California's public schools have struggled since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, and today face enormous challenges to try to regain lost quality and standing as a national education leader. In light of the current economic crisis, competition for limited resources is fierce and the pressure is on to eliminate all but the basic "Three…

Discusses the content and structure of the secondary school science program "Time, Space and Matter," and responds to an earlier criticism of the program published in this journal. (JR)

Presented is book two in a series of six books in the University of Illinois Astronomy Program which introduces astronomy to upper elementary and junior high school students. This guidebook is concerned with how celestial bodies move in space and how these motions are observed by astronomers. Topics discussed include: a study of the daily motion…

This book is intended as a final report on those activities and institutions supported through the National Science Foundation's College Science Improvement Programs (COSIP A & B), and as a reference to current developments in undergraduate science education. In the first major subdividion of this work are included project abstracts for the…

Discusses some of the problems faced by technical advisors implementing projects for the improvement of science education in Africa and reasons for these problems. Problem areas considered include underdevelopment, underestimating the process, finances, personality conflict and motivation, and opposition from key groups. (A list of major UNESCO…

Main reasons for not using recently developed curriculum materials in elementary schools include misunderstandings about their psychological bases, and lack of trained teachers and curriculum coordinators in school districts. Efforts should be directed to improve these conditions. (PS)

In 1981 a meta-analysis of research in science education was completed by a team of researchers under the direction of Ronald Anderson at the University of Colorado. Individual teams synthesized the extant research using meta-analysis procedures. One of the syntheses showed that the post-Sputnik or "new" science programs on the whole…

Described is the elementary science curriculum "Children and Their Natural Environment" developed by the working group for Educational Research at the University of Gottingen. Objectives are listed as attempting to integrate a particular teaching concept with the scientific way of looking at problems and an attempt to understand teaching…

This guide is designed to encourage people to keep animals of all kinds in the classroom and to use them in teaching language arts, mathematics, and social studies, as well as science and nature study. The booklet is divided into four sections. The first section contains an account of a year with desert animals in an ungraded classroom of six- to…

Three sets of elementary science materials are reviewed (ESS activity cards, ESS readers, "We Discover the World") that represent what can be done to enhance and structure learning for a single concept or topic. "We Discover the World" is a set of materials designed to introduce children to their world and their environment.…

Presented is book four in a series of six books in the University of Illinois Astronomy Program which introduces astronomy to upper elementary and junior high school students. This document terms the analysis of light as an essential clue to understanding astronomical phenomena. Topics discussed include: thm behavior of light; the wave model and…

It is the purpose of this unit of study to acquaint students with the world of engineering. The activities are intended to simulate problems which might be undertaken by engineers and illustrate the sequence of events leading to their solution. The material is intended for use in the eighth or ninth grades as a supplement or for inclusion into the…

This study investigated the effects of the addition of a supplemental science program to existing curricula in selected elementary schools. A supplemental science program, the Elementary Science Study (ESS), was introduced to the treatment group (four of eight classes randomly selected, with a total population of 189 sixth-grade students) and a…

This monograph presents an updating of a report made in 1969 which led to the development of the Del Mod System. It is an assessment of science education in Delaware. Data presented were collected on site in the schools. Assessment of the science facilities, curriculum, and attitudes was made. Science programs in use in 1974 in the elementary,…

This paper incorporates the work of several authors and presents a project focused on the competency training of teachers in environmental education. Draft competency lists included: (1) scientific knowledge for elementary school teachers; (2) processes in science for the elementary school teacher; and (3) teaching science to elementary school age…