Fewer school students study science than they did 30 years ago, and fewer study maths than they did a decade ago, a trend which has led to a lack of teachers and university graduates with degrees in the subjects.
An Australian Council for Educational Research report issued yesterday shows senior secondary students' participation in science has almost halved since the mid-1970s.
In 1976, 55 per cent of Year 12 students studied biology, 29 per cent chemistry and 28 per cent physics.
Last year, 25 per cent studied biology, 18 per cent chemistry and 15 per cent physics.
The council also found declining enrolments in every state and territory in advanced maths studies.
The report's lead author, the council's deputy chief executive of research, John Ainley, said strengthening the science curriculum in schools was a key to generating higher levels of participation in science-related studies at university.
''The content and process of science curriculum in secondary school needs to relate more strongly to the experience of young people and connecting what is studied in schools to the emergent fields of science such as biotechnology,'' Dr Ainley said.
''Stronger use of curriculum resources at primary school level is also required.''
The report also suggested that schemes to offset charges may provide an incentive to attract science graduates to teaching, even if that was not always for a life-time career.
The federal Education Department commissioned the report.
Education Minister Julia Gillard said the findings highlighted ''the continuing challenge of recruiting graduates from science and maths-related fields into teaching''.
''The Rudd Government recognises that high quality science and maths education is critical for building a strong, prosperous and innovative society,'' she said, noting the Government was investing in a range of initiatives to invigorate science and maths education in schools and lift enrolments.
These included the development of a national curriculum, addressing shortages of specialist maths and science teachers by reducing the Higher Education Contribution Scheme fees in maths and science and for teachers who go into those subjects.
The report found evidence from international surveys indicating Australian high school students performed comparatively well in mathematics and science.
But there were signs students were not as interested in learning science as their counterparts in other countries.
Compared with other countries, Australian high school maths lessons tended to feature greater use of repetitive short problems and less emphasis on higher-level problems with discussion of alternative solutions and reasoning.
By Year 12, there were a number of changes in enrolment patterns, with a steady decline in biology, chemistry and physics classes, and a decline in participation in advanced and intermediate maths.
Long-term studies have found the uptake of science-related studies at university is stronger among those who specialise in science studies in the final year of school, which in turn is influenced by a student's proficiency in mathematics when he or she is in middle secondary school.
University enrolments in the natural and physical sciences have remained steady since 2001, but with an increase in the health field and a decline in information technology.
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