April i8, 191 8] 



NATURE 



^35 



THE POSITION OF NATURAL SCIENCE IN 



EDUCATION.^ 

 'piiE report (Cd. 9011, price gd. net) of Sir J. T 

 * Ihomsons Committee appointed in 1916 to inl 

 quire mto the position of natural science in the educa- 

 tiona system of Great Britain has now been pub- 

 hshed, and we propose to deal with its main points in 

 a later issue. It is a valuable survey of the position 

 of science in schools and in relation to professional 

 and university education. The case for increased 

 attention to science in order to expand the mental 

 outlook as well as equip the nation with the elements 

 of industrial progress is so strong that it has already 

 convinced all who have considered it. What remains 

 to be done now is to act upon the principles set forth 

 in the report, and if the stress of war has not shown 

 the necessity for such action by our political rulers 

 national disaster will do so when too late. It is 

 pointed out that there has been no general and suffi- 

 cient recognition of science as an essential part of the 

 curriculum for all boys in the public schools, and that 

 in grant-aided secondary schools the customary course 

 of science work is too narrow, to the neglect of great 

 scientific principles with their human interests and 

 everv'day applications. More trained scientific workers 

 are needed, and to secure them there must be a gener- 

 ous extension of the system of scholarships and greatly 

 increased contributions from the State for university 

 Kind technical education. "If," says the report, "the 

 • universities are to discharge their' responsibilities to- 

 wards the science students who are coming, and to 

 maintain their position as homes of scientific learning 

 and research, they must receive a measure of financial 

 support much more considerable than thev have 

 received hitherto." The report concludes with a sum- 

 mary of principal conclusions under eighty-three heads, 

 a selection from which is reprinted below. 



General. — Natural science should be included in the 

 general course of education of all up to the ag,e of 

 about sixteen. Real progress in education depends on 

 a revolution in the public attitude towards the salaries 

 of teachers and the importance of their training. A 

 large increase in the number of scholarships at all 

 stages of education is necessary. 



Secondary Schools. — Steps should be taken to secure 

 for all pupils in State-aided secondary schools a school 

 life beginning not later than twelve and extending at 

 least up to sixteen. Science should be included in the 

 general course of education for all pupils in public 

 and other secondary schools up to the age of about 

 sixteen, and this general course should be followed 

 by more specialised study, whether in science or in 

 other subjects. In all secondary schools for boys the 

 time given to science should be not fewer than four 

 periods in the first year of the course from twelve to 

 sixteen, and not fewer than six periods in the three 

 succeeding years. Increased attention should l)e given 

 to the teaching of science in girls' schools. In girls' 

 schools with a twenty-four-hour school week not fewer 

 than three hours per week should be devoted to science 

 Jn the period twelve to sixteen. A larger number of 

 State-aided schools should be encouraged to provide 

 advanced instruction in science, and those which 

 undertake advanced work should be staffed on a more 

 generous scale. The elements of natural science 

 should be a necessary subject in the entrance exam- 

 ination of public schools, and due weight should 

 be given to this subject in the entrance scholarship 

 examinations to public schools. 



Science Course Tiielvc to Sixteen. — The .science 

 work for pupils under sixteen should be planned as a 



NO. 2529, VOL. lOl] 



self-contained course, and should include, besides 

 physics and chemistry, some study of plant and animal 

 life. More attention should be directed to those aspects 

 of the sciences which bear directly on the objects and 

 experience of everyday life. There should be as close 

 correlation as possible between the teaching of mathe- 

 ^matics and science at all stages in school work. The 

 present chaos of English weights and measures causes 

 waste of time and confusion of thought, and 

 there are strong educational reasons for the adoption 

 of the metric system. All through the science course 

 stress should be laid on the accurate use of the English 

 language. 



Science Course Sixteen to Eighteen.— ^he amount 

 of time devoted from sixteen to eighteen to the sub- 

 ject or subjects in which a pupil is specialising should 

 be not less than one-half or more than two-thirds of 

 the school week. Pupils specialising in science should 

 continue some literary study, and those specialising in 

 literary subjects should give some time to science work 

 of an appropriate kind. " Pupils who do advanced 

 work in science should be enabled to acquire a read- 

 ing knowledge of French and German. Eighteen 

 should be the normal age of entry from secondary 

 schools to the universities, and the age limit for en- 

 trance scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge should 

 be reduced to eighteen. 



Examinations .~\n the First School Examination all 

 candidates should be required to satisfy the examiners 

 both in mathematics and in natural science. In this 

 examination there should be co-operation between the 

 teachers and examiners, and weight should be attached 

 to the pupil's school record. 



Teachers in Secondary Schools. — It is essential that 

 ithe salaries and prospects of teachers in secondary 

 ischools should be substantially improved and a 

 .national pension scheme provided. A full year's train- 

 ing shared between school and university is necessary 

 ,for all teachers in secondary schools. 



Laboratories. — The teachers in State-aided schools 

 should be given freedom and responsibility in the 

 selection and purchase of laboratory appliances up to 

 a fixed annual amount. 



Elementary Schools. — Increased attention should be 

 given to the provision of suitable instruction in science 

 in the upper standards of elementary schools. A 

 larger number of students in training colleges should 

 be encouraged to take advanced courses in science. 

 There should be in every elementary school a room 

 in addition to the ordinary classroom accommodation 

 available for work in science and other practical sub- 

 jects. 



Technical Education. — Greater efforts should be 

 made to develop and increase the provision of instruc- 

 tion in pure and in applied science in technical schools 

 and institutions of all grades. Many more scholar- 

 ships are needed to enable technical students to pass 

 on to the universities, and also to enable boys from 

 junior technical schools (or their equivalent) and from 

 evening schools to enter senior technical schools. The 

 position of junior technical schools in the educational 

 system should be reconsidered. It is essential that the 

 salaries and prospects of teachers in technical schools 

 should be substantially improved, and a national pen- 

 sion scheme provided for whole-time teachers. In the 

 proposed continuation classes provision should be made 

 for instruction in science both in its general aspects 

 and in its bearing on industry. 



Medicine. — ^The First School Examination should be 

 recognised by the General Medical Council as qualify- 

 ing for entrance into the medical profession. Students 

 .should be allowed to take the First Professional Exam- 

 ination in (a) chemistry and physics, and (h) biology 



