Pedagogical approaches

Already in 2001, the Science and Society Action Plan included a specific action on science education: to support educational research and development projects specific to science and technology. There would be an exchange of experience among teachers, also conferences and public debate on the teaching of science and technology. The dissemination of the obtained results was to make use of WEEST (Women Education and Employment in Science and Technology)²⁰⁴, as a way of making gendered science education methods better known among science teachers and other stakeholders.

The Helsinki Group’s National Policies report (2002) mentioned the need for a “gender

204 Funded in 1999 by the European Parliament initiative CONNECT and managed by Città della Scienza, Naples

addressing migrant girls), or informal science education settings (Hands on – Brains on and PhysFun).

In 2005 the focus was on comparing science teaching methodologies and practices, taking into account gender specific actions;

understanding differences between girls’

and boys’ perception of science studies;

understanding how performance indicators / assessment strategies affect priority setting in science education. Seven projects were funded, and those focusing on teaching methods were: FORM-IT (networking scientists and education experts to innovate didactic materials and methods); PARSEL (identify teaching material that brings teacher practice closer to advanced research);

EFSUPS (scientific understanding in primary school through sustainable development) and POPBL (science teaching by project orientation – improving the transition to university and labour market for boys and girls). Other projects addressed secondary school pupils in order to attract them to scientific careers. In the 2006 work programme – the first of the 7^th Framework Programme (2007-2013), the Commission promoted context based and inquiry based science teaching. Two proposals were selected for funding: HIPST (context based) and Mind the Gap (inquiry based, secondary schools).

into meaningful learning contexts”.²⁰⁵ The study focused on experiences regarding applications of context-based methodologies in science teaching implemented in schools (formal settings) and out-of school (non- formal and informal settings, e.g. science parks, science museums, etc). The study found that the gender issue emerged as a distinctive factor, with the “role models”

being teachers themselves, as well as other professionals who take part in laboratory experiments or field research activities.

Media strategies and awareness raising campaigns, however, make it possible to reach out to broad audiences and to start instilling a “gender conscience”.

The 2004 Science and Society work programme requested proposals for actions implementing new science teaching methods in primary school curricula. Several projects we re f u nd e d: PL ASCIG A R DENS (partnerships between primary schools teachers and local botanic gardens), WASTEWATERRESOURCES (hands-on ecology), POLLEN (inquiry based approach), ESCALATE (using argumentation based methods) and ROBERTA-goes-EU (addressing specifically girls and robotics).

Other projects focused more on children from disadvantaged groups or/and migrants (EC FUN and PROMISE specifically

205 European Commission, “Best practices in the context of science teaching” Study by SCIENTER (Italy) – Final report 2006

in teacher professional development and systemic educational reform; promote the development of structures for teacher professional development; support research on the culturally-specific issues of gender and disadvantaged status; include students and young people in projects in all the Science and Society’s thematic areas;

promoting reform in existing science teaching practices will require more coordination of the activities of DG Research, DG Education and Culture, university-school partnerships, as well as national and local educational authorities; broadening institutional participation in science education (including industry) should remain an area of priority.

At the end of 2006, a small working group with 5 well-known experts in science education was created to draw on the various Member State experiences and

“propose European initiatives in favour of a wider balancing of educational approaches”, as stated by its chairman Member of the European Parliament, Michel Rocard²⁰⁷. The group was asked to consider what action could be taken at the European level to prepare young people for active participation in the emerging knowledge-based society where the creation and use of scientific knowledge are assuming ever increasing importance. Several issues were examined:

what are the most effective and innovative

207 Interview with the magazine Research*EU – June 2007

In 2007 a Mid-Term Assessment of Science and Society Activities promoted in FP6²⁰⁶ was published. It identified some strengths and weaknesses of the science education activities. The funded projects were considered too small in scale compared to the educational enterprise that they were intended to influence. If greater resources had been available, the projects would have been less scattered across science subject areas and would have provided greater coverage. Considering the limited resources available, the experts found the focus on only two dimensions of action as appropriate:

better learning outcomes through inquiry- based teaching methods and broader recruitment to science careers through reaching out to women and migrant groups.

