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Getting girls into physics

Institute of Physics

PR17 (09)

Thu, 14 May 2009

While schemes to usher young people into science and engineering abound, from Government-commissioned websites and ad campaigns to thousands of science ambassadors across the country, some feel a trick is being missed.

With only 22 per cent of last year’s A-level physics exam entrants being female, school physics, as a key science subject and the cornerstone of engineering, needs to attract more girls.

The Institute of Physics has been investigating this issue for many years, publishing two important Girls in Physics reports in 2006. Based on these reports, the Institute worked with the National Network of Science Learning Centres on an action research programme, funded by the Department of Children, Schools and Families, to share information on successful teaching and learning strategies to engage girls with physics.

The second phase of the research programme, run in 2008, enabled teachers from 100 schools to participate. An evaluation was commissioned from Edge Hill University, in partnership with Laura Grant Associates, to gauge the success of the interventions that schools undertook as part of the project. The research findings have now been published in a new report, Girls into Physics: Action Research.

Laura Grant, Principal Consultant at Laura Grant Associates and one of the lead researcher evaluators, said, “When you look at the challenges we face, from climate change and energy security to an ageing population and adjustment towards a truly digital economy, it is understood that we need more of the next generation of school and university leavers to be scientifically trained.

“Physics is the underpinning scientific discipline, yet the subject’s importance and appeal has been missed by thousands of young females, who haven’t been able to connect with it. If the number of girls doing physics at A-level matched the number of boys, among whom it’s the sixth most popular subject at A-level, we would very quickly approach the national targets for a scientifically trained population and, just as importantly, girls would have an equal opportunity to enjoy a fascinating field of study, from which many are currently excluded.”

The research has resulted in a series of recommendations, many of which concern ensuring all students are in tune to the relevance of physics. This is particularly important for girls, who are more likely to switch off if they can’t see where physics fits into the bigger picture of society, but will also help boys get more out of the subject too.

Teachers are encouraged to use relevant and varied contexts for the physics topics they are teaching, to use appropriate role models, and to give students early careers advice so that they know what difference a good grounding in physics can make.

Clare Thomson, IOP’s curriculum support manager, said, “Good practice in the classroom is good for everybody but bad practice can disproportionately affect those least likely to engage. Gender aware teaching is good for all students.“

The research will now move into its third stage which will involve greater levels of student involvement and also assess the specific issue of single sex groupings in physics.

ENDS

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