a joint promotion of mathematics, science and technology ......2 a joint promotion of mathematics,...

Strategy 2006–2009

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A Joint Promotion ofMathematics, Science andTechnology (MST)

2 A J O I N T P R O M O T I O N O F M A T H E M A T I C S , S C I E N C E A N D T E C H N O L O G Y ( M S T )

Photo licensee:

Fred Skagestad: front cover, p 14 r

Hanne S. Finstad: p 10, p 20

Steinar Myhr/NN: p 14 l, p 25, p27

3A J O I N T P R O M O T I O N O F M A T H E M A T I C S , S C I E N C E A N D T E C H N O L O G Y ( M S T )

Contents

Foreword 5

1. A joint promotion of MST 7

Increased recruitment and better quality instruction in MST 8

2. Why we need a joint promotion of MST 11

Needs of working life and trade and industry 11

Great challenges, but with a number of bright spots 11

Recruitment to MST is a major challenge 13

Steadily declining performance in MST 15

Low status for MST in Norwegian schools 15

Research and recruitment of new researchers 17

3. Meeting the challenges – a strategy for MST 18

4. Main goals and sub-goals 21

The strategy’s overall goals: 21

Goal A: Strengthen MST in kindergartens and primary and secondary education 22

Goal B: Improve teachers’ qualifications and teacher training 22

Goal C: Development of MST in higher education and research 23

Goal D: Provide Norwegian working life with the MST competence that is needed 23

Goal E: Increase the MST competence and improve the communication to the general public 24

5. Organisation and coordination 26

Part of the quality improvement 26

New framework plan for kindergartens 26

Knowledge promotion 26

The rise in competence 26

Improved educational and career councelling 27

The Report to the Storting on Research and its follow-up 27

Network for collaboration 28

Øystein Djupedal

Minister of Education and Research


Foreword

Norway is currently facing a situation where theneeds of the society and working life for expertise inmathematics and a number of natural science andtechnological fields are not being met. This meansthat the educational system is not providing suffi-cient MST competence. This is serious and will be abarrier to a positive trend for innovation and forworking life and society in general.

We need a strategy for developing the necessarycompetence in the population that society, workinglife and trade and industry need in the natural sci-ence and technological areas. One of the most impor-tant policy instruments for succeeding in this is tostrengthen the teaching of MST in education inNorway. Thus the government has in its inauguraldeclaration the following formulation:

especially strengthen the MST competency through-

out the whole educational pathway and increase the

efforts to recruit students to these subjects.

Increased competence in MST and better recruit-ment are the core elements in the strategy that ishereby being submitted:A joint promotion of MST.

The challenges associated with teaching MST inNorwegian education have been apparent for a longtime. There are grounds for concern when mostwestern countries are experiencing a noticeabledecline in recruitment to the various MST pro-grammes of study. An even greater cause of concernis the fact that the problem appears to be more seri-ous in Norway than in most other countries. Thedecrease in recruitment indicates a declining interestin MST, not just in the educational sector, but in thewhole society. Among other things, this may becaused by a lack of understanding of the subjects’importance for the individual youth.

The level of knowledge in MST is also weaker thanwe would like, not least in an international perspec-

tive. Sound, broad knowledge in MST is important tothe development of our welfare. Our future andprogress in the international society are dependenton a high level of MST competence.

The government wants to make a proactive effort tostrengthen MST. In the past, this effort has primarilyinvolved improving the educational system as such,but this will no longer be sufficient. We will only beable to provide a proper promotion of MST that willmeet society’s needs through a close collaborationamong all of the parties involved, where both educa-tion and working life jointly contribute to betterrecruitment and higher competence. Inherent in thisstrategy is not only an acknowledgement that weneed new policy instruments and cooperative arenas,but also a request to all of the main actors to conducta joint promotion and make greater efforts tostrengthen MST in Norway.

The cause of the problems of MST is weaknessesthroughout the whole educational system. If we areto meet these challenges, an effort will be requiredat all levels – a comprehensive effort. Therefore, thestrategy concentrates on strengthening and develop-ing a continuous chain of competence stretchingfrom kindergarten to working life. The Ministry ofEducation and Research has assumed responsibilityfor the kindergartens. Therein lies a signal that com-petence development begins at a very early stage. Itis important to instil positive attitudes to MST at anearly age.

The challenge to everyone in the coming years isjointly to put the strategy into practice with sound,well-functioning measures that comprehensivelydevelop the MST competence we need in theNorway of the future. Together we can realise ourvision that Norway shall be one of the leading knowl-edge nations where the need for MST competencehas been met.

7

C H A P T E R 1

A J O I N T P R O M O T I O N O F M A T H E M A T I C S , S C I E N C E A N D T E C H N O L O G Y ( M S T )

MST competence underlies key components of thebasis for our welfare. This competence enable us tocure deadly diseases, provides us with mobilephones and computers and has helped make Norwaya world leader in oil and gas production. We haveevery reason to believe that MST will assume newand even greater importance in the future. We shallcombat new diseases and new threats. We shall givea growing world population access to energy. In addi-tion, new technological areas will emerge and affectour everyday life and our work, e.g. biotechnology,ICT and nanotechnology with the development ofnew materials.

MST competence provides a basis for innovation andrestructuring. As a result of increased globalisation,Norwegian trade and industry is facing stronger andstronger competition from low-cost countries. In ahigh-cost country like Norway, we will have to relyon our competitive strength on innovation andrestructuring, which requires an associated effort topromote knowledge and competence. This trendrequires that the population has the relevant knowl-edge and competence that business needs.

MST competence is required of employees in muchof Norway’s trade and industry – in fisheries andaquaculture, power-intensive industry, maritimeactivities and petroleum operations. In addition, wecurrently note a rapid growth in knowledge-intensiveservices that require professional competence – e.g.in telecommunications and the development of soft-ware. Research in the natural sciences and the devel-opment of new technology are key factors in the pro-motion of innovation, economic development andincreased productivity. There is also a need for MSTcompetence in more traditional areas such as public

administration and provision of services, power sup-ply and building and construction.

