The focus of this paper is on the Science-Technology-Society (STS) initiative, developed in the 1980s, subsequently expanded to STSE to acknowledge environmental concerns and later expanded further to include the provision of opportunities for students to confront socioscientific issues (SSI), often of a controversial and certainly of a topical…

Nature of science (NOS) is now a well-established focus of science education and a key element in defining scientific literacy. In recent years, a particular specification of NOS, often described as "the consensus view," has become very influential and has gained ready acceptance in many countries around the world as a template for…

This opinion piece paper urges teachers and teacher educators to draw careful distinctions among four basic learning goals: learning science, learning about science, doing science and learning to address socio-scientific issues. In elaboration, the author urges that careful attention is paid to the selection of teaching/learning methods that…

Interviews with key scientists who had conducted research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), together with analysis of media reports, documentaries and other literature published during and after the SARS epidemic, revealed many interesting aspects of the nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry in contemporary scientific research…

Addresses some of the problems inherent both in traditional didactic science teaching and in approaches based on theories of conceptual change. Argues for helping students to acquire a better understanding of science (through an anthropological approach) and a better understanding of themselves as learners and science initiates. (Author/MM)

This review is organized under these headings: aims of science education; the image of science; why a philosophy of science; the nature of scientific knowledge and the role of theory; scientific method; practice of science by the community of scientists; and the role of practical work. (JN)

This paper addresses problems inherent in traditional science teaching and argues that the pitfalls of assimilation and exclusion can be avoided by adopting an anthropological approach: regarding scientists as a sub-cultural group with its own language and ways of thinking about, investigating, and explaining phenomena and events, its distinctive…

Claims that the history of science and technology has a special role within a curriculum that seeks to celebrate diversity and combat racism. (42 references) (Author/MKR)

Provides an historical perspective of the popular topics that have influenced science education during the past quarter century and reviews current international debate on scientific literacy and science pedagogy. Suggests that there is still considerable cause for concern for school science curriculum and sociopolitical action needs to be taken.…

Combines some guiding principles of antiracist education with Vygotskian notions of education as enculturation to produce a set of proposals for a radical form of multicultural science education for sociopolitical action. Outlines a radical form of curriculum development involving the politicization of teachers as the only effective way of…

Discusses the goals, procedures, and findings from a survey which focused on curricular assessment and evaluation programs in the science departments of northwest English schools. Survey items addressed issues related to curriculum planning, assessment, and data interpretation. Priorities included inservice programs focusing on teacher test…

Presents information in brief on changing priorities in science education. Cites three categories of aims for science, traits of underachievers, and the processes of science. Includes reflections on the Salter's GCSE Scheme of Assessment, the integration of science and drama, and a historical perspective of practical work in school science. (RT)

Explains that the science curriculum does little to raise the self-esteem of children from some ethnic groups and is seen by many as irrelevant to their experiences, needs, and interests. Explores ways these deficiencies can be rectified to help all children acquire scientific knowledge, interests, and skills without doing violence to their…

Describes how two teachers collaborated with a university-based researcher/teacher educator to design and implement more authentic science in a grade 7 classroom. Discusses the ways in which the teachers changed their views about science and science teaching, the anxieties they experienced, and the institutional constraints that impacted their…

Argues that the failure of modern courses to achieve their declared goals in relation to children's understanding of science has two causes, namely teachers views about the nature of science, and a degree of confusion in the philosophical stance implicit in many science curricula. Presents a philosophical model for curricula. (CW)