The declining interest of students for scientific studies
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text
adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of
the Assembly on 17 November 2006 (see Doc. 10949, report of the Committee on Culture, Science and Education,
rapporteur: Mr Lengagne).
- Thesaurus
1. The defence of human rights, the
Council of Europe’s main task, cannot be restricted to protests
or actions to ensure respect for the law and democracy. What does
the term “human rights” mean to someone dying of hunger or to one
of the 100 million children who are “Aids orphans”? Is it necessary
to recall that one human being dies from Aids every fifteen seconds?
What is the meaning of “freedom” today for a nation which scientifically
and technologically – and therefore as far as its development is
concerned – is totally dependent on other countries?
2. The development of science and technology does not automatically
guarantee respect for human rights but it is an essential precondition.
It is crucial in order to fight against injustice, and mastery of
science is indispensable for a country if democracy is to last.
A country which is not at the cutting edge of nanosciences or nanotechnologies
or which lags behind in the field of cell biology, to take just
two examples, runs the risk of falling under the domination of another
country.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly is concerned about the significant
decline in the number of students in the science disciplines and
believes that this ultimately poses a serious threat for freedom
and the protection of human rights in European countries. Each year,
China trains some 300 000 engineers and by 2009, in terms of research
and development, it will be ahead of both the United States of America
and all European countries.
4. More than half of the big multinational companies have relocated
a significant part of their research and development to “emerging”
countries (China, India, Singapore) and this proportion is set to
rise in coming years.
5. There are many reasons for this declining interest but they
all tie in with a number of key considerations:
5.1 the education pupils receive
is too abstract, too far removed from their day-to-day experience
and their own interests. It bores them instead of taking advantage
of their inquisitiveness and building on the very positive image
of science and scientists they have developed at primary school
level.
5.2 the image of scientists and technicians conveyed in the
media is not very appealing to young people from around the age
of 15 upwards and does not encourage them to consider scientific professions
as a career option;
5.3 scientific studies are, not without reason, perceived
as being difficult and longer than those for other disciplines;
5.4 the social status of researchers, engineers and even doctors
has declined considerably in many European countries;
5.5 salaries in scientific professions too have fallen in
comparison with other sectors. After often longer and more difficult
studies, salary increases are much slower.
6. If a substantial effort is not made in the coming years to
counter this situation in which students are opting for other disciplines,
there will be legitimate cause for concern about the future of European
nations. Not all the countries of Europe are affected by this crisis
to the same extent but, overall, the decline in interest in the sciences
is very worrying.
7. While the shortage of science students is worrying, the inadequate
scientific training of economists and politicians can have serious
consequences which are rarely mentioned. An American university
professor recently said, “Politicians do not understand science,
and rarely seek the advice of scientists and engineers in addressing
major issues. It is time to recognise that governments are ill-equipped
to understand the sophisticated technological challenges and opportunities
facing the world.”
8. Such views should encourage the governments of Council of
Europe member states to adopt practical measures, as a matter of
urgency, to attract more students, both male and female, towards
scientific and technical careers, and strengthen the science element
in the training given to those who are to take economic and political
decisions in the future.
9. With this aim in mind, the Assembly invites the governments
and other competent authorities of member states to consider the
following principles:
9.1 science
teaching, from primary school on, should draw on children’s natural
inquisitiveness in order to help them discover, as far as possible
by themselves, the laws of nature. Accordingly, such teaching should
not be excessively theoretical. It should be based on the child’s
day-to-day experience and should not, as is often the case today,
be in the form of knowledge with little genuine relevance imposed
from above. This presupposes sound theoretical training for the
teacher and a new approach to teaching;
9.2 pupils must be informed as fully as possible on career
prospects in science and technology as soon as they start secondary
school. No attempt should be made to hide the fact that studies
in these fields will be generally longer and more difficult than
in other areas, but they should be made aware that the value of
their future profession would be a just reward for the additional
effort required;
9.3 steps should be taken to upgrade the image of researchers,
engineers and scientists. It should be shown that a scientific career
can be a very rewarding one, since a recent survey showed that when considering
their future career 90% of young people are keen to opt for one
that seems exciting. This will require a review of the often distorted
way scientific progress, based on a purely factual event, is portrayed
in the media. Science and technology evolve at a tremendous pace.
It is therefore essential to place an emphasis on retraining and
on exchanges between scientists in different countries;
9.4 it is not enough simply to improve the scientist’s image.
Scientific careers also need to be enhanced from the point of view
of salaries and bonuses;
9.5 many companies attach greater weight to commercial aspects
rather than creativity. While this might be profitable in the short
term, it can prove counterproductive in the medium and long term. Several
countries, such as the United States, have now taken this on board;
9.6 particular effort must be made to encourage girls to take
up scientific careers since in many countries those opting for a
career in this field are still fewer in number than boys. Surveys
also show that in many countries “minorities” are seldom attracted
by the scientific professions. They too must be the focus of a special
effort;
9.7 television games are increasingly popular. They do not
always require a particularly high intellectual level, indeed far
from it, and are more a test of memory than intelligence, but their
popularity with the viewers is undisputed. It is therefore suggested
that competitions be run in all the scientific disciplines, along
the lines of the inter-school challenges held in certain countries,
in maths or physics, but in a way that is more popular and more
attractive and does not restrict participation exclusively to pupils
or students.
10. Quite apart from the need for the countries of Europe not
to allow themselves to be overtaken (if this has not already happened)
by the emerging countries, it is also important for our citizens
to maintain a sufficiently critical mind so as not to founder in
excessive dogmatism or fall under the influence of “gurus” and sects.
A scientist recently wrote: “the people of the 21st century who
have lost their curiosity, competence and critical approach, who
simply press buttons without thinking about everything that surrounds
them, can be particularly susceptible to all sorts of beliefs peddled
by ‘gurus’”.
11. Science, today more than ever before, should be part and parcel
of one’s general culture as it enables one to maintain a sufficiently
critical mind to remain impervious to the words of false prophets.
Efforts to rekindle the French 18th century idea of the honnête
homme are also a means of contributing to the defence of human rights
which is the very role of the Council of Europe.