The major weakness was identified in the dissemination aspects, which were considered not appropriate and not sufficient. In particular, there was not sufficient involvement and engagement of school and curricula decision makers. It was difficult to see how innovative activities could have had a sustainable influence on the workings of educational settings without serious involvement from educational policy- making authorities. The exper ts’

recommendations included: focus the resources on a few kinds of actions; continue identifying and disseminating best practices

206 “Mid-Term Assessment of Science and Society Activities 2002-2006 – Final Report” – 22 March 2007

information and materials will be available in several languages, and it will be possible to ask for translation into a missing EU language.

It should be noted that the gender aspect has became a compulsory feature in all FP7 projects on science education, and is taken into account in the evaluation process for projects.

Referring to a more recent development, two Ministers for Education François Biltgen (LUX) and José Mariano Gago (PT) prepared a document in April 2009²⁰⁹ in which they proposed a number of Priority Actions to improve the attractiveness of RTD careers and the conditions for the mobility of researchers in Europe. The document referred to the need to “increase the number and share of young people choosing to study science and technology related subjects”, and suggested actions to

“promote the awareness of young people with respect to science and technology;

improve science and technology education and help the development of science networks of schools, science teachers and researchers both nationally and internationally; support actions and institutions devoted to the promotion of scientific culture and the enlargement of the

209 Council of the European Union “Better careers and more mobility: A European partnership for researchers – information from the Commission and the Presidency”, 10003/09, 18/05/2009

techniques that have been developed in the area of science teaching, that motivate young people to want to understand scientific principles and the ways that science is done; dissemination of effective practice, adapting materials to local conditions; how to improve the links between formal and informal science education, and between science education and careers in science; how to increase participation of parents, scientists, researchers and local communities. The resulting Rocard Report²⁰⁸ was published in June 2007, calling for the introduction of inquiry-based science education (IBSE) in schools, and teacher training in IBSE. “Specific attention should be given … to raising the participation of girls in key school science subjects and to increasing their self-confidence in science”.

Following these recommendations, the first 7^th Framework Programme’s work programmes (2007 and 2008) focused on IBSE methods and on dissemination actions.

Several projects were funded: S-TEAM in 2008, Fibonacci, Establish and Primas in 2009. In 2008, a public procurement procedure was launched to create an internet platform for the dissemination of information and best practices regarding the inquiry based teaching methods that have been developed under FP6 and FP7. The

208 European Commission, “Science education NOW: a renewed pedagogy for the future of Europe” – 2007, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

Already in 2001, during the conference

“Gender and Research”²¹⁰, a full session was dedicated to “Reaching out to schools and society at large”, where it was proposed that recognising the relevance of the gender dimension in science would increase its attractiveness to young people (both boys and girls) and would open up science to broader societal concerns. It looked at the best ways of integrating gender equality into science teaching at the earliest stages, and into science awareness-raising activities.

The session asked, for example, why girls are more likely to choose certain areas of science, such as biology and pharmacy, rather than physics and information technology. Are these general trends or a response to socialisation processes? Why do both girls and boys tend to avoid mathematics? Is it linked to the way in which disciplines are taught and knowledge transferred? Understanding these differences in choices requires looking closely at the attitudes expressed by girls and boys towards different areas of science. It means breaking down deep-seated stereotypes and getting at the roots of “science imagination”.

In 2003, the Commission Communication titled “Researchers in ERA: one profession,

210 European Commission, “Gender & Research – 8/9 November 2001 Conference Proceedings” – 2001, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

social constituency for scientific and technological development, namely science centres and science museums”. The text was presented by the signatories, after input and suggestions from their research minister colleagues, to the informal Competitiveness Council of 4 May 2009, and received its general agreement.

2) How to foster the interest of girls in