MST competence is a necessary condition for beingable to function in a modern society and to partici-pate in democratic prosesses. We need the compe-tence in order to keep our own private economicaffairs in order, to be able to form qualified opinionsin the public debate on key matters such as the ethi-cal aspects of gene technology, or to take a positionon important matters that are based on economicand social priorities. It is told that statistics lie, butthat is only the case if you do not have the necessarycompetence to interpret statistics. Solid knowledge inMST is a source of self-realisation. Understandingmore of the world around us is a source of increasedawareness, understanding and enjoyment of our sur-roundings. In addition we must have sufficientinsight to understand environmental challenges andtake correct actions and also take part in the interna-tional cooperation on these challenges as a highlyqualified party.

One of the current challenges is that many youngpeople do not see how or for what purpose knowl-edge in MST shall be used. The significance andapplication of MST must therefore be made moreapparent and more relevant. An important policyinstrument for achieving this is a good interactionbetween education and working life and betweenresearch and business. By building bridges betweenthese areas, we can increase the students’ knowl-edge, understanding and sense of relevance. In thisway, we can create an important foundation forincreasing the recruitment to MST at all levels. Notleast, it is important to increase girls’ motivation tostudy MST. Girls are less likely to choose a higher

A joint promotion of MST


education and careers in these subjects. Reversingthis trend will be important for the girls themselves,for equal status generally and for the recruitment toworking life. Taken together, up-to-date knowledge,good role models, closer contact with working life,targeted recruitment measures and positive activitiesin the society can result in increased recruitment.

This is the basis for the goals and measures that thestrategy and the yearly action plans aim to achieve.By way of introduction, a number of key target areasare given particular emphasis.

National forum for MST in working life and educationThe government wants to invite representatives frombusiness, industry associations and labour unions,the educational sector and relevant non-governmen-tal organisations to take part in a more systematicway in the dialogue with the educational systemabout MST competence. The government wants toarrange a forum or a network for the discussion ofrelevant topics and issues in connection with thismatter. The Minister of Education and Research willinvite relevant collaborative partners to an initialmeeting in the autumn of 2006. This will be a key ini-tiative at the national level to meet the common chal-lenges faced by trade and industry and educationwith regard to MST competence.

Development of local interaction betweeneducation and trade and industryAt the local level, there is also a need for cooperationand interaction between business and education,whether it be in schools or in higher education.Partnership with a focus on MST will be a catch-word. It is interesting to be able to use employeeswith MST competence as adjunct teachers (lector 2)in educational institutions through exchangeschemes where employees with a scientific back-ground in the private-sector provide parttime instruc-tion in upper secondary and higher education. In thisway, we will make the importance of MST in workinglife more apparent in the educational system. A num-

ber of initiatives come under this target area.

Establishment of a student project forinclusion, recruitment to MST and socialdiversityTaking its inspiration from the Swedish student project “Headstart”, an initiative is being taken tostart a similar project in Norway. Initially, the projectwill provide help with homework and motivation tostudents in the school with the aim of recruitment toeducation in MST. This initiative is important when itcomes to social equalisation and recruitment, not atleast with regard to young people from languageminorities and to girls.

Increased number of instruction hours inmathematics and natural sciences in thebasic education: Knowledge promotionThe new reform in the basic education that is intro-duced in the autumn of 2006 will help provide bothclear knowledge goals in the primary and lower sec-ondary school and better connections between theprimary and lower secondary school and upper sec-ondary education. The curricula for the compulsorysubjects, mathematics and the natural sciences, arecommon for primary and secondary education. Thenumber of instruction hours in natural science and inmathematics will be increased in the primary school.The compulsory number of instruction hours ofmathematics in upper secondary education will beincreased by 3 hours per week. Plans are beingmade for a further increase in the number of periodsin mathematics and the natural sciences in the pri-mary school in keeping with the government’s decla-ration.

Development of MST Competence for teachers and kindergarten staffIn connection with the introduction of KnowledgePromotion, considerable funds have been allocated,NOK 600 million per year, for competence develop-ment for teachers and other development measures.Mathematics and the natural sciences are top priority

Increased recruitment and better quality instruction in MST

subjects. The kindergartens have been given newframework plans for content and exercises. A newsubject area is Number, space and form. The Ministryhas allocated NOK 50 million in competence-develop-ment funds for kindergarten employees, with guide-lines for special efforts in this new area. It is essen-tial to be able to present good role models in order togenerate interest in MST among girls.

Evaluate funding schemes for increasingthe number of candidates who want tobecome teachers specialising in MSTIn service training for teachers is a short-term initia-tive. A more long-term initiative will be the recruit-ment of students to teacher training who want to spe-cialise in MST. Equally important will be pro-grammes of pedagogical training for graduates inMST who want to achieve teaching competence. It isimportant to evaluate various financial incentivessuch as salary and scholarship schemes.

Development programme for good met-hods of learning and working in MSTDevelopment of good methods of working in MSTwill yield better learning results, more relevance andthereby increased learning. The development pro-gramme will include practical methods of workingand the use of ICT. Subject-didactic research anddevelopment of the field of practical experience inthe teacher training are key areas. An evaluation ofthe situation concerning resources in MST educationwill be necessary.

Utilise The International Polar Year 2007-2008 to promote interest in MST inthe societyIt is important to increase interest in MST in boththe society and the educational system. An importantpublicity measure will be The International PolarYear 2007-2008. Therein lie many opportunities tocommunicate the importance of MST to both thesociety and the educational sector.

The strategic plan, A Joint Promotion of MST, shallbe a tool for everyone who shall be involved instrengthening MST in Norway. MST are a diversefield in which the elements have much in common.The strategy designates areas that shall and must beconcentrated on. There are many who want to beinvolved in strengthening MST, and everyone mustassist in reversing the current trend.

The strategy shall take care of the long-term perspec-tive. It is a comprehensive document that shall lastfor the whole period 2006-2009. Thereafter, there willbe a need for a new evaluation to see whether theeffort shall be continued and in which areas. At thesame time, there is a need to make adjustmentsunderway. This need will be attended to throughyearly action plans that follow up the main goals andthe sub-goals of the strategy and put the strategy intopractice. Each year, an action plan will be drawn upthat shall help achieve the sub-goals. The yearlyaction plans are a part of the total strategy.


