring in the lower grades

 

 

 

"Work hard to find something that fascinates you. When you find it you
will know your lifework" -- Richard Feynman

Dennis Schatz, Vice President for Education

Pacific Science Center, 200 Second Ave. No., Seattle, WA 98109

Phone - 206-443-2867; Fax - 206-443-3631

Pacific Science Center

A non-profit bringing science and kids together

in every county of Washington State

 

 


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