Industry News
Dissection in schools "going out of fashion"
Posted on 25th May 2007
Fears over animal welfare and health and safety regulations have contributed to a significant decrease in the number of dissections being performed in schools as part of science and biology lessons.
That is the finding of a new study by the Institute of Biology , which revealed that 85 per cent of teachers believe that the practice of dissection has become far less prevalent over the past 20 years.
Teachers themselves remained certain that dissections played an important part in education, but attributed their suspicions to a number of causes.
A lack of clarity regarding health and safety was cited as the key factor in the decline by 22 per cent of teachers, with 12 per cent citing pressure from others over animal welfare.
But it was student apprehension that is the most common reason for the fall, with 28 per cent citing squeamishness as the main cause.
"There is a certain level of discipline and behaviour required because the pupils are using very sharp implements. Also, it appears to be going out of fashion. Pupils are more aware of issues around vivisection and the animal testing debate, particularly students of that age," commented the institute's head of education, Neil Roscoe, according to the Daily Mail.
Science teachers in America have cited a change in the way biology is taught as a principle reason for a similar fall in US school dissection incidence, suggesting that more complicated inquiries at a cellular level were now more common that anatomical investigations.