The low numbers of students, particularly girls, pursuing science after the age of 16 continues to give cause for con cern, despite the inclusio n of scien ce as a core subject in the curriculum of primary schools in England and W ales. T his article explores the perceptions of primary pupils with regard to science since its introduction as a compulsory component of the curriculum. T he ndings tend to replicate those of earlier stu dies, indicating that primary pupils, both girls and boys, view scien ce positively while at primary school and look forward to science at secondary school. However, results show that, within science, girls' and boys' preferences are different. Girls have greater preference for biological topics while boys demonstrate a wider range of interests. Furthermore, the introduction of the N ational Curriculu m appears to have had negligible effect in broadening the interests of girls. It is argued that intervention strategies are needed in order to make all elds of scien ce attractive to girls and that this should begin in the primary phase of education.
It is recognised that training is required for staff working with people with a diagnosis of personality disorder, as it poses challenges requiring particular skills and abilities (National Institute for Mental Health in England, 2003a). The proposal to train graduate primary care mental health workers (GPCMHWs) to work with the client group met with some scepticism by senior clinicians. However, the experience of providing training and supervision to the graduate primary care mental health workers to work with clients with personality disorder in Camden and Islington has proved positive. Several characteristics of the GPCMHWs identified in the training literature might contribute to this positive experience. Those factors include cognitive ability, motivation to learn, age, and attitudes. Initial findings from the evaluation of the training shows that graduate workers respond positively to the training, showing improvements in self-rated knowledge and skills relating to working with the client group, and an eagerness to learn more. The relevance of this to the personality disorder capabilities framework are described.
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