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Investment in science
30/06/2008
Scotland's science centres are to receive additional funding of £250,000 this year in a bid to get more young people switched on to the world of physics, engineering and technology.
The funding will help the science centres work with primary school teachers to improve their skills and help them inspire young people to become Scotland's scientists of the future.
The science centres will make bids to the Scottish Schools Equipment Research Centre (SSERC) for the funding. The funds will be used to enhance primary teachers' delivery of Curriculum for Excellence, the Government's new approach to learning and teaching for 3 to 18-year-olds.
Last month, the 2007 Scottish Survey of Achievement in Science highlighted that too few Primary 4-7 pupils were achieving expected levels in science in the classroom. The new funding will go some way to address these concerns by improving the learning experience for young people in physical sciences and technology.
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, said:
"Scotland's economic future is increasingly dependent on science, engineering and technology. It is therefore important that all of our young people gain a good understanding of science and that they understand its importance in the 21st Century.
"Our children must be inspired by the world of science and, in order for that to happen, they need the best teaching available."
Professor Anne Glover, Scottish Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, said:
"I welcome this new funding which will enable the Scottish science centres to put their experience into play to help develop the skills and confidence of teachers.
"The new funding aligns well with other Government support for informal science engagement, both at the science centres themselves and across Scotland. It will be another tool for developing teachers' ability to excite young people about science."
The Scottish Schools Equipment Research Centre (SSERC) is funded by Scottish Government with a grant of £2.1m over the coming three years, as previously announced. This supports a series of residential and day courses to demonstrate interactive approaches to science teaching that focus on practical work with strong links to Curriculum for Excellence.
Bids to SSERC for the funding will be open only to the Scottish science centres in collaboration with partners. SSERC will appoint an assessment panel to consider bids.
The Scottish science centres are funded by Scottish Government with a grant of £2.56m/year over the coming three years, as previously announced. This is to support informal science engagement activities at the centres.
The new funding builds on this. It will enable the science centres to play a complementary role alongside SSERC's activities to deliver training to teachers in primary schools.
Scotland's science centres are: Our Dynamic Earth (Edinburgh), Glasgow Science Centre, Sensation (Dundee) and Satrosphere (Aberdeen).
The Scottish Government recently announced the introduction of the Scottish Science Baccalaureate which aims to encourage more of our young people to study science in S5 and S6. The draft experiences and outcomes for science were the first to be released under Curriculum for Excellence and the feedback on these, together with input from Scottish science organisations, is being used to finalise the science outcomes.