Webb, John

Professor John Webb is currently a consultant based in Paris with responsibilities for supporting science education initiatives for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He is on leave from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, where he is Professor of Chemistry. He has postgraduate qualifications and research publications in both chemistry (BSc Honors and the University Medal at the University of Sydney, Australia, and in 1972, PhD at the California Institute of Technology, USA) and education (Diploma in Education, Murdoch University).

Professor Webb’s interests include teaching innovations and curriculum development; supporting research and teaching in universities in developing countries; the public communication of science. For many years he, with colleagues, has presented ‘Chemistry Magic’ Shows for schools and community groups. His experimental scientific research concerns the structure and function of biological solids such as bones, teeth and pathological solids such as those that occur in the genetic disease of thalassemia.

In 1996, the Government of Australia awarded him the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to science through his research and work at universities in Asia over many years. In 1997, the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies awarded him a Citation for ‘distinguished contributions to chemistry and the chemistry profession’; and recently in 2001, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute also awarded him a Citation ‘for outstanding contributions to chemistry, and to the RACI, particularly through the International Relations Committee and the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies, over many years’.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVING SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

Education in science and technology is in a critical condition. International measures of achievement reveal disturbing trends in many countries at the same time as more and more national governments and Ministries of Education are looking towards science and technology education to improve the conditions of their communities. This widespread concern has been expressed strongly in global forums such as the World Conference on Science, held during 1999 in Budapest, Hungary, and organized by UNESCO together with the International Council for Science (ICSU). The Framework for Action accepted at Budapest proclaimed in its first statement regarding science education that ‘Governments should accord the highest priority to improving science education at all levels, with particular attention to the elimination of the effects of gender bias and bias against disadvantaged groups, raising public awareness of science and fostering its popularization. Steps need to be taken to promote the professional development of teachers and educators in the face of change and special efforts should be made to address the lack of appropriately- trained science teachers and educators, in particular in developing countries’.

This is indeed a considerable challenge!

These concerns were taken up by participants at the Conference held in Goa, India, in 2001 directed towards ‘Science, Technology and Mathematics Education for Human Development’, of which UNESCO was a sponsor. The Conference noted that the distinctive feature of Science, Technology and Mathematics Education, “in its attempts to encourage scientific and technological literacy, is the emphasis on societal needs and the importance of developing an ethos of social responsibility in the development and application of science and technology”.

This presentation will consider the diverse ways in which science and mathematics education is an essential feature of our societies and cultures. Both formal and non-formal approaches are very relevant. Viewing science and mathematics education as a life-long journey can serve to identify opportunities and challenges for teachers, educators and the general community in both developed and developing countries.