Shut Down or Restart?

Just 35% of ICT teachers are specialists, compared with, for example, 74% of maths, 76% of history, 80% of English, and 88% of biology, according to a new report from the Royal Society - Shut down or Restart? The way forward for Computing in UK schools. The report analyses recent declines in numbers of young people studying computing at schools and the reasons for the declines.  

The report is the result of an 18 month study, led by the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, involving the education, higher education and industry sectors, learned societies and professional bodies.  The study was undertaken with support from 24 organisations, including the Royal Academy of Engineering, BCS, CPHC (The Council of Professors and Heads of Computing), Google, Microsoft Research and several of the UK’s leading universities.

Analysis in the Royal Society report showed marked trends in the numbers of students achieving ICT or Computing qualifications, including a 60% decline in the numbers achieving A level Computing since 2003, a 34% decline at ICT A Level over the same period, and a 57% decline in ICT GCSE.

ICT problems
The report identified a number of problems with current Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools that have led to these declines, particularly a lack of specialist teachers who can teach beyond basic digital literacy and the breadth of interpretation of the current national curriculum which allows the subject to be taught at its lowest level.  

Similar figures are found when “Arts” subjects are examined. For example 80% of English teachers, 76% of history teachers and 87% of music teachers all have a relevant post A-level qualification.

The report suggests that the apparently high proportion of non-specialist teachers of ICT may help to explain the recurrent finding that students’ ICT capability often outstrips the teachers’ subject knowledge. It recommends that targets are set for the numbers of Computer Science and Information Technology specialist teachers and that training bursaries are provided to attract more suitably qualified graduates.  Teachers’ skills should be developed with a specified minimum level of continuing professional development (CPD) in order to ensure that schools can deliver a rigorous curriculum and engaging learning environment.

Radical overhaul
The report comes at the launch of the Department of Education’s consultation on plans to remove the statutory programme of study in ICT. The Royal Society’s report recommends radically overhauling ICT in the English National Curriculum, replacing it with a programme of digital literacy3 for all from age 5 to 14, alongside opportunities for all pupils to experience the creative side of Computer Science from primary school age onwards. From the age of 14 students should have an entitlement to study a pair of GCSEs, similar in structure to English Language and English Literature in which Computer Science is the language element (how computers work) and Information Technology is the application element (how we use them).

Professor Steve Furber, Fellow of the Royal Society and Chair of the report, said: “Although we were heartened to hear that Michael Gove intends to radically overhaul the National Curriculum programme, we remain concerned that other problems still need to be addressed.”

He continued: “Thirty years ago I helped to design the BBC Micro, the first computer created to educate and inspire children of the potential of Computer Science, yet today, when computers have become integral to every part of our lives, we see young people turned off by computing in schools. We need a new generation of teachers to take up the challenge of enthusing future generations of young people.”

In support of the report, Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google, said: "The UK has an extraordinary computing heritage, but now risks falling behind.  The state of computing in schools lies at the heart of the problem.  Most ICT teaching focuses on learning how to use software, rather than giving insight into how it's made.  Too few UK students have the opportunity to study true computer science, resulting in a workforce that lacks key skills needed to help drive the UK's economic growth."

The Royal Society is a Fellowship of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.

Further information
To download a copy of the report visit royalsociety.org