In this paper, we argue that the current science curricula are failing to educate students to be competent outsiders to science. Historically, science education has rested on two premises. The first is that it is possible for students to acquire sufficient scientific knowledge from K-12 education to become intellectually independent. That is that…

Large investments are made in curriculum materials with the goal of supporting science education reform. However, relatively little evidence is available about what features of curriculum materials really matter to impact student and teacher learning. To address this need, the current study examined curriculum features associated with student and…

In this paper, we investigate the potential and conditions for using curriculum adaptation to support reform of science teaching and learning. With each wave of reform in science education, curriculum has played a central role and the contemporary wave focused on implementation of the principles and vision of the "Framework for K-12 Science…

The vision for science proficiency presented in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" calls for significant shifts in both teaching and assessment. In this paper, we describe an effort to develop and validate a set of "proximal transfer tasks" for high school biology classrooms where teachers were implementing a…

Focuses on whether (and if so to what extent) a multicultural approach to science education is compatible with a universalist conception of science. Concludes that the most defensible conception of science education is one in which it is conceived to be both multicultural and universal. (Author/MM)

Offers a rationale for and definition of science education, namely, the discipline concerned with the study of the interaction of science and society, the impact of science upon society, as well as the impact of society upon science. (JN)

Science educators are encouraged to avoid the temptation to select just one view of science and construct science programs around its inevitable prejudices. Author suggests that education departments should emphasize philosophy and the history of science. (15 references) (PR)

Discusses the effect that Botswana's relatively strong economy has had on its growth and development as well as the obstacles that stand in the way of progress. Four critical issues are identified: (1) education system; (2) teacher education; (3) conditions of teaching and learning science; and (4) science curriculum. (ZWH)

Uses alternative theoretical lenses, methodological approaches, and sources of information to seek insights on the aggregate of factors currently influencing a reconceptualization of education in the sciences. Concludes that reform should be based on the dynamics of contemporary society, the characteristics of today's adolescents, and a…

Seeks to address concerns Shiland raised in a prior article published in Science Education 1998, 82(5), 615-617 regarding the National Science Education Standards (NSES). Discusses the failures of NSES and the consequences related to the cognitive abilities of teachers and students. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/YDS)

Presented is a review of the professional literature concerning the value of science education for mildly retarded students. (CS)

In this investigation, students with mental retardation were observed over a two-year period in order to determine how the characteristics of mental retardation manifested themselves in the context of an inquiry-oriented, hands-on science curriculum. Implications for teaching science to students with mental retardation are provided. (LZ)

Delineates various conceptions of curriculum and uses one of these conceptions as basis for the development of a classroom learning environment instrument. Provides an overview of how a curriculum can be conceived as a social construction that arises through interaction of participants and explains how this instrument might be used by teachers and…

Argues that the National Science Education Standards is an atheoretical document because it fails to prescribe scientific theories worth knowing, define the role of scientific theories in scientific literacy, or outline a framework to conduct research on the inquiry method. (DDR)

Outlines a sociocultural perspective on program evaluation consistent with sociocultural views of knowing and learning. Perspective is characterized by rigorous use of multiple-choice tests, performance assessments, and event-based analyses; a dialectical approach to conflicting conclusions from individual assessments and between individual and…