Given the impact of the pandemic on education globally, we felt it was important to ask what impact it had had on science teaching. In general, teachers reported that the focus of science education has not changed as a result of the Covid-pandemic (fewer than half of teachers agreed, 42%). However, the broader findings of this survey suggest that the pandemic has prompted some re-evaluation of current science curricula and the need for change in future.

Bonnie Schmidt, from Let’s Talk Science, continued: “Our world is changing much faster than science education. Furthermore, during the global Covid-19 pandemic... public trust in science was crucial for containing the spread of the virus and driving vaccine adoption. Around the world, for the very first time, everyone experienced science 'in real time' and it became clear that many did not understand the nature and processes of scientific inquiry.”