11

C H A P T E R 2


Why we need a joint promotion of MST

Needs of working life and trade and industryThe need of MST competence is great in Norway.Norwegian working life and trade and industry areconcerned that they are not getting access to theMST competence that they need. This will restraingrowth and the rate of innovation. Industry, varioussocial functions and the provision of services in thepublic and private sectors will suffer from a lack ofexpertise. Whereas we formerly were concerned thattraditional industry would be outsourced, we mustnow be concerned to a great extent that we will notmanage to meet the demand for services that requirea highly educated labour force, e.g. in research anddevelopment in technological disciplines.

There is rapid growth in knowledge-intensive servic-es that require MST competence – e.g. in telecom-munications and software development. The provi-sion of services accounts for almost 70 per cent ofNorway’s GDP and employs a large group of peoplewith a technological or natural science education. In2005, for example, 38 per cent of the civil engineersand others with a higher natural science educationwere employed in the provision of financial and business services.1 Eurostat has conducted a survey,which shows that the MST-related jobs, e.g. inphysics, mathematics, technology, biosciences andmedicine, constitute 14 per cent of the total numberof jobs in the service sector (15 per cent for the EUcountries)2.

Working life daily encounters a steadily increasingamount of information and data. The processing ofthese large quantities of data is a demanding task.The data can be a goldmine for decision-makers ifthey are able to utilise the information to make cor-rect decisions. Knowledge of mathematics, statisticsand the grasp of numbers has therefore become acrucial competitive factor.

Great challenges, but with a number ofbright spotsThe challenges we face in Norway are the same inmuch of the western world, but the situation inNorway seems to be more negative than in mostcountries with which it is natural to make a compari-son. Children and youth performance in MST is poorand becoming worse, and the recruitment to scientif-ic and technological programmes in higher educationis too insubstantial.

Many Norwegian teachers, especially at the primaryand lower secondary level, have too low competencein mathematics and natural science. Professionalcompetence has not been given priority to a suffi-cient extent. Intense, systematic efforts will have tobe made to raise the level of competence. The con-tent and scope of MST must be further developed.Efforts will have to be made to get children andyouth interested in MST, and they must be motivatedand encouraged to choose these subjects.

1 Aetat: Rapport om arbeidsmarkedet nr. 2, 2005 (Report on the Labour Market no. 2, 2005).

2 Eurostat, “Which are the characteristics of Europe’s highly qualified human resources?”


We are currently caught in a vicious circle. The trendmust be reversed to a positive circle as indicated infigure 1.

Even if the trend has long been negative, measureshave now been initiated in many areas, and there area number of positive signals:

• Compulsory mathematics was introduced in thegeneral teacher training programme in 2003. In2006, there were more applications for the depthstudy topic in mathematics than for any otherdepth study topics in the training programme. Itremains to be seen whether this leads to furtherchoices that give sufficient teaching qualificationsin the subject.

• Natural sciences are also one of the subjects in theteacher training programme for which a largenumber of applications have been submitted, butthere is uncertainty as to whether this is really anincrease because the natural sciences are nolonger included among the compulsory subjects inthe general teacher training programme. The eval-uation of the general teacher training programme,which was completed in September 2006, may pro-vide an answer to this question.

• In the fiscal budget for 2006, NOK 375 million hasbeen allocated to the school owners for the contin-uing education and training of teachers.

Mathematics, physics and chemistry are amongthe priority subjects, and NOK 15 million has beenearmarked for further education in the natural sci-ences.

• Knowledge promotion has new curricula with clearcompetence goals, which is new in the primaryand lower secondary school. In academic educa-tion programmes in upper secondary educationthe number of instruction hours in mathematicshas been increased for students who do not choosedepth study in mathematics, and the number ofinstruction hours has increased at the primaryschool level, both in the natural sciences and math-ematics. The government states in its declarationthat it will increase the number of instructionhours and that it will concentrate on MST.

• The Norwegian national centres for mathematicsand for natural science education respectively areworking to develop and spread new, active workingmethods in the subjects.

• The negative trend for research funding to mathe-matics, the natural sciences and technologyappears to be broken. In the period from 2001 to2003, these subject areas underwent a markedlymore rapid growth than the social sciences andhumanities.

• The recruitment to technological studies, e.g. theMaster’s degree programme in technology and theprogramme of training for engineers, appears to be

More studentschosing depth studiesin upper secondaryeducation

Strengthened competency inprimary and lowersecondary education

More students in MSTprogrammes inhigher education

Researchers anddevelopers withnescessary competency

Covering the societyand working life’sneeds

Figure 1: The negative trend in MST and the recruitment to them must be reversed to a positive circle.


3 NIFU STEP Report 21/2004, Inge Ramberg, “Nordmenns forhold til

forskning og teknologi 2004” (Norwegians’ relationship to research andtechnology 2004).

4 Statistics Norway

5 Database for Higher Education (DBH)

undergoing a positive trend. There is also a signifi-cant increase in the percentage of girls among theapplicants.

Most Norwegians have considerable interest in arti-cles concerning research in the media. In a studyfrom 2004, fully 77 per cent respond that they aregenerally interested in research and technologicalcoverage in the media. The corresponding percent-age for sport was 61 per cent3.

Recruitment to MST is a major challengeIn recent decades, more and more students havebeen enrolled in higher education. During the sameperiod, the number of students graduating with uni-versity and college degrees has increased by 23 percent4. The percentage of completed degrees in MST,however, has decreased from 22.4 per cent in 1994 to17.8 per cent in 2004. The total number has remainedrather stable during that period.

The number of applicants to programmes of study inMST is not satisfactory. From 2004 to 2005, therewas a decline in these applications of 16.6 percent5.Programmes of study in MST are generally easy tobe admitted to. In practice, they are open pro-grammes of study; i.e. many students with poorgrades from the upper secondary school are admit-ted. This can easily have a negative effect on the

quality of the education. Coordinated admissions for2006, however, show that there is now a considerableincrease in the number of applications for technolo-gy, engineering and architecture, with an increase tothe Master’s degree programme in technologicaland/or engineering studies of 17.6 per cent, and thepercentage of girls among the applicants is on therise. The decline for mathematics and the natural sci-ences, however, amounted to 8.1 per cent. On theother hand, it is a welcome development that thenumber of applications to the teacher training pro-gramme is increasing.

