A word from the DG: CERN gears up for scientific education

Is there a crisis in physics education, and if so why? At a time when physics and other hard sciences should be becoming more attractive, demand for these subjects at universities is falling and departments are closing. Just last week, the UK's Guardian newspaper asked the question: 'why doesn't anyone want to do the hard stuff any more, and does it matter if they don't?' The answer to the first part is contained in the question. Physics, says the Guardian, is perceived as difficult, uninteresting, and a dead-end option as far as getting a good job is concerned.

Reality couldn't be more different. Industry already laments the lack of physics graduates coming onto the job market, and in the future the shortage is set to become more acute. The European Union's policy to build the world's leading knowledge-based society foresees the need for some 500,000 additional researchers over the coming years, and as things stand today these people are not being trained.

At CERN we are well placed to know that physics is far from uninteresting. The kind of research carried out here has the ability to stir the imagination, making physics more attractive. With the LHC about to start up, we have a unique opportunity to play a part in improving the image of physics among school students, and our high school teachers' programme already has a proven track record of doing just that.

Scientific education at the high school level has a vital role to play in turning around the decline of physics at universities. School curricula are largely out of date, and teachers lack the support necessary to enable them to build modern, exciting, physics into their classes. CERN has been addressing this issue since 1998, when a residential programme for high school science teachers was first implemented. So far, some 400 people have benefited from this programme, creating a lively network of teachers with first-hand experience of CERN, and the necessary knowledge to link modern physics to their curricula. Last year, I decided to give this initiative a boost by creating at CERN a new education group to develop the programme.

Up to now, teachers have come to CERN for a three-week programme in English. From now on, we will be adding a one-week programme for teachers in their own language, and we aim to hold six to eight sessions per year. The first session started on 20 August, when 38 teachers from Hungary came to the laboratory. Sessions for Swedish, German and Danish teachers are also in the pipeline. The education group is working closely with teachers' networks and education ministries in the Member States to ensure that the teachers' experience at the laboratory can be successfully applied in the classroom, showing students the relevance of their studies to their lives and possibly to their future careers.

The Guardian asks, 'does it matter?' Yes, it matters very much whether people leave school with scientific literacy, and in some cases choose to take their studies further. We live in an increasingly science-based world facing challenges that only science can answer. For that to happen, we need both scientists, in increasing numbers, and a scientifically literate population able to make informed judgements on complex issues. Through its high school teacher programmes, CERN is playing its part.

Guardian link:

Robert Aymar