Read on Twitter
After reading some twitter tonight ( @edmunds_dr @jesswade) I’ve dusted off a thread which I had thought of blogging, it’s a bit disjointed. I was doing some research and came across this blog from a few years back which made me a bit sad. #chatphysics https://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2014/jul/03/why-i-am-dropping-physics-a-level-student
It’s easy to take articles like this personally, maybe you are thinking about your A-level uptake for September and it has hit a nerve. Remember that you are just one teacher in one school, so what you can do is be informed and take action if needed.
This is the most powerful visualisation I’ve found of A-level uptake. Physics is a smallish blue plot in the bottom right of the chart that doesn’t really move that far left from where it started. https://twitter.com/EduPolicyInst/status/1163851210207768576
There is a good article on this topic in @newscientist and it also highlights serious sexism issues in the physics workplace although I’m not sure how much this feeds down into schools https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24032031-900-women-in-physics-why-theres-a-problem-and-how-we-can-solve-it/
What it does highlight is that systemic sexism in society and schools can have a negative impact on girls taking physics. The @_Gender_Action project is following up this work and will hopefully have a big impact (even if it doesn’t help A-level uptake then it’s still brilliant!)
You may think then, that any responsibility is only at a whole school and societal level but it is definitely on us as physics teachers to play our part. Have you read up on the work of the @PhysicsNews?
It’s important that we all read up on the @IOPTeaching gender balance reports and ensure we are making our subject as welcoming and accessible for all. https://beta.iop.org/what-were-doing-address-gender-imbalance-physics
There are numerous initiatives that are aiming to improve the uptake of STEM subjects for girls such as @Stemettes or maybe you run one independently like the fantastic “girls in physics” project by @EmmaMayLondon. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/we-need-to-show-more-girls-science-is-for-them-says-teacher-named-among-world-s-top-50-a4098361.html
Globally it would be better for society if we had more diversity in certain sectors,particularly in STEM workplaces. If you don’t understand why then read Invisible Women by @CCriadoPerez
The recent PISA rankings show that girls in UK schools are high in the table for “fear of failure” as mentioned in this article by @miss_mcinerney https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/dec/17/british-girls-fear-of-failure-pisa-ranking
Does physics come across as a subject which has a large pit of failure looming below it? Can we as educators consider how we present our subject to make it more accessible rather than only trying to recruit potential A* students?
However, we should also take note that the subject isn’t for everybody and that’s ok. Alevel recruitment is a zero sum game and even though we all get a thrill from huge uptake, it does mean students not taking other subjects.