Girls choose MST to a considerably lesser extentthan the boys. This is a trend in much of the westernworld, and interest is not increasing: the percentageof girls who graduated from natural science subjects,craft subjects and technical subjects has remained atabout 25 per cent for the last ten years. However,girls are now choosing from among far more careersthan in the past, and previously male-dominated edu-cations such as the medical and veterinary pro-grammes of study are attracting a steadily increasingpercentage of women. A majority of the students whochoose biology are girls, whereas the genders aremore evenly distributed in chemistry. Girls whochoose MST in upper secondary education often dothis in order to be able to apply for restricted pro-grammes of study, e.g. medicine.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Norway Finland France Italy Korea theNetherlands

Denmark UK

1994

2003

Figure 2: The percentage of graduates from upper secondary education with a MST orientation in 1994 and 2003.(The data for Finland and the Netherlands are from the time period from 1997 to 2003.)

The OECD has compared the percentage of studentswith a MST orientation from different countries.Norway is one of the countries where the trend hasbeen the most negative; the percentage in the lastten years has decreased considerably. This is illus-trated in figure 2.

In 1998, a scheme was introduced giving extra grade-points to those who chose scientific subjects in theirupper secondary education. The number of pointsincreases with the number of subjects that are taken.The scheme was strengthened in 2005 when thenumber of points that could be earned was furtherincreased from four to six. The scheme was intro-duced to encourage more pupils to choose MST sub-jects in upper secondary education and in this wayincrease the recruitment of students to programmesof study in MST in higher education. It is difficult tosay whether this kind of measure works, and in astudy from the NIFU STEP Institute in 20056 it turnsout that it cannot be concluded that the measure hasresulted in increased recruitment and that it cannotbe concluded that the number of girls who choose

MST has increased. The study does not evaluatewhat effect the extra gradepoints have on the choiceof MST subjects in upper secondary education.There is a slight trend toward more students choos-ing depth study in MST in upper secondary educa-tion in the most recent years.

More than half of all teachers who have a highereducation in MST are over 50 years old. Few candi-dates at the graduate or masters degree level choosea career in school. The result is that within a fewyears the number of qualified teachers in mathemat-ics and natural sciences in upper secondary educa-tion will have declined dramatically. It is also a majorproblem that many who begin teaching in school,choose to quit after a while. A career as a teacherdoes not seem very attractive. They have lowersalary and fewer opportunities for further develop-ment than employees in trade and industry 7. Thismeans that the situation will quickly become dramat-ic when it comes to the lack of qualified MST teach-ers in upper secondary education.Studies show that there are many factors that affect


6 NIFU STEP Working paper 14/2005, Berit Lødding, ”Fra realfagspoeng til realfagsstudier?

Om ordningen med poeng for fordypning i realfag i videregående opplæring.” (From science points toMST programmes of study? A look at the scheme that offers points for depth study in MST in uppersecondary education.)

7 NIFU Report 5/2002, Terje Næss. “Realfagslærere i skolen. Rekruttering, beholdning og avgang”

(MST teachers in schools. Recruiting, stock and resignations)

8 NIFU Report 9/2002, Ida Katrine Riksaasen Hatlevik. ”Gode råd? En studie av utdannings- og yrkesveiledning ivideregående skole med vekt på veiledning i forbindelse med valg og bortvalg av realfag” (Good advice? A study of educa-tional and career councelling in the upper secondary schools with the emphasis on councelling in connection with choosingand dropping MST)

9 Norwegian Mathematics Council survey. Autumn 2005. “En undersøkelse av grunnleggende matematisk kunnskap for studen-

ter som begynner på matematikkrevende studier i Norge” (A survey of basic mathematical knowledge among students who arebeginning studies that require a high level of mathematical comprehension in Norway)

10 http://www.ils.uio.no/english/rose/

young peoples’ choice of education. One study pointsout that the councelling service could have played amore active role in this matter, both with regard togetting as many students as possible to choose MST,and to be able to provide more professional coun-celling in the choice of study and career opportuni-ties8.

Steadily declining performance in MSTThe Norwegian Mathematics Council (NMR) yearlyconducts surveys of the mathematics ability ofNorwegian students who are admitted to higher education in mathematical and natural science disci-plines and teacher training 9. These surveys show asteadily declining trend in the students’ mathemati-cal abilities in recent years. However, the situationhas improved somewhat in 2005 for student teachers.Many Norwegian students who are admitted to higher education have difficulties performing simplecalculations.

The PISA and TIMSS surveys are conducted regular-ly in a great number of countries. These surveysmeasure students’ skills in mathematics and the nat-ural sciences among other subjects. TIMSS surveysthe students’ skills in mathematics and the naturalsciences. PISA 2003 had its main emphasis on mathe-matics, and PISA 2006 has its main emphasis on thenatural sciences.

Norwegian students’ performance in these surveyshas been published in a number of places, and theresults have been the subject of extensive discus-sions. The main trend is that Norwegian students inprimary and lower secondary school do worse thanstudents from countries with which it is natural todraw a comparison. Compared with certain othercountries, the disparities are even greater, e.g. com-pared with Finland and a number of East Asian coun-tries.

The PISA survey in 2003 shows that Norwegian 15-year-olds score around the average for OECD coun-tries, whereas the TIMSS survey shows thatNorwegian students in the eighth grade score some-what below the international average. The TIMSSsurveys from 1995 and 2003 show a steeply decliningtrend in Norwegian students’ performance in bothmathematics and the natural sciences during thatperiod. The PISA survey shows that Norwegian stu-dents underwent a significant decline in their level ofperformance in the natural sciences in the surveysfrom 2000 to 2003. For mathematics, there was littlechange in the Norwegian students’ results duringthe same period.

Low status for MST in Norwegian schoolsIn Norway, mathematics and natural sciences are rel-atively weak in terms of the number of instructionhours in primary and lower secondary school. In theROSE project, which is conducted by theDepartment of Teacher Education and SchoolDevelopment (ILS) and the Norwegian NationalCentre for Science Education at the University ofOslo10, Norway is the country in the survey wherethe fraction of instruction hours that is allocated tothe natural sciences and technology is the lowest.Some countries have twice as high a percentage ofinstuction hours in the natural sciences. Upon thecompletion of Knowledge Promotion, this situationwill be somewhat improved. For mathematics, therewill be an increase of about 30 hours a year for thewhole primary and lower secondary school up to atotal of 1125 hours. For the natural sciences, theincrease will be about 28 hours up to a total of 584hours. The government states in its declaration thatit wants to increase the total number of instructionhours in primary school. The percentage that will goto MST is not specified, but efforts should be madeto achieve a further strengthening of MST withinthis increase.


