Some Initial Comment from NSW's Chief Scientist/Chief Engineer. (November 22, 2008)

On October 24 the newly designated premier of New South Wales, Nathan Rees, announced the appointment of Professor Mary O'Kane, former vice-chancellor of The University of Adelaide, to be the state's first chief scientist/chief scientific engineer.

Below is a summary of part of her Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) 2008 Oration given this past Sunday:

On my appointment as NSW Chief Scientist and Scientific Engineer I received from the Premier a letter outlining my responsibilities including four priorities for immediate attention. Two of these are the traditional ones for people in this role – increasing the research performance in the State, and providing specialist advice on contentious science issues such as genetic engineering and nanotechnology.

     The other two made me stop and think -- 1) Leading a discussion about low numbers in maths and science - and the need for more quality maths and science (particularly physics) teachers and  2) Developing a stronger relationship between business, government, and universities.

Referring to the latter two, Professor O'Kane went on to say: "Over the years I, like others, have delivered countless speeches and been involved in studies and reports on these topics. They never seem to go away. We never seem to solve them."

She didn't offer panaceas but readdressed the matters in what she referred to as a "commonsensical" manner.*

Here we give a summery of her views on the problem of low numbers in maths and science.

• We do not have enough engineers, technologists & scientists to fill job vacancies.

• There are not enough students studying maths and science in high school, particularly at advanced levels.

• There are not enough maths and science teachers - particularly quality teachers.

How bad is the case actually? "Certainly worrying according to recent studies."

Participation in senior secondary school science has declined over the 30 year period from 1976 to 2007.

 
     In 1976,
         55% of Year 12 students studied biology,
         29% studied chemistry and
         28% studied physics.¹

     In 2007 the corresponding percentages were
         25% biology,
         18% chemistry and
         15% physics.²

Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data tell us that Australia has a relatively good overall proportion of tertiary qualifications - but a low proportion of people with Science, Engineering, Technological (SET) tertiary qualifications in comparison to other OECD countries.³

However, Professor O'Kane notes:

Based on the OECD/PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) data and the national evidence base to hand, the expectation reported in the current literature is that on the skills supply front:

• The pool of SET workers will shrink dramatically due to substantial losses at the experienced end of the spectrum and an insufficient pool of potential recruitments.⁴

• Australia will face challenges from international demand for SET skills.⁵

Another issue is that very few high-achieving students appear to be choosing to become maths and physics teachers, and in New South Wales there are over 13,000 people on the waiting list to become primary school teachers at a time when the State is experiencing major shortages of secondary school maths, science and technology teachers.⁶

Yet most worryingly - and as noted in the National Innovation Review Green Paper:

'When it comes to interest in learning science, surveys of Australia's 15-year-olds paint a dismal picture. The PISA 2006 survey⁷ records an average interest score of just 465, ranking Australians 24^th out of the 30 OECD countries. Not having scientifically literate leaders may stall our capacity to solve major technical problems which are affecting Australia and the rest of the world.'

 Professor O'Kane makes the point that: "there are clearly different pathways to success and different lessons we can draw from in considering what might work well in the Australian context.

But she also observes that "in terms of the commonalities", McKinsey & Company, drawing on PISA findings in determining how the world's best schools came out on top, made three key findings of note:

• The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teacher.

• The only way to improve the outcomes is to improve the instruction

• High performance requires every child to succeed.⁸

Professor O'Kane also suggests that we may not have sufficient understanding of the motivational and the "demotivational" forces as well as that of status that impact on students' decisions in taking up studies of maths, the sciences and engineering.

We need to focus on what the solution would look like short-term & long-term, what we want to achieve and by when. We need to model the benefits of action - against the cost of inaction, to model and be clear about the roles of Government and other key players in the science and innovation system (universities, employer groups, academies, for example) & how might intervention at the edges be beneficial.

And she considers of prime importance:

1. that there must be a concentration on teacher quality and status,

2. developing a deeper understanding of what motivates students, and

3. developing "forward looking strategies for what we want to achieve in this space".

And as examples of "forward strategies"  Professor O'Kane suggests an approach that should be seriously considered is to bring promising young people with potential at Year 10 to Australia, with their families,  as well as advancing further education and training for the nation's adults.

Professor O'Kane's take home message?:  The challenge won't go away but the worries should be channelled into action as well as further analysis -- it is a core determinant of our productivity that we need to monitor and adjust ever vigilantly.

To what extent will Professor O'Kane as Chief Scientist/Engineer influence New South Welsh governmental policy as regards low numbers in maths and science - and the need for more quality maths and science (particularly physics) teachers, and just what is to be the role of the state government in encouraging public sector research and tertiary as well as primary and secondary education as regards science, maths and engineering?

Over the years I, like others, have delivered countless speeches and been involved in studies and reports on these topics. They never seem to go away. We never seem to solve them.

 Will this time be different?

_____________________________

     *Professor O'Kane has kindly supplied the references supporting her viewpoint and assessments.