The Trend Towards Materials in Science and Technology Education

Abstract

The teaching of science and technology in the final year of high school is examined in a new curriculum developed for the education system in Victoria, Australia. The traditional areas of Physics and Chemistry together with a technology related subject, Materials and Technology, are investigated The major curriculum link amongst these studies was the area of materials. In Chemistry this involved the nature of materials, the chemical basis for the production of metals and polymers, and the social consequences of waste disposal. Within Physics, the major involvement was the investigation of the structure and physical properties of materials through theory and practical investigation. The selection of materials, production of components and their testing were the major area involved with Materials and Technology. Although the area of materials related all three subjects enrollments were comparatively high for Physics and Chemistry but Materials and Technology had less than one tenth as much enrollment. Similarly, school providers were significantly lower for materials and technology. Materials and Technology is still considered a vocational subject compared with the science oriented subjects. When gender enrollments were considered, Chemistry had a similar number of females and males, Physics had twice as many males as females, and Materials and Technology had twice as many males as females. This appears to be a consequence of typical gender roles.