The ‘Crisis’ in Science Participation

Abstract

Science and the teaching of science are generally well served in the UK, with a rich history of established organizations that represent and support the scientific community (Falk et al., 2015). We have a number of learned societies, such as the Royal Society, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Society of Biology and so on. These societies are actively engaged with the development and welfare of science education. We have seven Research Councils funded by the UK government, five of which are oriented towards the natural and applied sciences. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), one of the two other research councils, has also funded science education research. Within Europe, there are research and innovation grants available from the European Union, such as the ‘Seventh Framework Programme’ (2007–2013) and ‘Horizon 2020’ (2014–2020). We are also blessed with various non-profit organizations and charities that support and/or fund research around science education (for example, the Association for Science Education, the British Science Association, Engineering UK, the Gatsby Foundation, the Leverhulme Trust, the National STEM Center, the Nuffield Foundation, the Primary Science Teaching Trust and the Wellcome Trust).