UK schools 'failing to nurture aspiring engineers'

The study, commissioned by the Royal Academy of Engineering, implies that primary school teachers do not actively encourage an engineering mindset amongst young people and that secondary school teaching of engineering is 'highly variable'. "Young children are natural born engineers, constantly seeking to understand the properties of materials as they engage with the world around them," says the report. "However, the education system has come to expect young people to move away from practical learning as they grow up and to become more theoretical and abstract." The review also suggests that schools are actively promoting the message that people who design, make and fix things must be less intelligent than those who can write essays, make speeches or understand quadratic equations. While citing outstanding examples of innovative teaching practice at all levels, it says that "too many primary and secondary schools almost manage to extinguish the prototype engineering ability latent in young children". It proposes that the engineering teaching and learning community considers redesigning the curriculum – starting from the premise that they are trying to cultivate learners who think like engineers. Report author Professor Bill Lucas, from the University of Winchester, said: "Engineers think differently from the rest of the world. And society badly needs their problem solving, systems thinking and relentlessly-seeking-to-make-and-improve mindset. "Yet the education system does little to teach in ways that will cultivate the engineers we will need. We leave it too late and, too often, teach it too dully. This has to change." The full report can be downloaded below.