AARE Annual Conference, Newcastle, November 1994 Science Education Development in the Folkeskole Annemarie M¿ller Andersen, Department of Biology, Geography and Home Economics, Helene S¿rensen, Department of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Informatics, The Royal Danish School of Educational Studies Emdrupvej 101, DK-2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark Abstract: The first part of the paper will introduce the "Folkeskole", the Danish school system for pupils ages 6 to 16. There will be a special emphasis on school science and teacher education. The second part will deal with development projects in schools and research supported by the Innovation Council of the Folkeskole prior to a new Education Act and new curriculum guides. The last part of the paper will focus on a new interdisciplinary science subject called "Nature/technique", which emphasizes pupils' own experiments, investigations and explorations related to biology, chemistry, geography and physics. The curriculum provides a framework for the choice of teaching content from four central areas of knowledge and skills: "The near surroundings", "The distant surroundings", "Human interaction with nature", "Thinking and working methods". The Danish School System In Denmark nine years of education is compulsory, from the age of seven to the age of sixteen. Some of the children choose to study another year at school in the optional tenth year, while others leave school. The "Folkeskole", the municipal school, is comprised of a one year pre-school class, a nine-year basic school (primary and lower secondary level), and a one-year 10th grade. After The Folkeskole the pupils proceed to either technical and vocational training, or to the three years of academically oriented, upper secondary school (the Gymnasium) which gives access to education at university level, including teacher training. About one third continue their education in the Gymnasium. The school is comprehensive. The children may start in the pre-school class at the age of six and they may stay in the same school until the age of sixteen. From the first year at school a group of children (around 24) stays together in one "class" until the 9th (or 10th) grade. Teachers in Danish schools usually teach a group of children for several years. It is quite common that the teacher in Danish language follows a group of children from the first to the ninth (or tenth) grade with a special responsibility for the group. It is also common that the teacher in Mathematics as well as the teacher in Danish language follows the class until the 9th or 10th grade. At the first grade a group of children (a class) normally has two or three different teachers. The number of teachers will increase as new subjects are added to the curriculum in higher grades. Science education has until now taken up an astonishingly small part of the curriculum in the Danish basic school. The new Act on the Folkeskole has increased science education from August 1994. The children's education in science begins with an integrated science subject, called Nature/technique, in grade one to six. Biology, Geography and Physics/Chemistry are taught as three separate subjects in grades seven and eight. Physics/Chemistry is the only compulsory science subject in grade nine and instruction must be offered in 10th grade. On completion of 9th and 10th grade the pupils can present themselves for the leaving examination of the Folkeskole in Danish, Mathematics, English and German, and in Physics/Chemistry as the only science subject. Instruction in Technology may be offered to the pupils in grades eight to ten. Environmental Education is not taught as a separate subject but according to the new curriculum guidelines environmental issues will be integrated in all science subjects and in other subjects as well. The weekly minimum numbers of science lessons from one to six are shown in Figure 1 as well as the weekly minimum number of lessons from 20 to 28 for the pupils. Figure 1: The Danish School System The teachers The education of teachers for the Folkeskole takes place at teacher training colleges. The duration of the study is 4 to 4 1/2 years. The subjects taught are comprised of a common core including educational theory and practice, psychology and basic school subjects such as Danish, mathematics, creative art and science. In addition two school subjects, such as biology and English, are studied at a more advanced level. In-service training of teacher, for which there is a more than hundred years long tradition in Denmark, takes place either at the teacher training colleges or at the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies. At the latter the teachers may also take degree courses and study for a Danish master's degree in education, and it is possible to do a Ph.D. as well. Development projects in science During the last 20 years many initiatives have been taken by teachers, schools and researchers to give higher priority to science in the Folkeskole. By issuing the book "Natur & teknik" (Nature & Technique) an official initiative was taken by the Ministry of Education in 1988. The purpose was to bring up science at the primary level for discussion and to stimulate development projects. In Denmark we have a long tradition for school-based and school authority-supported innovation to precede a new act of education and new curriculum guidelines. When the government launched the most comprehensive development programme ever and the Innovation Council of the Folkeskole invited applications, a number of schools worked out