Thursday, June 28, 2007

Girls and Science

We have been developing an innovative short course as part of the Form 2 general science curriculum with an elite girls’ school. The “Robots Exploring Science” course uses robots as a tool to teach problem solving skills, programming, and some basic physics concepts such as speed, power, gears, light, etc. The course is very well received and we are beginning to work with other schools to adopt this course.

In the process, we also made some interesting observations. Some of the girls told us they are very interested in science, do not find it very hard, are planning to study science-related subjects, but do not plan to have a science-related career.

It is rather surprising but upon closer reflection, is actually consistent with a worrying trend in Hong Kong. In secondary school, most students want to study science subjects. But interest in university programs in science and engineering has declined significantly. Even some science and engineering graduates choose to work in business, finance, etc. Does that have something to do with the leaders of Hong Kong down-playing science and technology as part of the Hong Kong economy?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know about "science-related" careers or engineering, but I always feel studying pure science to become a scientist is itself a calling, seldom driven by market value. An eventual comfortable livelihood is like an unexpected side-effect, never to be taken for granted.

Somehow, I suspect the opposite is true of a career in business or finance. Please correct me if I am wrong.

StephenC said...

Yeah, I believe as well that scientists are driven mainly by interest and curiosity. But I also believe there are a lot more students (and parents) whose main considerations are more "worldly" - jobs, monetary rewards, stability, etc.