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Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation
859.233.3502
kstc@kstc.com*****************************************
Kentucky Teacher Survey of Critical Technologies
The Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC) released on Monday, June 28, 2004, the results of the "Kentucky Survey of Critical Technologies", an important study conducted by Horizon Research International dealing with the depth of knowledge and understanding that Kentucky science teachers possess concerning critical technologies and concepts that are forming the basis for much of the advances in science and technology, as well as new job creation. This on-line study surveyed a representative cross-section of middle and high school teachers about their awareness, familiarity and plans for classroom integration of 25 scientific and technological concepts that have been identified as important growth areas in Kentuckyâs innovation-driven economy. These technologies and concepts included things such as biotechnology, natural products, proteomics, alternative fuels, nanotechnology, astrobiology, and quantum computing â and were representative of five broad areas being targeted for investments in Kentucky.
The survey demonstrated an alarming disconnect between technologies with significant economic and social impacts that are emerging from scientists, engineers and successful entrepreneurial companies worldwide...and their infusion into today's P-12 classrooms. This finding represents a major contributing factor in Kentucky's lack of an adequately prepared talent pool and entrepreneurial class to create and grow the innovation-driven companies that are essential to the state's future.
"We believe that this study has national implications...and that the results would be fairly consistent across the nation," said Dr. Mahendra Jain, Executive Director of the Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation (KSEF), the primary sponsor of the study.
In summary, the findings consistently demonstrated a general awareness of a limited number of terms but showed that far fewer teachers understood the concept well enough to present it in the classroom. While portions of the teacher sample understood some of the concepts, this did not seem to translate into classroom activities in any significant numbers. For example, in the case of nanotechnology, one the world's most explosive new technologies, a mere seven percent of the Kentucky teachers surveyed indicated that they were teaching this in the classroom. In fact, over two-thirds of the concepts were only taught by less than ten percent of the teachers. Of the remaining third of the concepts, only one was taught by any more than 26 percent of the teachers.
In the media conference discussing the results, Virginia Fox, Secretary of the Kentucky Education Cabinet, called the findings "significant" and added that the Governor Fletcher was asking KSTC, working in partnership with the Council on Postsecondary Education, innovation-driven Kentucky companies and others, to develop a strategic response to the survey results. Joanne Lang, KSTC Executive Vice President, explained that the National Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions had made an award to KSTC to support the development of the response to the study.
For more information or to obtain a copy of the Kentucky Survey of Critical Technologies, please contact Joanne Lang at 859.233.3502 ext.236 or jlang@kstc.com.
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KSTC
28 June 2004
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