Move to secondary school puts children off science
8 May 2009
Moving from primary to secondary school is a critical time in young people's education. The change in environment, curriculum structure and teaching style can all have a marked impact on pupils' achievements and interest in different areas, including science, for the rest of their lives.
While most children find the transition relatively easy to deal with, many experience a sustained negative impact on their attainment and attitudes - and this dip in interest is more pronounced in science than in English or maths. Once young people have been put off science, it is difficult to re-engage them, which has serious consequences for both the supply of future scientists and wider scientific literacy in the UK.
Professor Derek Bell, Head of Education at the Trust, said: "With the publication of the Rose Review of the primary curriculum last week and changes to assessment in science at Key Stage 2 announced yesterday, we have a real opportunity to address the issues of continuity and progression in science education for children as they move schools. The fact that secondary schools are also introducing the new Key Stage 3 programmes of study means it is vital we get everyone thinking now about how to improve the transition period and ensure children maintain the high levels of interest and achievement in science they generally have at primary school."
‘Primary-secondary Transfer in Science’ is the second in the Wellcome Trust's 'Perspectives on Education' series.
The first piece, by Professor Maurice Galton of the University of Cambridge, begins by looking at theoretical explanations underlying transfer issues. He argues that there needs to be a balance between continuity (i.e. keeping things familiar at the start of Year 7) and discontinuity (to give children a sense of moving on and growing up). He then examines children's views about transfer and concludes that the main reason for pupils' dissatisfaction with school science at the start of secondary school lies with the style of teaching, including a lack of opportunities for discussion and an overemphasis on facts and instructions.
The second perspective comes from Martin Braund of the University of York. His report examines the evidence for regression in science learning after transfer to secondary school. He looks at the use of two main strategies aimed at alleviating transfer issues, namely units of work that 'bridge' the gap between primary and secondary, and teachers sharing practice. The report finds that a coordinated programme of measures works best, including teachers meeting to share practice, exchange of assessed work and co-observation of teaching. He concludes that high-quality sharing of pedagogy and practice between primary and secondary teachers is key to improving transfer issues, helping pupils to recognise the value of the work they have done at primary school and to see their learning in science in terms of progression rather than repetition.
The final piece comes from Anne Diack of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. She looks at a number of strategies that have been put forward for use across the primary-secondary transition, ranging from collaborative learning between primary and secondary pupils and changes in school structures, such as having separate areas for younger children within large secondary schools. She concludes that larger-scale changes in school structures - such as 'all-through' state schools and federations - may have a role to play in smoothing out transition.
Among the recommendations made by the three researchers are a UK-wide review of issues associated with teaching of science across the transition and, in particular, a review of teacher training programmes for both primary and secondary to focus more on supporting children through transfer.
Professor Bell added: "Significant progress has been made over the years to improve transition, but the major outstanding issue seems to be that secondary schools do not always value pupils' achievements from primary school but adopt a 'clean slate' approach, which can lead to children having to repeat work they have already done at primary school. We also know that children expect science at secondary school to be more hands-on, practical and exciting than at primary and their expectations are often not realised.
"We don't want to make the move from primary to secondary school invisible. Many young people relish the prospect of moving up to 'big school' and this can be a positive change. It is imperative, however, that secondary schools are aware of what pupils bring from Key Stage 2. Their achievements at primary must be respected in order to build on them throughout secondary school and beyond.
"This is especially important since there is evidence that career choices for many young people are greatly influenced around the age of 9 to 12 - so transition is critical if we are to support both the education of a scientifically literate population and the next generation of world-class scientists."
Image credit: David Sayer/Wellcome Images
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Media Officer
Wellcome Trust
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Notes for editors
The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing.