Big ideas: Let’s think differently about engineering in schools

Peter Finegold, Head of Education and Skills, reflects on the changes he would like to see following the launch of the new report Big Ideas: The Future of Engineering in Schools.

This month saw the launch of our latest education report, Big Ideas: the future of engineering in schools. We were delighted to be joined by Neil Carmichael MP, who as a great champion for engineering skills and chair of the Education Select Committee, introduced the report and expertly chaired the lively discussion that followed, involving a number of parliamentarians and engineering educationalists.

After 30 years or more of trying to attract young people into engineering through various outreach activities, clubs and other initiatives, it is becoming increasingly clear that we need to do things differently. That doesn’t mean we stop what we’ve been doing.  We should continue to engage young people informally, locally, enthusiastically and expertly, but this will all work better were engineering more prominent in mainstream lessons.

The rationale is simple… we have not changed the number of young people going into engineering, neither have we increased the number of girls. If we are going to have any effect on engineering in the future, we need to change our approach.

This might mean focusing more on the things that take place in the school classroom, lab or workshop – rather than relying solely on inspiration outside of the school building or the school day. Don’t get me wrong, informal learning is valuable, but it almost certainly isn’t making the difference we’ve been asking it to make.

The report reflects the views of leading engineering education experts and key stakeholders such as employers, parents and pupils, following a research seminar and wider consultation. The report is intended to help guide our thinking for some time to come. It proposes that:

• Pupils should be explicitly taught about engineering and the manufactured world from primary level upwards
• A broad curriculum should be maintained for all until the age of 18 
• Routes into engineering should be broadened by promoting flexible entry requirements for engineering degree courses.

A key theme is that schools must shift the balance towards ‘doing’ things rather than just ‘thinking’ about things. This means making the school experience mirror what engineers do, which is to use their intelligence to solve real problems. We need more open-ended, problem-based learning and more space and time to make things.

The research showed that young people, their teachers and employers alike, all felt that the balance in the current system is too strongly skewed towards learning facts rather than applying knowledge.

So with such a strong consensus, why do we not simply change the curriculum?  Well for one thing, changing what is taught and how it is taught in school is a fraught process! But it’s not just what our children learn; it’s how we frame engineering and all other aspects of learning, what we value and how we define ‘what school education is for’.

Successive governments have increased the importance of academic results, testing, league tables and ‘rigour’ in learning. Parents have been persuaded that these things are indeed of paramount importance, and are the most important indicators of success of their children. 

It seems that parents are the least likely of any group to welcome change, though change is needed. When it comes to the education of our own children, I doubt many parents are truly progressive as most, understandably, tend to err on the side of caution.

This was borne out by the research that showed that parents like things as they are now and don’t want them to change. But there is risk inherent in assuming that what appears to have worked in the past, will continue to serve us, as we pass from stage-to-stage of a seemingly unending technological revolution. 

So what can we do to unstick this logjam?  We must surely address those things that parents, teachers and government care about.

Every teacher wants their teaching to be enjoyed and valued by their pupils. Both parents and government want the population to find gainful and fulfilling employment. The government is beginning to show signs of wanting to attract more young people into engineering.

Now is therefore the right time to persuade parents, and indeed the wider public, that changing the narrative, broadening the curriculum and offering differing access routes into our profession, will release an enormous potential and benefit for us all.