Science Education Decline and its Root Causes

Qianruo Shen

1. The weak subjects in science education

Since the end of last century, assessment results of PISA and TIMSS have consistently shown a striking trend: Singapore and East Asian countries perform far better than western nations in mathematics and science. The author analyzed their scores of biology, earth science, chemistry and physics in six TIMSS 8^th grade science tests from 1999 to 2019, the following result is further discovered:

 In Singapore and East Asia, scores of physics and chemistry are higher or comparable to those of biology and earth science. But in western countries they are usually lower than the latter. Most significantly in U.S., biology scores the highest and physics the lowest in almost every test; with a difference of 20 to 30 points. By the year of 2019, the United States was 104 and 107 points lower than Singapore respectively, in physics and chemistry.

As is widely recognized, mathematics and science education, or STEM, is weak in K-12 education in the West today. The above finding further reveals that, physics and chemistry are the weaker subjects in science education where western students struggle the most.

2. The integrated science reform has caused the decline

The severe decline of science education in the West, can be traced back to the integrated curriculum reform, which started half a century ago.

Previously, separate courses of physics, chemistry, and biology were offered in secondary schools in most countries; with a strong emphasis on physics and chemistry. A solid foundation was thus laid off for students.

However, a subversive reform characterized by the integrated science curriculum, has swept the world since the end of 1960s. The biology course was expanded to life science, with its topics and contents greatly increased; physics and chemistry were compressed and collectively referred to as physical science; and earth and space sciences were introduced. They form the three content domains of science in K-12 education.

In terms of curriculum structure, the single-subject courses in middle schools were removed. Their topics were broken apart and reorganized, so that a science course in each grade covers materials from all three domains. These are the so-called integrated science courses.

The integrated science curriculum was initiated in U.S., and advocated and implemented by UNESCO. It has been adopted in most countries in the world except Mainland China and a few other countries.

Since then, the teaching of physics has been suffering. The author taught high school physics in 1990’s and 2000’s in British Columbia, Canada. The grade 11 students she took over even could not handle uniform rectilinear motion, simple problems that Chinese students in elementary or middle schools could easily solve.

3. What is wrong with the integrated science reform?

Like in the West, Singapore and East Asia have also adopted the integrated science curriculum; and their test scores, although higher than the West, are actually not ideal either,  implying many loopholes. But the question is, how to explain the big gap between the two sides? what are the root causes of the decline, and the wrongs of the integrated science reform?

The author carefully examined science education in U.S., Canada, Singapore and Taiwan, and has found out two major differences between East and West.

The first is the selection and weight of subject contents. Physics and chemistry are downplayed compared to life science in the U.S. and Canada, but in Singapore and Taiwan, they weigh more and remain the focus.

Physics and chemistry, especially physics, are the cornerstone of all disciplines in natural science. Without knowledge of physical science, one has no basis to understand in-depth concepts of life science, and earth/space science. Various engineering and technology have been developed on the basis of theory of physics. Similar to mathematics, its strong logical structure requires and develops high-level analytical thinking, and a cumulative approach is crucial to comprehending its concepts. Secondary education is the golden stage to build a strong foundation. If missed, it will be extremely hard to make up for the rest of one’s lifetime.

As to life science, its great development in recent decades, indeed, has called for new knowledge be introduced into K-12 education. However for students, time and effort that can be devoted to science learning is limited. Due to its non-fundamental and descriptive nature, and less demanding in terms of abstract thinking and mathematical skills, it is not essential to teach extensive life science knowledge in secondary school courses. They could be delivered in a variety of ways: after-class activity, electives, or postponed to post-secondary stage. Earth/space sciences are similar.

In short, the integrated science reform has brought excessive amount of non-basic contents into science curriculum, and diluted the time and resource to physics and chemistry; thus the foundation of science education has been shaken. This is especially true in the West.

The second difference lies in teachers’ qualifications. For decades, science teachers in the U.S. and Canada have been trained through general science programs, which cover multiple disciplines but fail to provide the depth of subject-specific knowledge in physics and chemistry.

But Singapore and Taiwan only issue single-subject certificates, and assign teachers with subjects they are specialized in. Even with integrated courses, various subject contents are taught by different teachers.

Natural science includes so many subjects and disciplines, that hardly anyone can master all of them. For secondary science teachers, it is possible and nice to be specialized in one discipline, and to have basic knowledge of others, but a generalist of science is not realistic. Teachers in the U.S. and Canada are more equipped to teach biology, but under-qualified with physics and chemistry.

With integrated courses in middle school, and AP courses later, it is difficult for students in American and Canadian secondary schools to study science subjects step by step. The burden is much heavier with repeats and skips. Time and effort good students put in actually have not been  paid off with corresponding knowledge and skills.

China didn’t participate TIMSS, and there is no test scores to compare. Actually, China also promoted the integrated science reform at the beginning of 21st century, but gave up shortly, due to strong resistance from educators and teachers. Thus fortunately, the single-subject course structure has been kept, and physics and chemistry have been emphasized as before, taught by qualified teachers. It can be seen that, through a sequential and cumulative approach to lay a solid foundation of mathematics/physics, is the underlying reason why China could cultivate many STEM talents who have thrived in the West in recent years.

4. Rebuild science education in the West

The decline of science education has caused the U.S. and Canada a big shortage in STEM talents and qualified labor force. It is a critical issue requiring immediate attention. The decline won’t be stopped unless its root causes are identified and addressed. It is hoped that the educational authority and people in other relevant sectors will join forces and take charge.

Policymakers must recognize the importance of physics and chemistry as fundamental disciplines and devote sufficient resources to them. It is essential for developing STEM talent and restoring and revitalizing the manufacturing industry.

It is suggested that the integrated science curriculum as a core component of middle school courses be removed; and the single-subject courses restored.

Secondary science teachers should specialize in specific subjects; the general science training model must be dropped.

May 2025

About the author:

Dr. Qianruo Shen, independent scholar. Honorary President of the Educational Quest Society of Canada. She has engaged in comparative education research, particularly education systems and policy, and basic science and mathematics education; and has published many influential papers on K-12 education. She graduated from the Physics Department of Peking University, with a master's degree in engineering from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Simon Fraser University, Canada. Sharon_q_shen@yahoo.com

Attachments:

1. “Crisis of Science Education Caused by Integrated Curriculum Reform”, a 15 page article with data and detailed facts. The above commentary “Science Education Decline and its Root Causes” is an abbreviation of this article. 

2. “(PPT) Crisis of Science Education Caused by Integrated Curriculum Reform”, the PPT of the article illustrating the problem briefly with figures and tables.