International Science Olympiad Program, current status, improvement, participant perception
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to understand the current status and difficulties of International
Science Olympiad programs and find a way to improve their difficulties. For this, we surveyed a total of
36 participants including teachers, students, and educators who participated in an international olympiad
competition. As a result, first, in the current International Science Olympiad program, the participant students
had a large burden on both participating in the competition and preparing for college examination. The
experts were concerned that the decline in the number and competency of the contest participants would
not only result in a decrease in awards, but also would disrupt the development of human resources in a
field of basic science from a long-term perspective. In terms of teaching and business management activities,
it was reported that administrative and financial support and manpower support were insufficient compared
to the increasing social demand for the Olympiad. Second, in order to improve these difficulties, it needs
to diversify the participant students and the ways to mange the programs, to strengthen the incentives for
participant students in the science and engineering field, and in particular to improve the career program.
Finally, we discussed the future direction of the International Science Olympiad program and the
implications for gifted education.