their own plans for development of science at the primary level, and applied for financial support. The development projects accepted from 1988 to 1991 were scattered all over the country and they differed in many ways with regard to aims, subject matter, teaching strategies, number of teaching hours and organization. Elements of science were also included in projects under headings such as "Equal worth and multiplicity" - on equal opportunities in schools (Pedersen and Reisby 1992), and "Environment and Nature" - about Environmental Education (Christensen and Schnack 1992). The Innovation Council of the Folkeskole invited researchers to report experiences and evaluate the development projects to get a basis for the government's revision of the Education Act. Evidence was collected by means of interviews, classroom observations and questionnaires. On the basis of experiences from the science projects the evaluation report (Andersen et al. 1992) recommended that science be part of the compulsory curriculum in grades one to five, and that the time allocated for the purpose be clearly defined. The report did not take a stand on whether science should be taught as a separate subject or integrated into other subjects. The development projects represented so wide a range of approaches to science teaching that it was difficult to adequately cover all the experiences and problems in the report. Even so, important findings suggest the direction of further development and research. Some of these findings were related to learning conditions and learning (Andersen et al. 1992): ¥Many hands-on activities were included, but often without the teacher having a clear perspective concerning intended learning outcomes in terms of concepts and skills. ¥Many teachers seemed most concerned about subject matter, stressing "learning about" more than "learning to find out". ¥When the teachers were asked to describe the pupils' benefit from science activities their answers focused on collaboration and improved social life of the class, and on the curiosity and interest of the children. ¥Teacher-planned and directed activities dominated, meaning few degrees of freedom for the pupils in the choice of subject matter, questions to investigate, and working methods. ¥Many teachers had difficulties in changing their role and teaching strategies. ¥Some of the teachers thought that merely working with science activities promoted equality among girls and boys. Classroom observations showed that the opposite may be the outcome. In the light of both learning theory and the new Act on the Folkeskole, these findings point to areas of concern in the future development of science education in Denmark. One of the Aims of the Folkeskole is to further the pupils' acquisition of knowledge, skills, and working methods. Another aim is that the teaching and the daily life of the school must build on intellectual freedom, equality and democracy. It is directly pointed out, that the teacher and the pupils shall co-operate in determining objectives and in selecting subject matter and working methods. A main advantage of the Danish school development programme is that the new Education Act is seen as a consequence of changes already taking place in schools. Though not all teachers and schools have been involved in development projects, both the new Act on the Folkeskole and the new science subject have been well received. Nature/technique - Science at primary level The new science subject, which in direct translation is called "Nature/technique", emphasizes pupils' own investigations, experiments, and explorations of the natural and technological world, and embraces elements of biology, chemistry, geography and physics. In our translation the aim is as follows: 1) The aim of the teaching of Nature/technique is, that the pupils, through experiences of the natural and technological world, gain insight into important phenomena and interactions, and develop thoughts, language and concepts of value in daily life. 2) The observations, investigations and experiments that pupils carry out shall contribute to their development of practical skills, creativity and the ability to collaborate. The teaching shall maintain and further pupils' joy in dealing with nature, technology and conditions of life and living, and also their inclination to ask questions and to make inquiries. 3) The teaching shall contribute to the pupils' development of an understanding of human interaction with nature in their own and in other societies, and also of a responsibility toward the environment as a basis for involvement and action. A curriculum guide issued by the Ministry of Education (1994) provides a framework for the selection of teaching content from four central areas of knowledge and skills: "The near surroundings", "The distant surroundings", "Human interaction with nature", "Thinking and working methods". Some remarks on the interpretation follow each heading, as well as a list of important phenomena and interactions. The four areas of knowledge and skills are interrelated as illustrated in Figure 2, and each of them contains elements from the separate science subjects. Figure 2: Four interrelated areas of knowledge and skills. The children's first-hand experiences and investigations - carried out in the classroom and on fieldtrips - of natural or technological phenomena such as materials, plants and animals, body functions, the environment and local weather, may be seen as natural starting points. But it is intended that phenomena investigated in "the near surroundings" be associated with phenomena in "the