Conventional school science has often portrayed obesity as a self-inflicted problem. It tends to ignore perspectives at the systems level, such as social, political, marketing and economic factors that shape an obesogenic environment that determines individual eating and lifestyle patterns. Therefore, socioscientific decisions (e.g. fat tax) are…

Current opinion holds that school science has not been producing the expected outcomes. Highlighted by a considerable body of research, one of the concerns is that young people still mobilize a naive conception of science. Consequently, we must pursue the reflection process concerning ways of renewing the school conception of science so as to…

This article begins by examining whether "science" and "religion" can better be seen as distinct or related worldviews, focusing particularly on scientific and religious understandings of biodiversity. I then explore how people can see the natural world, depending on their worldview, by looking at two contrasting treatments of penguin behaviour,…

This paper presents and discusses examples of works of art which, if included in science curricula, could prompt an understanding by students of some concepts in optics through a discussion of the context in which they were created. Such discussion would elucidate the meaning of the artworks and, at the same time, challenge students'…

As the potency of science and its impact upon society grow, the need for a humanistic perspective on science education becomes ever more urgent. Although there is not a consensus about a humanistic conception of science education, this monograph presents a normative conception of humanistic science education, which places primacy on the notion of…

This paper presents materials from a workshop on using role playing in science education. It contains the basics of role play therapy including the purposes of the strategy, establishing a classroom climate for role play, guidelines for interaction in role play, preparation for role play and possible focuses of a role playing session, step-by-step…