STEM Education

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:06): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Science and Information Economy a question about the future of science in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: On 18 September 2015, the Education Council held its sixth council meeting, where ministers discussed a range of key policy issues and progressed significant education reforms. The minutes reported from that meeting stated that the ministers agreed on the scope of drafting a new national science, technology, engineering and mathematics school education strategy. This strategy involved the ministers agreeing not to make STEM subjects compulsory in high school, with one of the main reasons being the lack of specialised teachers.

Outlined in the State Strategic Plan, the state government confirmed that they wish to increase the number of students by 15 per cent by 2020 to receive an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank or equivalent in at least one of the following subjects: maths, physics or chemistry. It was also reported that the Australian Science and Mathematics School in Adelaide is creating initiatives to foster a passion for science. My questions are:

1. Does the minister believe that science should be compulsory in high school?

2. With the lack of specialised STEM teachers in schools, what strategies and measures has the minister put in place to better train or enhance the skills of specialised teachers?

3. What initiatives has the minister developed in terms of meeting the strategic plan to increase the number of students studying STEM subjects?

4. Can the minister explain how she is going to develop a suitable environment for students to embrace science?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:08): I thank the honourable member for her most important question. The details in terms of developing secondary school curriculum rests largely with the Minister for Education, the Hon. Susan Close. There are processes and bodies that are in place to assist in developing national standards for secondary school curriculum right across all fields, and I certainly leave the development of that level of detail to the experts.

In terms of South Australia, the South Australian government has outlined its reform agenda around its 10 economic priorities, which is about stimulating new ideas, developing people and seizing opportunities, particularly for businesses. We are making several significant policy reforms and program initiatives to help equip our workforce with the skills needed to drive innovation. These measures are targeted at students, from primary school right through to secondary school, and the community, through a cross-agency approach led by the Department for Education and Child Development and also DSD.

The key measures are outlined in our Investing in Science action plan. Some of these initiatives that target schools include a recent agreement with the National ICT Australia to establish a national digital careers program in South Australia which aims to increase ICT careers awareness for secondary students; the recently launched Future Innovators Series program, delivered by RiAus hosting inspiring speakers to encourage students into STEM career pathways while providing teaching resources to teachers to further encourage students in the classroom; investing in several new STEM specialist schools, such as the $2.3 million advanced manufacturing centre at Seaview High School, the over $600,000 defence specialist school at the Heights School, and $200,000 for a STEM specialist school at Hamilton Secondary College. This will add to the existing Lefevre High School maritime program and the Australian Science and Mathematics School.

Further initiatives include supporting an industry-led pilot program to encourage more girls, in particular, into STEM, recognising that girls are often under-represented in some STEM areas, particularly information technology and engineering; supporting the industry-led Concept 2 Creation program to provide industry-centric curriculum resources and mentors for schools, worth around $700,000 over three years; and supporting an annual science and engineering challenge competition, which is run in various regions across the state to help engage local high schools.

I am advised that there are more than 40 programs, activities and competitions that schools can access or participate in to stimulate and enhance student interest in STEM. Some programs are delivered by private providers that visit schools to deliver supplementary STEM-based experiences. DECD has provided advice that the agency itself does not support or endorse individual private providers but that schools make local decisions on which of these supplementary providers, programs and services to access to suit the specific needs of their teachers and students.

The state government, through DECD and DSD, is supporting the NAMIG with funding of $700,000 over the next three years to enable it to attract greater industry support and implement a long-term sustainable operating model. Of course, there are a number of initiatives targeted at tertiary students in VET and universities. A range of initiatives target teachers, such as working with RiAus to develop STEM career resources, comprising videos and sample lessons linked to the Australian curriculum that middle and secondary teachers can use directly in the classroom, and initiating a unique pilot program with the New Venture Institute and the Australian Science and Mathematics School, targeting entrepreneurship skills through teachers so that they are able to transfer that really important knowledge to their students. The success of the pilot will see the program offered as a regular professional development program for teachers.

Of course, there is a range of initiatives targeting the general public, which I think I have spoken about in this place before, and I have just mentioned some of those programs we put in place to stimulate STEM development of both our teachers and students.