distant surroundings", and whenever relevant, also seen in the perspective of "human interaction with nature". The "Nature/technique" curriculum places more emphasis on pupils' understanding of self and environment than on an introduction to the scientific disciplines, although some introduction is included. The children are supposed to learn relevant concepts (with explanation value) and working methods from biology, chemistry, geography and physics. The ambitions may at first seem to be very high, but the interpretation shall of course reflect the age of the children, their experiences and daily life. In line with the Act of the Folkeskole the pupils shall as much as possible participate in the formulation and selection of the questions or problems for investigations. These intentions will be elaborated in the teaching guide that will be issued by the Ministry of Education next year. Implementation of Nature/technique The curriculum guide of the new science subject at primary level in the Folkeskole follows the Danish tradition. This means that it does not go into details regarding the teaching content, and attainment targets are not specified. Consequently, within a given framework the teachers - and the pupils - must select subject-matter as well as teaching and working methods and plan the details. The teacher in the Folkeskole is expected to be able to make high quality choices. In Denmark we have a tradition for practising teachers to continue their education and keep themselves up to date on new developments in the subjects they are teaching, and in pedagogy. Attendance of inservice courses arranged and sponsored at municipal and country level entitles teachers to a corresponding reduction in their weekly schedule of teaching hours. Normally, about 25% of the practising teachers attend some kind of shorter or longer course every year, looking only to the qualification as their reward. In consequence of the new Act on the Folkeskole the inservice activity has increased considerably in 1994-95, with primary science nation-wide as one of the most popular themes. This interest is partly to be explained by the fact that science has been a common core subject in teacher training only for the last couple of years. Therefore many teachers feel a strong need not only to keep themselves up to date, but to supplement their education. The Royal Danish School of Educational Studies is not permanently staffed to cover such a demand, therefore more that one hundred school teachers are temporarily engaged to teach primary science courses. To qualify these experienced school teachers for their new responsibilities the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies has arranged short courses, workshops and seminars, and established a nation-wide network of consultants. The scientific staff have also written a booklet to support the discussion of important didactic and pedagogical questions, and a large amount of equipment for laboratory and field work has been purchased to be lent. This increase of activity is made possible by a change in the funding of the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies. Some closing remarks The intentions of the new subject Nature/technique are in line with recent developments in science education and the developments in the teaching of separate science subjects in Denmark, including the emphasis on pupils' own observations, investigations, and experiments in the laboratory and outside the school. Choosing topics and issues of personal and social relevance has been possible not only in biology and geography, but also in physics and chemistry. Seen in the gender and science perspective the Danish science curricula may be viewed as "girl- friendly". Research points to the fact that the feeling of having an influence on the teaching has an especially great effect on the girls' interest. The Danish curricula are written in a way that makes this possible. However, the research shows that it is not at all easy for the teachers to give the pupils influence over and responsibility for their own learning (S¿rensen 1993). In spite of good intentions and many experiences from development projects, the aims of the Folkeskole and of Nature/technique mean a challenge to teachers, pupils and researchers in years to come. References Act on the Folkeskole. The Danish primary and lower secondary school. Consolidation Act No. 311 of 25 April 1994, Copenhagen, Ministry of Education, 1994. FormŒl & Centrale kundskabs- og f¾rdighedsomrŒder. Folkeskolens fag. (Aims and central areas of knowledge and skills). Copenhagen, Ministry of Education, 1994. Andersen, Annemarie M, H. LŸtken and C. J. Veje: Experiences from Science Development Projects. Summary of Evaluation. Report for the Innovation Council of the Folkeskole, Copenhagen, Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, 1992. Christensen, C. U. and K. Schnack: Environment and Nature., Copenhagen, The Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, 1992. Pedersen, G. and K. Reisby ed.: Equal worth and multiplicity - on equal opportunities in school, Copenhagen, The Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, 1992. S¿rensen, Helene: When girls do physics, in: Contributions - GASAT, Sweden, Jšnkšping, 1990. S¿rensen, Helene: Physics and chemistry in the Danish primary school - seen from girls' perspective, in: Contributions to the sixth international GASAT conference, Australia, Melbourne, 1991. S¿rensen, Helene: You will have to do more than just tell them, in: Contributions to the seventh international GASAT conference, Canada, Waterloo, 1993.