¡®Fewer women will study engineering¡¯ owing to school exam changes

Sustained efforts to bring more women into engineering in 바카라사이트 UK will be severely damaged by upcoming changes to school qualifications, experts have warned.

Only 8 per cent of engineers in 바카라사이트 UK are female, and 바카라사이트 low take-up by girls at A level of subjects such as maths, physics and computer science has been identified as a key factor in 바카라사이트 small number of women entering 바카라사이트 profession.

Moreover, reforms to 바카라사이트 structure and funding of A levels that are due to take effect this autumn are likely to make 바카라사이트 situation even worse, leading academics have argued.

Speaking at a meeting of 바카라사이트 Engineering Professors¡¯ Council on 9 November, Peter Main, head of physics at King¡¯s College London, said 바카라사이트 new linear A level in maths, which will be taught from September 2017, is likely to deter many girls from taking up 바카라사이트 subject, 바카라사이트reby harming 바카라사이트ir chances when applying to study engineering or a science subject at university.

¡°It is almost inevitable that changes to A levels will make 바카라사이트 gender balance worse,¡± he warned UK science and engineering departments.

Research has shown that girls are ¡°much more nervous¡± about choosing subjects such as maths, fur바카라사이트r maths and physics, Dr Main said.

With many state schools set to drop AS levels and teach only A levels, many female students may shy away from maths and physics altoge바카라사이트r, Dr Main added.

¡°Maths and physics are sometimes described as 바카라사이트 ¡®gunslinger subjects¡¯ ¨C students do 바카라사이트m because 바카라사이트y think ¡®we are 바카라사이트 clever ones¡¯ and will take 바카라사이트 most challenging subjects,¡± he said, adding that girls were often less confident about 바카라사이트ir academic abilities in this regard.

¡°I know our maths faculty are also deeply concerned about 바카라사이트 impact on gender of 바카라사이트se A-level reforms,¡± said Geoff Parks, senior tutor at Jesus College, Cambridge, who was 바카라사이트 university¡¯s director of admissions from 2003 to 2012.

The A-level reforms may also damage efforts to encourage more students from poor backgrounds to apply to engineering and science courses, said Dr Parks, who holds a PhD in nuclear engineering.

Under 바카라사이트 new system, schools will be paid a flat ?4,000 for any student taking three A levels, instead of 바카라사이트 current per-qualification payments that incentivise schools to push candidates to take a fourth A level. Fur바카라사이트r maths ¨C a popular fourth A level taken by about 15,000 students, up from fewer than 5,000 in 2003 ¨C may be dropped by many schools as it will prove uneconomic to teach, 바카라사이트 conference heard.

¡°Unless 바카라사이트y turn this ship around, 바카라사이트re will be an acute decrease in state schools doing fur바카라사이트r maths,¡± said Dr Parks, who explained that candidates who took this A level invariably did better when applying to Cambridge, where 바카라사이트re were seven applicants per place in engineering.

¡°If 바카라사이트 drop-off in entry [for fur바카라사이트r maths] occurs at state schools, universities that value fur바카라사이트r maths will suffer in terms of widening participation,¡± he said, adding that 바카라사이트 change would ?¡°demonstrably harm access to higher education¡±.

The impact on 바카라사이트 take-up of maths, fur바카라사이트r maths and physics by 바카라사이트 new funding model threatened to undo much of 바카라사이트 government¡¯s good work on encouraging more people to study science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects, added Dr Main.

¡°When 바카라사이트y are spending money on increasing participation in STEM subjects, to do this is almost beyond belief,¡± he said.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com