ASE 2027 Annual Conference

Many children do not think that science is relevant or important to their lives, now or in the future. Research shows that children are already being influenced by gender-based beliefs at 7 years old or even earlier and have made up their minds before the age of 11 that science is not for them. Teachers can play a key role in challenging these views before they become too entrenched. The Science 4 Everyone materials are a range of freely accessible resources that teachers and school leadership teams can use to raise awareness of unconscious bias and its potential to influence pupils’ science capital and attitudes towards science. They are used in this session to reflect on challenges faced when making science accessible to all.

The presenters will use their extensive experience from the classroom and from working with teachers and students in both the informal and formal science education sector to reflect on what makes the most difference to ensuring that children believe science is for everyone.

This session is aimed at classroom teachers, science leaders and teacher developers who work with them, and aims to:
• Share evidence from research, including issues around unconscious bias and stereotype threat and their relation to pupils’ science career ambitions.
• Outline resources and effective practical strategies that teachers have found to be effective. Examples will be used from schools and informal settings that have promoted inclusion and equity by using these materials and approaches
• Give participants opportunity to try out and discuss some of Science4Everyone practical toolkit materials that can be readily integrated into curriculum design to address the unconscious biases that we all hold
• Encourage participants to reflect on which strategies might be most useful to address the needs of the children in their schools and reflect on how to audit, implement and review actions to inspire all children to see science as meaningful and relevant in their own lives.

Participants will:
• know more about unconscious bias and its impact on inclusive science teaching, the support freely accessible from the Science 4 Everyone materials and the links to research evidence about the importance of pupils developing a science identity.
• reflect on what is working well in their own setting and where improvements could be made.
• have opportunity to reflect on which strategies might be most useful and begin to plan how they could audit needs, implement priorities and review actions as part of a development cycle.