'Carers need to keep children keen on science'

Early years practitioners need to harness young children's natural interest in science before they absorb the negative stereotype of the 'nutty professor' from cartoons and films, claims a researcher for Children in Scotland. Jennifer Wallace, a research and policy assistant at Children in Scotland carrying out a research project examining children's participation in science, said, 'Our early findings indicate that the opinions and attitudes of children towards science are formed at an early age. While younger children see scientists as a group of people interested in the world around them, older children tend to view scientists as boring and anti-social.' She pointed out that Scottish Executive statistics suggest that children's performance at science becomes poorer as they grow older, with a higher proportion of primary school pupils reaching target levels than those at senior school. Children in Scotland maintains that children need to be engaged in scientific activity at an early age through both education and out-of-school clubs, to dispel stereotypes before they are formed.