MST are of such a nature that it sometimes requiresa great effort to become proficient. Both the knowl-edge and appreciation of the subjects will often firstcome after a student has made an effort and mas-tered something. It is important to be aware that animprovement in performance and knowledge in MSTwill require both a higher level of knowledge in thesubjects among the teachers and access to betterteaching materials and teaching methods, factorswhich motivate and encourage commitment, effec-tive teaching strategies, efforts and mastery.

One example of a successful effort is the LUMA pro-gramme in Finland, which took place in the period1996-2002. It was a comprehensive programme tostrengthen MST in Finnish schools. The programmeinvolved an intense concentration on the develop-ment of teacher qualifications, effective teachingmethods and sufficient equipment. Documentedeffects include an increase in interest and perform-ance, a dramatic reduction in the percentage of poor-ly performing students and an increase in the num-ber of students who chose intense depth study inMST, especially in mathematics and physics, in uppersecondary education.

There has long been a dwindling interest in MSTamong Norwegian student teachers, even though wecan now see some bright spots. Until very recently,there have been few applicants for these subjects inteacher training. This has meant that too few teach-ers have the qualifications to teach these subjects.There have also been low admission requirementsfor teacher training. In addition, there have been noformal requirements for qualifications in certain sub-jects in order to be able to teach them. The combina-tion of all of these factors means that many teachershave taught MST with substandard qualifications forbeing able to do so.

Results from the TIMSS 2003 survey show thatunder half of the mathematics teachers in the eighthgrade state that they have sufficient qualifications inmathematics, and fewer than five per cent state thatthey have an education in mathematical didactics.For teachers at lower grade levels, the situation isprobably even worse11.

Nature, society and environment was previously acompulsory subject in the general teacher trainingprogramme, but that is no longer the case. However,the students still seem to choose the natural sci-ences. The new four-year model offers the opportuni-ty for depth study in both mathematics and the natu-ral sciences. At present, authorities do not yet havean overview of what the students will choose in thefourth year of study, and so they do not knowwhether the students will choose more than the 30credits of natural sciences that they can choose inthe third year of study. This trend should be followedclosely in the coming years.

In such a situation, continuing education and trainingin MST for Norwegian teachers will be extremelyimportant, but this has been given little priority for along time. TIMSS 2003 also showed that this is anarea with a very great potential for improvement.Norwegian teachers are those that receive the leastcontinuing education and training in more or less allof the areas about which they were questioned, bothin mathematics and the natural sciences.

Fresh data from the implementation of the“Competence for development” strategy reveal thatin the subject of mathematics there has been a signif-icant improvement in teachers’ participation in con-tinuing education and training. Mathematics was oneof the subjects for which the most continuing educa-tion and training was provided in 200512, but for thenatural sciences, the situation is very unfavourable,given that the extent of continuing education in theprimary schools was three per cent in 2005. For fur-ther education in the natural sciences, the participa-tion was under one per cent.

According to the ROSE study, Norwegian students’interest in MST and in a career based on MST isextremely low. The project reveals that Norwegianstudents generally do not like natural science andenvironment as subjects, and girls tend strongly todislike the subjects. In the response to the question“I would not mind becoming a researcher in the nat-ural sciences”, Norway scores very low. The sameconclusion applies to interest in working with tech-nology. Thus, we are facing a major challenge when


11 “Hva i all verden har skjedd i realfagene? Norske elevers prestasjoner i matematikk og naturfag i

TIMSS 2003” (What in the world has happened in MST? Norwegian students’ performance in mathematics and the natural sciences in the TIMSS 2003 survey). Liv Sissel Grønmo, Ole KristanBergem, Marit Kjærnsli, Svein Lie, Are Turmo. Acta Didactica 5/2004

12 Institute of Applied Social Sciences tabellnotat (paper), March 2006. “Aktivitetsrapportering for

utdanningsdirektoratet” (Activity reporting for the Norwegian Directorate for Education andTraining). Bård Jordfald

it comes to recruitment. It is paradoxical, however,that the interest in the natural sciences is fairly highin the Norwegian population in its entirety.

Research and recruitment of new researchersThe subjects that are given priority in the Report tothe Storting on Research13 are associated to a greatextent with the natural sciences and technology. Thisis true for the priorities given to topics (energy andenvironment, the sea, food and health) and the areasof technology that are given priority (ICT, new mate-rials and nanotechnology, and biotechnology).Furthermore, MST are emphasised as especiallyimportant when it comes to choosing priorities forbasic research and research-based innovation.International research cooperation through the EU’sresearch framework programme and internationalorganisations for basic research is also given highpriority, and this cooperation involves MST to a greatextent.

The Report to the Storting on Research identifiesincreased recruitment to mathematics, the naturalsciences and technology as one of the most impor-tant challenges associated with the recruitment ofnew researchers and the career of researcher. Thus,the goals of research policy require a significantincrease in the number of people with a backgroundin MST.

In 2005, nine per cent more doctorates were complet-ed at Norwegian universities and university collegesthan in 2004. If we look at the trend for the last 15years, the number of doctorates completed inNorway has doubled. Whereas 393 doctoral disserta-tions were completed at Norwegian universities anduniversity colleges in 1990, the number hadincreased to 855 in 200514. Compared with ourneighbouring countries, however, the increase inNorway has been slight. Whereas just as many doc-torates were awarded in Norway, Denmark andFinland in 1990, the number in Finland had tripled by

2004. In Denmark as well, the number of doctoratesincreased more rapidly than in Norway. If we look atthe generation of doctorates in proportion to thenumber of inhabitants, Norway has the weakestresults among the Nordic countries.

In 2005, the most doctorates were completed inmathematics and the natural sciences. About 25 percent of all doctorates were completed in these sub-ject areas. In the period 1996-2005, however, theincrease in the number of doctorates in mathematicsand the natural sciences was less than the increasein the total number of doctorates, 30 and 42 per centrespectively.

