Parents Think Children Find Science Exciting

Parents Think Children Find Science Exciting: According to a survey of parents, children would rather grow up to be scientists than professional sports stars or Hollywood actors. The results found that almost three quarters (72%) did not feel that their children found science lessons boring, and more than two in three (67%) said that children find science an exciting subject.

Despite this, the figures also show that around a quarter (24%) of parents felt that their children found science challenging, with the same proportion saying that they thought their children felt the subject to be too effort intensive.

Parents Think Children Find Science Exciting_VoicED Education Market Research

Parents Think Children Find Science Exciting

The research, commissioned by BAE Systems and the Royal Air Force, also asked the 1,200 parents about their children’s career aspirations. From a given list of jobs, parents were most likely to say that their children would like to become a computer games designer (15%), with scientist (12%), vet (12%), member of the emergency services (10%), actor (9%), doctor (9%) and professional sportsman or sportswoman (9%) all grouped closely behind. Other jobs included inventor, musician and nurse or midwife, all of which received seven percent of votes.

BAE Systems and the RAF published the poll to mark the ninth annual schools roadshow, which this year focuses on physics. Nigel Whitehead, group managing director at BAE Systems, said that the UK ‘needs more people to study physics’ and that more had to be done to link the subject with ‘the most exciting careers’ – such as being a pilot.

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