Published, The Scotsman, 31st May 2010
Am I alone in questioning the importance our Universities attach to the subject of Mathematics? I can understand the need to be numerate, the need to be arithmetically confident and assured, but I am less convinced that we need to aspire to all students achieving success at Maths. I find it incomprehensible that you need Standard Grade Mathematics to study Acting at the University of Central Lancashire, or to study Fashion Design at the University of Glamorgan, Cardiff and Pontypridd.
These examples are not unusual; indeed, you can hardly find a degree course at a British University that does not make Mathematics at Standard Grade an entry requirement. Now, on a personal level, I love Maths and I love teaching Maths but I cannot understand why a student wishing to study drama has to prove competence in ‘the interpretation and use of proportionality between the size of the sector and the angle at the centre of pie-charts’ to be allowed to follow their chosen acting career path.
And perhaps, Maths is not the only subject that needs to be looked at. What about the pupil with a specific language difficulty who fails to achieve Standard Grade English and as a result can then not be considered for a Foundation Degree at the University of Derby in Motorsport Technology. Again, I completely see the need for a level of competence in literacy but I am also heartbroken for those kids who struggle with those required competences but who display a real talent or a real gift for creative or practical subjects.
Our system disenfranchises these young people and discards them from Higher education and it seems to me an entirely illogical way of assessing someone’s ability in their chosen field, particularly when the chosen field is far removed from the enforced entry requirements in English and Maths. Perhaps then there is value in the new Numeracy and Literacy qualifications we are anticipating in the Curriculum for Excellence, but their true value will only be demonstrated if Universities accept these qualifications, thereby opening up Higher education to a wider yet equally deserving audience.
I am not convinced about the argument advanced here. My belief is that someone undertaking a university degree course should have a level of competence in the basics. Engineering (eg Motorsport Technology) is maths based but an equally essential skill is the ability to write clear and concise reports hence the need for demonstrated competence in English. Similarly for a degree level in fashion design, the ability to translate a 3 dimensional complex surface (ie clothes on a human body) on to 2 dimensional patterns requires mathematical ability beyond basic arithmetic.
I would argue that the problem here is the blurring of the boundary between craft/vocational levels (mechanic/tailor), which require one level of literacy and numeracy and the professional level (engineer/designer) which would require a higher level. Perhaps the apparent move to a “degree for everything” does not serve us well.
I’m certainly not in favour of any kind of rigid hierarchy with no way of moving between them, but certainly there should be a clear distinction of what is required at each level both in terms of entry and achievement.