Science education under the microscope

The aim is to understand how countries in both Europe (England/Netherlands) and the partner countries of India, Turkey, Lebanon and Malaysia are addressing the issue of gender and cultural diversity in regard to engaging young people in science education. It will also focus on ways to help address this issue more effectively and to understand the relationship between science education and culture. Over a three year period, the project intends to provide guidelines and programmes for effective interventions to improve the take up of science education.

Rupert Wegerif Professor of Education at the University of Exeter, said ‘One way to improve science education in Europe, in order to respond more effectively to students from culturally diverse backgrounds is to learn in collaboration with international partners in countries where science remains attractive to large number of young people.’

Although the aim is to improve the quality of science education for all, Professor Wegerif added, ‘Our expertise puts us in a particularly good position to explore in more detail the impact of Islamic culture and personal religious belief on the take-up of science, a topic of great concern for all policy makers within Europe and in the world as a whole.’

The Science Education for Diversity Project will start by exploring the complex relationship between different ethnically and culturally defined groups, gender, and different areas of science and the variety of approaches to teaching and learning science. Some of the questions addressed by the project look at how teachers’ perceive the issues, the factors that affect students opting for science, the educational policies in place in each of the partner countries to address diversity issues in science education and, what constitutes a 'successful' policy or practice.

The project which is in collaboration with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (India), Pamukkale University (Turkey), American University in Beirut (Lebanon), Eindhoven University of Technology (Holland) and Tunku Abdul Rahman College (Malaysia) with the University of Exeter as the lead partner. It is being funded by the European Union, under the Seventh Framework Programme for research and technology development.

The launch of the international project was on 3rd March commencing the Science Education for Diversity transnational conference, which ran until 5th March at the University of Exeter.