In the ten-year period from 1993 to 2003, mathemati-cal, natural scientific and technological research inthe university and university college sector hasundergone an aggregate growth in resources of 20per cent. During the same period, the growth in thehumanities, medicine and the social sciences hasbeen 42, 50 and 60 per cent respectively. Since 2001,however, MST, and especially technology, haveundergone the greatest growth in R&D resources atuniversities and university colleges. The positivetrend for MST in recent years is still not enough tocounteract the trend for the whole ten-year period.

The government wants to increase research effortsand increase the number of researchers. In order toensure recruitment, they will have to increase thenumber of research fellowships and the number ofresearcher positions for those who have completedtheir doctorates in keeping with the recommenda-tions of the Report to the Storting on Research.

The percentage of women among scientific staffvaries with the subject area. Whereas the average forthe tenured scientific staff at the universities was 27per cent in 2003, the percentage was only 13 per centin mathematics and the natural sciences and 6 percent in technology. This is an important recruitmentchallenge.


13 Report to the Storting no. 20 (2004-2005), Vilje til forskning (Commitment to Research)

14 http://www.nifustep.no/content/download/15301/89006/file/Feb2006.pdf

18

C H A P T E R 3


Meeting the challenges – a strategy for MST

The society is unable to meet its need for MST com-petence. Many people see major challenges relatedto meeting this need, especially for various sectors ofworking life and trade and industry, but also for thesociety more generally. High tech industry, oil andgas operations, research and development and cer-tain parts of the service sector are examples wherewe find that certain types of MST competence havebecome a scarce resource, but also in more tradition-al areas, such as public administration and provisionof services, power supply, and building and construc-tion, there are similar challenges.

Concentration on MST in Norwegian education willbe an important part of the government’s MST poli-cy. Knowledge promotion with new subject curriculain all subjects and new framework plans for thekindergartens will be important in a comprehensiveeffort to strengthen MST in Norwegian society andworking life. Among other important initiatives, theReport to the Storting, Vilje til forskning

(Commitment to Research), is an important instru-ment for indicating the way forward for Norwegianresearch. This report strongly emphasises the needfor research in MST.

In order to succeed in the effort to give the societynecessary MST competence, there are two mainchallenges that have to be met:

• The recruitment to many programmes of studywith a technological and natural science orientation is too low.

• The performance in MST of Norwegian students is too low.

The first challenge deals with the fact that an insuffi-cient number of students in Norway choose MSTareas of study. The second challenge is associatedwith the fact that Norwegian pupils in primary andlower secondary education do not have a goodenough performance in mathematics and the naturalsciences, and their performance is becoming steadilypoorer. This is a cause for concern not only from the perspective of recruitment, but also because aknowledge of mathematics and the natural sciencesis essential for mastering the challenges of everydaylife.

In order to provide the society and the individualwith the necessary MST competence in the comingyears, the main challenges will be to:

• encourage young people, and especially girls, tochoose depth study in MST in upper secondaryeducation and to make career choices based onnatural science and technological areas of study

• strengthen MST in teacher training and raise theMST qualifications of existing teachers

• improve the quality of teaching in MST by develop-ing and spreading good teaching practices

• increase the cooperation between education andworking life in order to create a greater sense ofrelevance and to encourage recruitment.

What then do we do to meet these challenges? Whatsteps must be taken?

To begin with, the quality of the teaching must beimproved. Efforts will have to be made so thatNorwegian teachers are given better qualificationsfor teaching MST, e.g. through continuing education

and training. The number of qualified MST teachersmust be increased at all levels of education. In addi-tion, efforts will have to be made so that good meth-ods of presentation and teaching are developed andspread. The framework conditions for teaching mustbe good, e.g. the equipment situation must be goodenough.

In order to improve both performance and recruit-ment, certain parts of the instruction must be mademore relevant to students. A closer collaborationbetween education and working life must be devel-oped in order to make the subjects’ applications andsignificance more apparent and to increase the motivation to study MST. There is a need for goodrole models who can inspire students.

It is especially important to improve girls’ motivationto study MST. Girls are less likely to choose highereducation and careers in these subjects. Reversingthis trend will be important for the girls themselves,for equal status in general and for recruitment forworking life. Up-to-date knowledge, good role mod-els, closer contact with working life, targeted recruit-ment measures and positive activities in the societycan combine to give increased recruitment.

That students apply to study MST is a necessary con-dition for further recruitment to research. The chal-lenges to research are associated with recruitmentenough good candidates for education as aresearcher and to give them an education as aresearcher that paves the way for activities inresearch institutions, trade and industry, and societyin general. In order to help bring about increasedinnovation in business and society in general, interac-tion and cooperation with the research institutionsmust continue to be strengthened.

At present, there is no natural national arena forinteraction between working life and the educationalsector in a joint effort to promote MST. If good inten-tions are to be translated into good initiatives, it isnecessary to further develop the cooperative forumsbetween education and working life. It is necessaryto have forums both for policy-related cooperationand for more technically-oriented cooperation. Theseought to be developed both nationally and locally.

The mandate for these forums will be to developgood initiatives to strengthen MST in a collaborationbetween education and working life and help see thatthese measures are put into practice.

Working life and business must help facilitate theseprocesses and play an active supporting role. It isessential that these players think in the long-term inorder to develop and maintain good research, devel-opment and centres of excellence in this country,even during economic recessions.

Continuing education and training programmes willbe important in order to provide working life andtrade and industry with enough expertise. Thisapplies to both basic skills in mathematics, whichhas been shown to be a big challenge in many areasof working life15, and updating professional compe-tence and further development in certain disciplines.The most effective way this can occur is throughcloser cooperation between education and workinglife than that which exists at present, and by associat-ing the teaching more closely with workplaces.

The media also play an important role in conveyingrelevant material and being a channel for spreadinginformation about new knowledge and interestingevents that may help increase our knowledge aboutand understanding of the importance of MST in ourpractical everyday lives.

Many of these steps cannot be taken overnight, andfor a majority of the initiatives it will take a long timebefore their impacts become apparent. It is neces-sary to institute initiatives that have both short-termand long-term effects.

• In the long run, it is necessary to improve the situ-ation regarding MST in the primary and second-ary education in Norway. This will require meas-ures to increase the teachers’ competence in bothsubjects and methods. The key here is teachertraining, continuing education and training, andsubject-didactic research and practices.

