ADR Wales’ Education team have produced two new Data Insights looking at the composition of the science teacher workforce in Wales and how it differs across biology, chemistry and physics.
The analyses used data from the School Workforce Census and highlight substantial differences across the science disciplines at a time of growing concern over STEM skills shortages.
Carried out by ADR Wales Education researchers Sophie Bartlett and Katy Huxley, the first analysis found that of the 1,820 qualified science teachers operating in Welsh secondary schools in 2021, most were teaching general science while around one in four taught biology (24%) or chemistry (25%), and just over one in five (22%) taught physics.
The research also found that women made up 55% of the overall science teaching workforce, but while they accounted for the majority of biology (63%) and chemistry (60%) teachers, men dominated physics, making up 66% of the workforce.
In the second Data Insight, the researchers examined the academic backgrounds of science teachers.
Among the 310 teachers included in the linked analysis, 79% held a STEM degree and 68% had a science degree, but subject-specific alignment was much lower. Just 31% of biology teachers held a biology degree, 38% of chemistry teachers had a chemistry degree, and 36% of physics teachers had a physics degree, highlighting ongoing challenges in building a specialist science workforce.
The research also identified differences across sex, language medium and school location. Men were more likely than women to hold STEM and physical science degrees, while English-medium science teachers were more likely to have science or biological science degrees than their Welsh-medium or bilingual counterparts.
The findings come as Wales continues to face recruitment challenges in science teaching, with initial teacher education targets for biology, chemistry and physics falling short in 2024/25. The researchers say the findings provide a more detailed understanding of the science teaching workforce than previously available and could help inform workforce planning, teacher recruitment and efforts to improve equitable access to high-quality science education across Wales.
Read the full Data Insight: The science teaching workforce in Wales
Read the full Data Insight: Degree subjects of science teachers in Wales