ON THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 



•JltjO 



each year since 1882, and shows that Science is gradually recovering 

 the great depression of about eight years ago : — • 



from 



20-2 per cent. 



J) 



The Returns of the Education Department here given refer to the 

 whole of England and Wales, and are for the school years ending with 

 August 31. The statistics of the London School Board are brought up to 

 the year ending with Lady Day, 1898. They also illustrate the great 

 advance that has been made in the teaching of Elementary Science as a 

 class subject, and they give the number of children as well as the number 

 of departments. 



The last year shows an apparent falling-off in the teaching of this 

 subject, but, as has been mentioned above, the Government having made 

 the giving of object lessons obligatory in the lower standards, 442 Depart- 

 ments, with 75,993 children, have already adopted them. This has 

 caused a reduction in the teaching of ' Elementary Science ' under that 

 name ; but, taking the two subjects together, this must be regarded as a 

 very considerable gain. 



The Education Department continues to meet the objection against the 

 limitation under the Code by which only two class subjects are allowed to 

 be taught, by adding combined courses of study. This year a new course 

 of this character has been introduced into Schedule IL, described as 

 * Elementary Science and Geography Combined.' And as, under the 

 present regulations, one of the class subjects must be such as can be taught 

 by means of object lessons in the lower standards, some such subject as the 

 combined one above mentioned must be taken. A copy of the scheme is 

 given in the Appendix, by which it will be seen that in the lower standards 

 the phenomena of the land and water are to be illustrated experimentally 

 as an introduction to Geographical Science. 



^ A similar principle has been adopted in respect of the specific subjects. 

 Hithei-to Chemistry has formed a course of itself, and Physics has been 

 divided into two separate courses, the one dealing with Sound, Light, and 

 Heat, and the other with Magnetism and Electricity ;• but tliey formed 

 only three out of the nineteen subjects from which choice could be matle. 



F I- 



