This fabulous graph of enrollments in the most popular HSC subjects over time was published in the Sydney Morning Herald today:
In the newspaper article, concerns were raised about the declining number of physics students, and the fact that only 22% of these students were female.
What I see in this graph is a general downward trend in enrollments of most of these subjects. You'd be particularly concerned about your future employment prospects if you teach Ancient History, for example.
What I don't see in this graph are any dramatic increases in enrollments, so, where have all the students gone?
Are overall student numbers declining (and hence enrollments in individual subjects are declining)?
Or, are there other less popular subjects with massive increases in student enrollment?
If we are concerned about the lack of females in Physics (22% female) why are we not equally concerned about the lack of males in Biology (36% male)? Or the poor showing of males in English Extension 1 (33%) and 2 (29%).
We are still seeing student numbers divided along gender lines. So here are some "not-at-all-surprising" stats ...
- 5% of students in "Dance" are male
- 5% of students in "Textiles and Design" are male
- 8% of students in "Human Services" are male
- 10% of students in "Community and Family Studies" are male
- 5% of students in "Construction" are female
- 5% of students in "Electrotechnology" are female
- 6% of students in "Automotive" are female
- 9% of students in "Engineering Studies" are female
- 10% of students in "Software Design and Development" are female
And if I went back 30 or 40 years, I'm guessing the percentages would not be so very different.
What have we achieved in education in 4 decades?
