10 December 2007
The number, quality and deployment of science and mathematics teachers in our schools and colleges are matters of vital importance to the UK.
They have major implications for: the quality of science and mathematics education; young people's intellectual development and their ability to make a responsible contribution to a world that increasingly depends on scientific knowledge for solutions to its many and varied problems; fostering new cadres of professional scientists, engineers and science and mathematics teachers; and the UK's status as a leading knowledge economy.
By using the most reliable data available, this report examines:
- the size of the UK's science and mathematics teaching workforce;
- the extent to which this workforce is populated by specialists';
- the sources and numbers of new recruits to the profession;
- retention within, and attrition from, teaching;
- the demand for science and mathematics teachers;
- recruitment targets and workforce planning.
This is the first in a series of state of the nation' reports from the Royal Society aimed at monitoring and helping to improve the quality of science and mathematics education in the UK.