The proportion of HSC students enrolled in languages and chemistry has declined over the decade, while PDHPE and business studies numbers have surged.
The proportion of students studying a foreign language for the Higher School Certificate has collapsed to historic lows, while enrolments in PDHPE and business studies have surged to a decade-high.
“It’s a vicious cycle as course numbers go down, there are fewer schools that offer languages and fewer pre-service teachers coming through.” The number of students taking chemistry has slumped to its lowest in a decade, with 9834 taking the subject. Physics enrolments are up slightly, with 8291 enrolled.Science education consultant Simon Crook said lower chemistry numbers were worrying, and likely reflected syllabus changes five years ago that made the subject more rigorous and maths-heavy.
Data from the NSW Education Standards Authority shows the most popular language courses this year are Japanese, French and Chinese. About 900 students are taking French, down from 1500 a decade ago, while just 31 students are enrolled in Indonesian continuers this year. “It’s also an equity issue as the bulk of schools offering languages are private or selective public schools.”
University of Melbourne education expert Pasi Sahlberg said relative to European countries, the study of languages is “less developed” in Australia, and is vital for deeper understanding foreign societies.
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