One in every 10 primary teachers in Scotland should hold a master’s degree in science teaching, according to a major new report to government exploring how to improve confidence in the subject.
The report, shared exclusively with TESS, praises some existing schemes to build teachers’ science skills and knowledge - but finds that even one of the best would take 30 years to have an impact in every school in the sector.
The recommendations by the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Committee (STEMEC), an independent advisory group, include a proposal for a national and long-term programme of support to help at least 10 per cent of all primary teachers obtain a master’s in primary science and pedagogy.
Building expertise
The Scottish Teacher Education Committee, representing providers of teacher education, has confirmed that, “with proper preparation”, universities could offer such a qualification, the report says. The estimated cost would be £6,000 per student; they could train 230 primary teachers for around £1.4 million a year.
After 10 years, some 10 per cent of primary teachers would have been though the scheme, providing at least one specially trained teacher per school in the sector.
There is also a call to build science expertise among student teachers, partly by requiring applicants to have a National 5 or equivalent in science and, after five years, raising that expectation to Highers or equivalent in both science and maths.
Strengthening initial teacher education for primary school teachers is “clearly essential given the lack of confidence in teaching science”, the report states, but it “will take a long time to have a deep national impact”. For that reason, the report also demands a strong focus on improving existing teachers’ skills and knowledge.
It praises schemes such as a “high-quality professional development programme run by SSERC (the Scottish Schools Education Research Centre), which has involved 240 primary schools. But this has reached only 12 per cent of the total number of primaries and, under the present format, the report finds that it would take close to 30 years for every school to benefit from it directly.
Other ideas include simplifying Curriculum for Excellence’s 56 science “experiences and outcomes” for nursery and primary schools.
The report also calls for immediate action to address shortages of science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) teachers; and greater efforts in schools and colleges to tackle gender stereotyping. There should also be better school links with scientists in colleges and universities, it says.
‘Daunting’ engineering
Susannah Jeffries, a teacher in a Fife primary, said there often was a lack of confidence around Stem in her sector, with engineering being particularly “daunting”.
But the idea of 10 per cent of primary teachers undertaking a master’s “seems like a very challenging target”, she said.
Science minister Shirley-Anne Somerville insisted that many of the recommendations were already being addressed through, for example, the government campaign to increase teacher numbers in subjects with shortages.
“But we know we can do more,” she said. Encouraging young people to engage with Stem education meant the government could “improve attainment and better meet labour market needs”, she added.
