Science: Parents think their children know more than they do

21st August 2009, 1:00am

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Science: Parents think their children know more than they do

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/science-parents-think-their-children-know-more-they-do

Original magazine headline: Not such bright sparks

Teachers might despair at their pupils’ lack of science knowledge, but according to a survey of 1,002 parents they should be more worried about their mums and dads.

More than half of the parents of five to 16-year-olds think their children know more about science than they do.

Four out of five parents surveyed couldn’t answer a question about science from their child and one in five felt silly when they didn’t know the answer.

As well as that favourite of questions: “Where do babies come from?”, parents were also asked: “What makes a rainbow?”

A new website - Science: (So what? So everything) - launched by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills provides explanations to these questions, along with resources and suggestions for places to visit.

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