• In the short and intermediate run, it will be neces-sary to make an effort in several areas. Therecruitment to MST programmes of study and to


15 “Lese- og mestringskompetanse i den norske voksenbefolkningen” (Literacyand lifeskills in the Norwegian adult population) Egil Gabielsen et al. University ofStavanger, 2005.

teacher training in which MST are included mustbe strengthened. The career opportunities must bemade more apparent, we must succeed in influenc-ing more young people to study MST, and the con-tact between education and working life must bestrengthened.

In the following chapter, there are goals and sub-goals that are aimed at improving the areas wherethere are weaknesses. The priority initiatives that fol-low up the individual goals are described in moredetail in the yearly action plans.


21

C H A P T E R 4


A joint promotion of MST is a comprehensive strate-gy. As has been explained previously in the strategy,broad efforts must be made from kindergarten toresearch and working life in order to improve compe-tence in MST and increase recruitment. Recruitmentin general and of girls in particular are recurring per-spectives in the goal areas.

This overview of main goals and sub-goals is basedon the various levels of education, research andworking life and specifies what we want to achievewith the strategy. Kindergartens and primary andsecondary education must have good content, suffi-cient resources and highly qualified teachers. Thesame requirements must be made of higher educa-tion, and research must be given framework condi-tions that improve MST research.

Working life and business are already important col-laborative partners for many schools. The aim of thegoals is systematically to strengthen this collabora-tion. Cooperation between trade and industry andeducation is a recurring perspective that has its ownsub-goals under each of the main goals.

Children and youth develop their attitudes to MSTthrough the impulses they receive from parents,other adults, media and experiences. Hence, thestrategy aims to strengthen the general public’sknowledge about and attitudes to MST. Particularemphasis has been given to initiatives that are impor-tant for children and youth.

Main goals and sub-goals

The strategy’s overall goals:• improve the MST competence in the whole educational system, in working life and in

the general public• increase the recruitment to working life and education in MST• instil positive attitudes to MST among everyone in the educational system and among

the general public


Goal B: Improve teachers’ qualifications and teacher training

Sub-goals

B 1 Increase the recruitment of students in teacher training who choose MST with particular emphasis on the natural sciences.

B 2 Motivate more students studying to be general teachers to choose a depth study in mathematics and the natural sciences as an optional subject.

B 3 Increase the recruitment to profession-oriented masters programmes in MST for teachers.

B 4 Improve teacher training with the intention of improving the education in MST.

B 5 Improve the teachers’ qualifications in MST through targeted continuing education and training of teachers.

B 6 Increase the school administrators’ competence with regard to the need of sufficient resources for yielding good learning outcomes in MST.

B 7 Improve the teachers’ and the school administrators’ qualifications in MST by improving the exchangebetween working life and education.

Indicator

The recruitment of teachers with a graduate degree and/or master’s degree in mathematics and physics to upper

secondary education shall at least be equal to the retirement of such teachers by 2009. By 2009, the number of

teachers in primary and lower secondary school with high qualifications in MST (60 credits) shall have

increased by 20 per cent.

Indicator

Norwegian students shall score in the top third compared with the other OECD countries in the course of the

strategy period. Through academic programmes at upper secondary level 3, 50% of the students shall take full

depth study in mathematics, and 25% of the students shall take full depth study in physics by 2009. In upper

secondary education, at least 40% of the students who take full depth study in physics shall be girls.

Goal A: Strengthen MST in kindergartens and primary and secondary education

Sub-goals

A 1 Strengthen the work in the kindergartens related to the subject areas “Nature, environment and technology” and “Number, space and form”.

A 2 Improve the quality of the teaching in MST and increase the students’ motivation to learn and sense of the relevance of MST.

A 3 Increase the number of instruction hours in MST in the primary and lower secondary school.

A 4 Increase the recruitment to the programme area for MST in upper secondary education with special emphasis on increasing the number of girls.

A 5 Improve the connection between the programme subjects in MST in upper secondary education and MST in higher education.

A 6 Increase the relevance of and the motivation to learn MST through cooperation among the kindergartens, schools and business.


Goal C: Development of MST in higher education and research

Sub-goals

C 1 Increase the recruitment of students to programmes of study in MST and engineering at universities andcolleges.

C 2 Improve the quality of the instruction in MST in higher education, and increase the student’s motivationto learn and sense of relevance of MST.

C 3 Increase the number of women who choose MST in higher education and research.

C 4 Increase the cooperation between higher education and trade and industry.

C 5 Improve the research conditions and increase the recruitment to research in MST.

C 6 Strengthen and impart didactic research in MST.

C 7 Increase the relevance of and motivation to enroll in MST programmes of study through cooperationbetween business and the universities and/or university colleges.

C 8 Increase the recruitment to careers where trade and industry lack sufficient personnel with qualificationsin MST.

Goal D: Provide Norwegian working life with the MST competence that is needed

Sub-goals

D 1 Establish a national forum where the government, trade and industry and the education sector can meetto follow the development in MST, improve the cooperation and recommend measures.

D 2 Help increase the orientation to practical experience in higher education, where such activities are a keyarena for learning.

D 3 Try out models for career councelling with the emphasis on MST.

D 4 Establish regional meeting places between education and working life for the purpose of strengtheningMST.

D 5 Promote the development of centres of excellence where we have especially favourable conditions forcompeting internationally.

Indicator

The percentage of primary applicants to MST programmes of study shall increase by 20% during the period.

The dropping of programmes of study in MST shall be reduced, particularly during the first year of study.

There shall be growth in the number of doctorate positions in MST, and the percentage of women who complete

a doctorate in mathematics and/or the natural sciences or in technology shall be increased by 40% and 30%

respectively during the period.

Indicator

The number of partnership contracts with orientation toward MST increases by 20% by year-end in 2007.


Goal E: Increase the MST competence and improve the communication to the general public

Sub-goals

E 1 Increase the MST competence among decision-makers and in the media.

E 2 Improve parents’ opportunities to be able to motivate their children to study MST.

E 3 Develop arenas for experiencing and learning MST outside the school.

E 4 Increase the understanding of the utility and use of MST in the society and in business.

Indicator

Visits to the science centres shall have increased by 25% by 2009.

