Is School Science an Endangered Species?

Authors

Jack Gerlovich, Iowa Department of Public InstructionFollow
Thomas Budnik, Heartland Area Education Agency

Document Type

Article

Abstract

2. Is school science

A recent National Science Foundation report warns that the United States faces immediate shortages of engineers and computer professionals; it also sees a trend "toward virtual scientific and technological illiteracy in the population at large."(12)

Science News reported that the nation's commitment to excellence and international primacy in science and mathematics has waned markedly over the past 15 years. Not only the scientific community, but the nation as a whole, will suffer if drastic changes aren't made quickly. In an age when scientific and technical literacy is becoming increasingly necessary to function in our society, increasing numbers of students are electing not to enroll in science and mathematics courses beyond the 10th grade. Only 17% of all high school students enroll in 11th or 12^th grade science and math courses, and these are primarily students planning on science-related careers.(18)

Publication Date

Winter (December) 1982

Journal Title

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Volume

19

Issue

3

First Page

3

Last Page

20

Copyright

© Copyright 1982 by the Iowa Academy of Science

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Gerlovich, Jack and Budnik, Thomas (1982) "Is School Science an Endangered Species?," Iowa Science Teachers Journal: Vol. 19: No. 3, Article 2.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/istj/vol19/iss3/2