Pandemic, lack of investment in science, math education factors in France’s deplorable TIMSS rank: Experts

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - The coronavirus pandemic and lack of investment in science and math education played in France’s deplorable performance in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) rankings, according to experts.

“France does not have such a high-stakes testing system and schools teach a broad range of subjects. France has not invested in research in science education and lags behind Germany and the UK in this respect,” Justin Dillon, professor of science and environmental education at University College London (UCL), told Anadolu.

Underlining the importance of science education, he said to understand phenomena such as climate change and pandemics, citizens need to understand some basic science and to understand how science and scientists work.

“They also need to be able to tell whether sources of scientific 'facts' are credible or not,” Dillon underlined.

When asked about the high performance of certain Asian countries, including South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, in science education, Dillon said: “Asian countries tend to do well because they have high-stakes testing requiring years'-long commitment to memorization of facts.”

Dillon, a guest professor at Zhejiang University of China, added that in these highly competitive education systems, teachers are paid more if their students are successful, and parents often employ private tutors or send their children to after-school clubs.

- Culture affects higher achievement in science, math

Golding emphasized that mathematics is becoming even more important in the contemporary world.

“In the 21st century, increasing parts of our societal functioning are mathematics-dependent, including the major ‘wicked problems’ of our time. The majority of jobs need a greater degree of mathematical, particularly data and computational, literacy than historically,” she said.

She added: “For both individual and societal thriving, then, we have a greater need of confident, informed mathematical thinking than ever before, though the range of content will vary across different roles in society.”

On the French pupils’ bad performance in TIMSS, she remarked: “However, there might well still be a pandemic effect on learning. Besides, the French mathematics curriculum is also not always well aligned with the TIMSS mathematics.”

Pointing out to the higher ranking of England and Türkiye, Golding said: “We shall certainly be looking at Turkey’s performance with considerable interest, and the system surrounding it, to see what we can learn!”

In England, teachers and learners working incredibly hard to recover from the pandemic impact on performance, she noted.

Golding underlined that culture in Asia-Pacific countries is among the factors that lead to higher achievement in science and math education.

“There are certainly elements of the Confucian cultures that support strong performance at the school level, including respect for elders and knowledge, significant roles for effort, and a valuing of conformity; it’s also true that education is widely valued in these contexts,” she added.

France ranked last in Europe for student math performance, according to the latest TIMSS.

The gap between France and the top-performing countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea remains significant.

The study published on Wednesday highlighted deep-rooted issues in the country’s education system, which critics say is plagued by social inequality and inadequate funding.