26

C H A P T E R 5


Organisation and coordination

Part of the quality improvementIn the support for MST, great emphasis has beenplaced on integrating the efforts and measures intothe total quality improvement efforts that are nowunderway. Only in this way can it be ensured that theefforts will have a lasting effect. In the whole educa-tion and research field, extensive efforts are under-way at all levels. The key processes in education andresearch will be discussed here, with particularemphasis on how they can help strengthen MST.

New framework plan for kindergartensThe Ministry of Education and Research presented anew framework plan for kindergartens in 2006. Theframework plan shall provide guidelines for both thecontent in and the tasks for the kindergartens. Thedistinctive nature of kindergartens as a care andlearning arena shall be preserved at the same timeas the continuity in children’s upbringing and educa-tion is preserved. A clearer relationship between theframework plan and the school curricula has beenincorporated. The subject areas are therefore mostlythe same as the ones that children will laterencounter again as subjects in the schools. The sub-ject areas for MST are the area, “Number, space andform”, which deals with mathematical skills, and“Nature, the environment and technology”, whichcovers natural science topics.

Knowledge promotionKnowledge promotion was introduced at the start ofthe 2006 school year and encompasses primary andsecondary education. The curricula have compe-tence goals in all subjects, which specify the learningyield that the pupils shall have. Experiences from

other countries indicate that not the least MST willprofit from clearly stated goals. The curriculum intro-duces basic skills, which shall be incorporated intoall subjects. Being able to do calculations hasbecome a basic skill, which increases our under-standing of the uses of mathematics. Skills in the useof digital equipment will help make MST more inter-esting. The number of instruction hours hasincreased in primary school in both the natural sci-ences and mathematics, and mathematics hasbecome a compulsory subject in the second year ofthe academic programmes in upper secondary edu-cation. Technology and design have been incorporat-ed as topics in relevant subjects, providing opportuni-ties for better practical approaches in the natural sci-ences and mathematics in order to generate greatermotivation.

The rise in competenceThe rise in competence requires teachers who arefamiliar with the new school reform and who havehigh professional and methodological qualifications.The Ministry of Education and Research has pre-pared the report Kompetanse for utvikling – Strategi

for kompetanseutvikling i grunnopplæringa 2005-2008

(Competence for Development –CompetenceDevelopment Strategy in Basic Education 2005-2008)in a collaboration with the Norwegian Association ofLocal Authorities (KS), the teachers’ trade unionsand the central educational administration. Thisbroad cooperation ensures that the strategy willbecome a common platform for the rise in compe-tence that shall be implemented in the period 2005-2008. The competence development in mathematicsand the natural sciences with the emphasis onphysics and chemistry is given priority in this strate-

gy. Funds have been earmarked for further educa-tion in the natural sciences.

Improved educational and career councellingImproved advisory services are a target area inKnowledge Promotion, and in the Competence for

Development report, competence development forcouncellors is a priority area. Career councellingshall increasingly become the school’s generalresponsibility, where cooperation between the schooland working life, with the pupils’ parents andguardians, and among the different school levelsshall be included. In order to improve the coopera-tion, coordination and competence in career coun-celling, Partnerskap for karriereveiledning

(Partnership for career councelling) has been initiat-ed in three counties. The partnership is a mandatorycollaboration between school owner, Aetat (TheNorwegian Public Employment Service), adult edu-cation, working life and university colleges and uni-versities to improve the coordination, competence,and quality of and access to career councelling.Optional programme subjects and projects for depthstudy may give the pupils an opportunity to try outvarious education and career choices and becomefamiliar with various programmes of study, careersand workplaces.

The Report to the Storting on Research andits follow-upThe Report to the Storting on Research,Commitment to Research, prepares for a strengthen-ing of research in mathematics, natural sciences andtechnology. This is mirrored in the report through anumber of measures, from overall priorities to specif-ic measures related to recruitment, internationalisa-tion, funding and dissemination of information. MSTare important in all of the priorities that are present-ed in the report. Among the structural priorities,which are aimed at general and comprehensiveobjectives, we find “basic research with emphasis onquality and MST”. A strengthening of MST, is partic-ularly important in order to create a better relation-ship between basic research, thematic target areasand research in selected technological areas. As a fol-low-up of the Report to the Storting on Research, theResearch Council of Norway is evaluating and study-ing various measures to strengthen research in MST,and in 2006 they will submit a proposal for a nationalstrategy for basic research in MST. The strategy willhave a special focus on recruitment to and careerdevelopment within these subject areas. TheResearch Council of Norway has recently submitteda report on national schools for researchers, wherecentres that can boast high scientific quality cancompete for status as a national school forresearchers and the economic funds associated with


that status. The Research Council of Norway is alsoevaluating how a scheme for a business and industryPhD can be established. The scheme will helpstrengthen the coordination between companies andresearch institutions.

Network for collaborationThe strengthening of MST must occur at all levelsduring the strategy period. If they are going to func-tion efficiently, the efforts must be mutually support-ive, and those involved must see their efforts in thecontext of what others are doing. At present thereare many people who are involved in major andminor projects to strengthen MST. This is occurringin the educational sector, in other parts of the publicsector and under the direction of business and otherprivate players. Without coordination, there may beduplication of effort in some areas while nothing isdone in other areas.

In order to improve the organisation and coordina-tion of these efforts, a network has been establishedamong key national players involved in the supportof MST. Some of these players work specifically inMST. There are three national centres that havebeen established to strengthen MST. The Norwegian

Centre for Mathematics Education in Trondheim, theNorwegian Centre for Science Education, and theRENATE centre (the National Centre for Contactwith Working Life for the Promotion of the NaturalSciences and Technology).

Others have a broader educational and research-ori-ented responsibility, but MST are a key target areafor them. The Norwegian Directorate for Educationand Training, the Research Council of Norway andthe Norwegian Institute for Adult Education (Vox)participate in the network. The strategy also involvesworking life and recommends establishing a forumfor contact and cooperation on the support for MST.In order to ensure organisation and coordination,trade and industry shall also be included in the net-work’s professional collaboration.

The network shall have the task of establishing meet-ing places, ensuring a good exchange of informationand motivating cooperation and joint effort on meas-ures where several of the players have responsibility.The Team for MST in the Ministry of Education andResearch, which is responsible for following up thestrategy, has the overall responsibility for the network.



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