Exploration of a Collaborative Non-Formal Science Education Program in Australian Secondary Schools

Abstract

Declining student enrolment in post-compulsory science has prompted increasing use of non-formal science education programs to help motivate students to continue with post-compulsory STEM study. Non-formal programs are well acknowledged to have potential for engaging students in ways that schools cannot but there is a scarcity of data demonstrating this, particularly in Australia. As non-formal programs become more commonly used in schools it is important to understand the roles that they can have in schools and the opportunities within these roles for encouraging students to continue with post-compulsory STEM education. This research explores the perspectives of stakeholders regarding the ongoing implementation of a non-formal science education program in a specific local partnership. Over a year, non-formal staff, year seven and eight students and their teachers from two secondary schools were interviewed and observed during biannual visits to the centre. Students also completed a reflective survey at the year’s end. Results indicate that there is considerable potential for a non-formal program to help students develop post-compulsory STEM trajectories by providing a flexible, well-resourced and engaging learning environment. This environment was observed to support student participation and offered potential to extend students’ learning and increase their awareness and interest in STEM careers. Through these roles many students became more interested and confident in doing science and several developed interest in science careers. The program also affected teachers, prompting science teachers to reflect on their pedagogy and enthusing non-science teachers who attended as helpers. However full realisation of the potential of the non-formal programs was limited by students’ unrealistic expectations of the experience and a lack of efficient incorporation into their school learning. Most students were unaffected by their non-formal experiences as they were brief and scheduling limitations meant that they were not effectively linked to what students were learning at school. Often the non-formal program was seen as a day off school and students’ expectations centred around personal enjoyment and not learning. Difficulties in collaboration also occasionally disrupted students’ experiences which further diminished student expectations for their visits. As a result, some students developed a perception of the non-formal program as irrelevant to them or only worthwhile for people already interested in science which made it difficult for teachers to maintain student enthusiasm in the non-formal programs. This perception was exacerbated over time and amongst students who had poor pre-existing attitudes to science and who perceived limited support for their science learning. A further challenge to realising the potential roles of the non-formal programs lay in the collaboration between the centre and the schools which were each different communities with different agendas. Over time however, teachers and non-formal educators were able to develop relationships and it was their collaboration that was the key to resolving issues and refining the programs. Going forward, realising the potential of ongoing non-formal programs in secondary science education requires attention to the challenges in stakeholder collaboration, maintaining student enthusiasm over time and incorporating students’ experience into their school learning.