At a glance headlines: 7/9/2017

Students from less privileged backgrounds are losing out on opportunities to take part in informal science learning, including school trips and after-school clubs, researchers have warned. A study involving almost 6,000 secondary school children, focused on areas with traditionally low science engagement, discovered a number of barriers. It found that more than half of the students surveyed had never been on a science-related trip, while 70 per cent had never had a visitor talk on science. The authors of the study blamed a number of issues, including a focus on targeting science activities at higher attaining students, the cost of providing school trips and the pressure of high-stakes testing. The research findings have been published in the International Journal of Science Education and the study was carried out by academics from the Department of Education, Practice and Society at the UCL Institute of Education in London. You can read the full article online. Visit: http://bit.ly/2wA1aLr