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Recent trends in secondary science education in New Jersey
Author(s) -
Sousa David
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660210304
Subject(s) - staffing , science education , certification , curriculum , task (project management) , medical education , political science , mathematics education , psychology , pedagogy , management , medicine , economics , law
This article compares the results of two surveys sent to New Jersey science supervisors in 1978 and 1982 regarding the status of secondary science education in their schools. It discusses trends that have developed during the four‐year period and compares them to national trends revealed in recent studies. The comparison shows that New Jersey faces many of the same problems in science education found across the country. Instruction time in science, double laboratory periods, and the use of national curriculum studies have all declined. Respondents also reported a marked increase in the number of science teachers leaving the classroom for jobs in business and industry. The recruiting of qualified teachers was a difficult task and over 9% of the public schools reported having to use teachers with emergency certification in science to meet their staffing requirements. Difficulties in using staff effectively, in obtaining adequate financial support, and in providing professional development programs were the major concerns of science supervisors.