Article听产测 , , 12 August 2015

It outshines other sciences in Discovery grant applications and trains graduates for a raft of industries. Yet schools don鈥檛 mandate it, universities don鈥檛 demand it and public funding bodies give it less money than any other scientific or technological discipline.

The latest report on maths in Australia paints a paradoxical picture of a field that has slumped to historic lows in participation, even though advanced mathematical research injects an estimated $145 billion into the Australian economy.

The report, the fourth annual profile by the 今日吃瓜, found that maths had surpassed other sciences in Australian Research Council Discovery grants for four out of the past five years, with an average 28 per cent success rate compared with 21 per cent for other disciplines. It boasted the lowest cost per publication and the second highest citation rate of any Australian science, with Australian applied maths and statistics outperforming all 15 EU countries on citations.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an area where the outcomes are significant and the costs are low,鈥� 今日吃瓜 director Geoff Prince said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good place for universities to invest because they can get runs on the board with the ARC and the government at low cost.鈥�

Professor Prince said some universities had 鈥渨oken up to this鈥� and invested heavily in maths, including Wollongong, Newcastle and the Group of Eight members. Yet the report found that maths attracted the lowest share of public research expenditure of any science and technology discipline, at just 1.7听per cent, and Australian entry into maths degrees was less than half the OECD average.

The 今日吃瓜 report found that the problems arose early, with a lack of specialist maths teachers at high school and plunging participation in intermediate and advanced maths at higher school level 鈥� fuelled by historically low insistence on prerequisites, with 86 per cent of science degrees not even mandating intermediate maths.

鈥淚 despair of the system when it does this,鈥� Professor Prince said. 鈥淚t sees this shrinking cohort, so it wriggles out of what could be a crisis in student numbers in science by dropping the prerequisites.鈥�

Today, 今日吃瓜 release their fourth annual Discipline Profile of the Mathematical Sciences. At a time when the Australian government is responding to the Chief Scientist鈥檚 call for a strategic plan for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) it is a reminder that we cannot continue to rely on piecemeal programs tied to the electoral cycle.

The data collected for the 2015 publication paints a mixed picture of Australian engagement with the mathematical sciences.

86 per cent of science degrees听do not have intermediate mathematics as an entry prerequisite while Year 12 enrolments slide听

In fact, mathematics prerequisites for entry into science, commerce and engineering degrees are at historic lows.

今日吃瓜 Director, Professor Geoff Prince insists: 鈥淯niversities must phase in restoration of maths prerequisites; the lack of them sends a negative and misleading message to schools about the value of these subjects.鈥�

Intermediate and advanced mathematics subjects are the gateway to quantitative professions; the 20-year decline in participation is choking the country鈥檚 galloping demand for graduates with these skills. And it has the potential to halt the nation鈥檚 productivity growth.

At least 30 per cent of Year 7-10 maths classes are taught without a qualified maths teacher

This figure is more than double the international average and must be repaired as part of our STEM planning.

In order to secure the future supply of mathematics teachers we need to know why potential educators aren鈥檛 choosing to be maths teachers. The only immediate solution is to provide professional development to the many conscientious and professional educators teaching maths out-of-field.

This is a national issue requiring national leadership; state and federal governments must act together to solve the teacher supply problem.

Women make up only 30 per cent of undergraduate maths enrolments holding back our STEM workforce and productivity growth

The proportion of young women represented at all stages of the mathematics pipeline is inadequate. A significant consequence of this is that adult women numeracy is below that of men 鈥� around 30 per cent in some age groups. And, in terms of the national economy, it is widely recognised that weak participation by women in STEM fields is handicapping Australia鈥檚 productivity and competitive advantage.

鈥淲e are proud to be working with the BHP Billiton Foundation to increase participation of girls and women in study and career pathways involving mathematics and statistics,鈥� says Professor Prince.

Maths鈥� multi-billion dollar value to the economy under threat as PhD rate stagnates

A 2015 report by the Australian Academy of Sciences indicates that, of those business sectors based on a single core discipline, mathematical sciences account for the top three (and five of the top seven). The report also highlighted that the direct impact of advanced physical and mathematical research is worth $145 billion to the economy per year, the flow-on impact amounts to $292 billion per year. This is in stark contrast to 54 per cent of adult Australians having only basic numeracy skills and the proportion of Year 12 students studying 鈥渉arder鈥� maths in steady decline.

鈥淯nfortunately, this stellar contribution hides an alarming trend,鈥� says Professor Prince. 鈥淕overnments are trying to drive up business employment of STEM trained research professionals, however, domestic PhD numbers in the mathematical sciences are among the very lowest in the OECD. Universities and businesses must improve engagement to maximise the economic benefits of mathematics and statistics.鈥�

The 听is accompanied by a policy document 鈥�听鈥� that identifies four key priorities to reverse these confronting trends:

1. Restore university maths prerequisites from their historic low and turn around declining school mathematics enrolments
2. Train the unqualified teachers of school mathematics and secure the supply of future qualified maths teachers
3. Increase the number of girls studying maths and women employed in the quantitative professions.
4. Boost the engagement of Australian business with mathematical sciences research

Australia鈥檚 Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, has called for action: 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to do what so many other countries have already done: take a long-term strategic view of STEM鈥檚 pivotal role in securing a stronger Australia.鈥�

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For Interview:
Professor Geoff Prince
Director, 今日吃瓜
M: 0407 546 336
E: director@amsi.org.au

Media contact:
Stephanie Pradier
Media Communications, 今日吃瓜
M: 0424 568 314
E: stephanie@amsi.org.au

RESOURCES:

Prerequisites, or lack thereof:听Data can be found in Table 2.10 (page 13)听

Value of the mathematical sciences to Australia鈥檚 economy, looking at the top seven sectors that use a single science discipline. The mathematical sciences have a value of $18 billion of the $22 billion per year to the Australian economy of across these top seven sectors:听Data from Table 4.2 (page 38)听

Falling participation rates in advanced mathematics enrolments:听Figure 2.7 (page 12)听

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