In England and
Wales schools science is a compulsory subject in the national curriculum. All pupils
from 5 to 16 years of age must study science. It is generally taught as a single subject science until sixth form, then splits into
subject-specific a levels (PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY). However, the government has
since expressed its desire that those
pupils who achieve well at the
age of 14 should be offered the opportunity to study
the three separate sciences from
September 2008. In Scotland the
subjects split into chemistry, physics
and biology at the age of
13-15 for standard grades in these
subjects, and there is also a combined
science standard grade qualification which students can sit, provided their school offers it.
In
September 2006 a new science programme of study known as 21st century science as introduced
as a GCSE option in UK
schools, to “give all 14 to
16 year olds a worthwhile
and inspiring experience of science”
In the US, science education was a scatter of subjects
prior to this standardization in
the 1890s the development of a science curriculum in
the US emerged gradually after extended debate
between two ideologies, citizen science
and pre-professional training. As
a result of a conference of 30
leading secondary and college
educators in Florida, the National
Education Association appointed a Committee of Ten
in 1892 which had authority to organize future meetings and appoint subject matter
committees of the major subjects taught in U.S. secondary schools. The committee was composed of ten educators (all
men) and was chaired by Charles Eliot of
Harvard university . the committee
of ten met, and appointed nine
conference committees (Latin, Greek, English, other modern languages,
mathematics, history, civil government and political economy , and three
in science).
The three
conference committees appointed for science were: physics, astronomy, and chemistry
1.
Natural history
2.
And
geography
3.
Each
committee, appointed by the committee of ten , was composed of ten leading specialists from colleges and
normal schools, and secondary schools.
Each committee met in a different
location in the U.S the three science committees met for three days in the Chicago area.