Why do we teach science? Why should students study science? What is the purpose of school science?

I suspect that ask any room full of science education professionals these questions and you’ll get as many answers as there are people in the room! To find out what range of views there are across the science education community regarding these questions we are launching a study which will explore these questions from various perspectives. 

These questions matter on many levels, from the students in the classroom through to policy makers deciding the direction of the curriculum.

Anyone involved in science education can take part in this study, it is open to all, and I’m keen to capture as broad a range of views as possible. You’ll be asked to complete an anonymous survey exploring multiple views on the purpose of science education. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Your responses will help policy makers and teacher educators, and findings will be shared by the ASE. The survey will be open until the end of March 2026.

This work is conducted by researchers at the University of Chester, in partnership with the ASE.

The lead investigator is Dr Mark Whalley, who can be contacted at mark.whalley@chester.ac.uk

Access the survey with this link: 

The Participant Information Statement can be read here: