Great science teaching helps young people understand the world around them, develop informed opinions on it, be inspired and see a clear pathway to a rewarding career in science.
That, in turn, benefits society through new research and innovation to create new knowledge, contribute to growth and productivity and to tackle the global challenges of our time.
Having been introduced to science and inspired by a great chemistry teacher, I place huge value in the role that teachers and technicians play, often in challenging circumstances, in continually striving to improve science education. At the RSC, we’ve made it our mission to listen to teachers’ concerns, amplify their voice and act on what they’ve told us. That’s why The Science Teaching Survey is so important –I’m very grateful to all those who contributed.
About the survey
The Science Teaching Survey in the UK and Ireland examines the experiences of science teachers and technicians in secondary and further education. It covers staffing, professional development, well-being and the chemistry curriculum. We use the insights as evidence to influence government policy, support educators and assess our impact.
Our first survey in 2022 received over 3,700 responses from teachers, heads of department and technicians. You can read the survey findings and how we are responding to them on our website.
In 2023, the survey received 2,932 responses from across the UK’s devolved nations and the Republic of Ireland, broken down as follows:
- England: 2,401 (82%)
- Scotland: 284 (10%)
- Wales: 117 (4%)
- Northern Ireland: 71 (2%)
- Republic of Ireland: 59 (2%)
We want to understand how educators’ experiences differ across the nations and where there are shared challenges. Throughout the survey, we included questions that were tailored to specific nations. For example, GCSEs are relevant to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. And, in Wales, the curriculum is undergoing reform so it was not appropriate to include questions about potential curriculum change.
The 2023 survey was led by the Royal Society of Chemistry and supported by the Institute of Physics (IOP) and the Royal Society of Biology (RSB).
Take part in the 2024 survey
Help to inspire change in the education sector
