This can only occur if S&T literacy and culture are imparted in ways that capture the interest and imagination of young learners. But education will not achieve that quality unless the number of teachers knowledgeable in science and technology - and the quality of their education is increased first. In most countries (industrialized and developing alike), there is a dire shortage of such teachers, and even if their formal training was first-rate they are usually unable to keep up with constantly evolving S&T developments. It is therefore difficult for them to provide up-to-date knowledge to their students or fruitfully apply the most recent teaching innovations.
The result is that students often become bored or discouraged; some who would specialize in science or engineering may shift to other fields, and the majority of students run the risk of becoming illiterate in these areas, or even phobic, for life. This perpetuates the vicious cycle of not having enough qualified scientists and engineers, qualified teachers, or 'S&T-qualified citizens' coming out of the education system.
Much more serious efforts are needed to remedy the situation. In that spirit, S&T-related academies and societies have been launching projects that pair active researchers with teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools in order to facilitate learning. (See Box 12 for a description of the science education program of the InterAcademy Panel.) Useful examples of scientific academies promoting new modes of science education - and of enthusiastic responses among students - are shown in the boxes on the French program La Main à la Pâte (Box 13) and the U.S. National Science Resources Center (Box 14).
Another set of activities that have successfully stimulated young-student interest in S&T are science olympiads - national and international contests for schoolchildren in mathematics and sciences such as biology, chemistry, and physics. Besides improving science visibility and teaching at all levels, these olympiads have been useful in many countries for discovering and cultivating young talents. (See Box 15.)
The private sector has also been getting involved, as companies see that it is in their interest to improve the S&T education of people in whose communities they operate; this makes for better community relations and a larger and more capable labor pool from which to draw. (See Box 16 for four examples of corporate support for science education.)
When students do decide to pursue careers in science and technology, they are more likely one day to reach the highest levels of their profession if they have been trained at the finest science and engineering research universities. These institutions offer sophisticated faculty that conduct world-class research, and they are often committed to outreach activities as well. It is essential to strengthen the capacity of universities to admit aspiring young scientists and engineers from around the world.
Institutions of this type in the developing nations can play an especially important role for the region in which they are located. Further, cooperation among them can lead to networking among their best researchers - at national, regional, and international levels - to help educate the most promising students and provide fellowships for them. Because these are the graduates who will later be critical for the S&T capacities of their own countries, support for their work and professional development is essential. (See Boxes 17 and 18 for examples of financial support for developing-nation scientists, provided by foundations in industrialized nations.)
Science and technology education should not be limited to aspiring scientists and technologists, however, or even just to students. In addition to including S&T-culture courses in the formal education system, there should also be concerted efforts to impart this culture to the non-student public through pathways such as radio, television, online, print media, science museums, and community-development projects. In that way, the public can become sensitized to the important role of science and technology in society and their potential to help solve urgent problems.
