Science Literacy Seen As Critical As Reading, Writing And 'Rithmetic

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Students seeking to enter the workforce today lack the skills, judgment and critical thinking abilities to become successful employees, say a majority of business executives recently surveyed by Bayer. And according to the report, the situation is expected to deteriorate in years to come.

The Bayer Facts of Science Education II -- an assessment of student skills and workplace needs, as reported by 300 executives and 301 elementary school principals -- found that 60 percent of business executives, and more than 40 percent of principals agree that students lack the competencies necessary to perform well in today's job market. Moreover, a full 75 percent of executives and principals surveyed predicted that students over the next decade will lack the necessary skills even more than today, if changes are not made in traditional teaching methods.

The survey, which included both science and non-science companies, also showed that 84 percent of the executives say science literacy, while it is important today, will become a job requirement in the next ten years.

Nearly 90 percent of principals believe science should be a fundamental subject like reading, writing and arithmetic. The majority of principals claim, if given the choice, more resources would go toward science programs in their schools, rather than math, English or any other program.

Only The Science Literate Need Apply
"The trends emerging sound a real wake up call to America's schools," said Margo L. Barnes, senior vice president, Bayer. "Unless science literacy becomes a core goal for our nation's schools, we will have a workforce tomorrow unable to meet the new demands of business."

While math and English will continue to be key competencies in the next century, Barnes said, "business will need more and more students skilled in critical thinking, experimentation, problem-solving and teamwork -- skills which should be learned at the elementary level through inquiry-based hands-on science."

Barnes said the company chose to survey principals at the elementary school level because "half of all students turn off to science by third grade. In order to keep the students interested and motivated in science, an inquiry-based hands-on program must be put into place at the earliest grade level. And it's the principals who have the greatest impact on making sure that the schools make science education a priority."

Citing the overwhelming number of principals (95 percent) preferring hands-on science teaching over traditional, textbook-based learning, Barnes said executives place the greatest value on the skills acquired through hands-on science curricula: inquiry-based learning (78 percent), hands-on experimenting (80 percent) and real world problem-solving (76 percent).

Hands-on Science Endorsed by Executives
In last year's Bayer Facts of Science Education, more than two-thirds of the teachers said that they favor increasing the level of science education in elementary schools. This finding correlates with this newest report, which says that a majority of principals, nearly 70 percent, would like to put more funding into science than into English or math programs.

Over half of the teachers in last year's survey felt they were not qualified to teach science; this year, nearly 27 percent of principals said that their staffs lack the ability to adequately teach science. Additionally, last year's report showed that two-thirds of parents do not consider themselves science literate enough to help their kids with science homework.

"What both of our surveys are telling us, loudly and clearly, is that teachers, parents, and principals all must move science education to the top of the teaching agenda," Barnes said. "Business has issued the warning today. Now it's up to the rest of us to make sure our kids are ready for the workforce tomorrow."

The "Bayer Facts of Science Education II" was commissioned by Bayer as a contribution to the National Science Foundation's National Science & Technology Week 1996. It was conducted by the independent research firm, Research Communications, Ltd., Dedham, Mass.

Bayer is a research-based company with major businesses in health care and life sciences, chemicals and imaging technologies. The company had 1995 sales of $8 billion with a net income of $227.5 million and employs 23,500 people. Capital expenditures for 1995 totaled $570 million, and $526 million was spent for research and development. Bayer, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, is a member of the worldwide Bayer Group, a $31 billion chemical and pharmaceutical company based in Leverkusen, Germany.


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