Where Have the Science Students Gone?

Professor Dr Fatin Aliah Phang Abdullah FASc is a professor at the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Technology, UTM. She is a trained physics teacher with a PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge. Her research areas include physics education and engineering education. She is actively promoting environmental education among students, teachers, and the community in Johor through several signature programmes, including the Iskandar Malaysia Ecolife Challenge (IMELC), the RCE Iskandar Sustainable & Low Carbon Schools Exhibition, Iskandar Puteri Rendah Karbon (IPRK), and others. With her scientific and community contributions, she was awarded the TRSM in 2019.

In her talk, “Where Have the Science Students Gone?”, she will address the pressing issue of declining enrolment in science in Malaysian schools. Although, generally, the culprit is often pointed to students’ interest, she shows that the evidence points otherwise. Using data from international surveys, there is a sharp decline in students’ confidence in learning science as enrolment declines. Students’ confidence in learning science is closely related to how science is taught in schools. The quality of science education can be improved by providing better in-service teacher training.

Hence, she proposes that investment to combat the declining trend in students’ enrolment in science must be channelled towards in-service teacher training, such as the Duta Guru programme, rather than STEM carnivals and competitions designed to boost interest, not confidence.