Results released from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006, indicate that overall Australian 15 year old students perform well in comparison to many of our Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) counterparts. Although the overall results indicate high levels of scientific literacy in our students, it is of concern that 13 per cent of Australian 15 year olds fell below a scientific literacy ‘baseline’ set by the OECD and are considered to be at serious risk of not being adequately prepared to participate in the 21st century workforce or to contribute as productive future citizens. Certain disadvantaged groups performed particularly poorly on Scientific Literacy, with 40 per cent of Australia’s Indigenous students, 27 per cent of students in remote schools and 23 per cent of students from the lowest socio-economic quartile in Australia performing at a level below the OECD baseline.

The President of the Australian Science Teachers Association, Mr Paul Carnemolla said the overall results indicated what fine work Australian science teachers do with limited support. However with an increasingly diverse student population and mounting pressure on teachers and schools, it is anticipated that such results cannot be maintained without significant additional support for teachers of science. Indeed the disappointing results by some students indicate the immediate need for greater teacher support, especially for those teaching significant numbers of disadvantaged students.

Australia’s future in the knowledge economy is highly dependent on building and maintaining a scientifically literate population. Teachers are the key and they need quality and targeted professional development to ensure that all students receive an effective and engaging learning experience in science. No organization has a greater awareness of the needs of the science teaching profession, nor a greater understanding of how those needs can be best addressed. The Australian Science Teachers Association would welcome the opportunity to work with the newly elected Federal Government to ensure a scientifically literate future for Australia.

PISA 2006 was conducted in 57 countries with almost 400,000 students participating in assessments that measured scientific literacy as the major domain.