Leading scientist wants schools to promote creativity

4.00 pm - By NEIL SANDERSON

A knowledge-based economy is not entirely based on science and technology, says Nobel prize-winning chemist Lee Yuan Tseh of Taiwan.

"It has more to do with the human capacity to dream and to make dreams come true," he told the Catching the Knowledge Wave conference in Auckland this afternoon.

Dr Lee, who heads the Academia Sinica which runs a network of 25 research institutes in Taiwan, said his country is undergoing a learning transformation that will see greater attention paid to the arts, music, morality and physical education.

He said entrenched Confucian values lead Taiwanese parents, families and the whole society to expect their children to receive the best education at all costs.

"As the island of Taiwan is endowed with few natural resources, many parents believe that education is the only way for their children to achieve financial success as well as to climb the social ladder."

He said parents put tremendous pressure on their children to "study" in cram schools, so that they can pass entrance examinations and register in the most prestigious schools.

"It is certainly regrettable that our students are well trained, but not well educated."

He said things are changing in Taiwan, although tertiary education needs further diversification.

"After all, we need all sorts of people in a modern knowledge-based economy, and we have to bring up everybody and abandon none of them in the process."

He said educational institutions should help students realise their dreams, whatever they are.

"Rather than training students with the ability to memorise facts, we are now emphasising critical reasoning and creative thinking."

Other Herald features

Our turn

The jobs challenge