Science education policies and standards have called for educators to teach students about the Nature of Science (NOS) and engage them in Culturally Relevant Science Teaching (CRST), which requires critical shifts away from traditional science teaching. As such, teachers are being asked to possess or take up conceptions of science that challenge…

This article reports on our work of developing a learning progression focusing on K-12 students' performances of using energy concept in their accounts of carbon-transforming processes in socio-ecological systems. Carbon-transforming processes--the ecological carbon cycle and the combustion of biomass and fossil fuels--provide all of the energy…

Examines how the theory of evolution was received by the scientific community at the time of its inception to provide insight into some of the difficulties that students have in learning some important biological concepts. Contains 82 references. (DDR)

Discussed is the issue of the appropriateness of applied science approaches to evaluation in environmental education. The relationships between characteristics of applied science approaches to evaluation and the special characteristics of environmental education are explored. (Author/YP)

Argues that it is easier to transform schools and the process of schooling when social, cultural, political, and economic issues frame the discourse about how to ensure that all students have access to an equitable education. (DDR)

From an analysis of 11 textbooks for science-technology-society (STS) subjects, it was found that less than 7% of the narrative space is devoted to STS topics, with a range of 11.5% to 0.5%. The coverage of STS topics decreases as grade level increases. (PR)

Discusses the notion that scientific knowledge is not dependable and that knowledge is no longer valued as a part of science. Points out that this has led to approaches that aim to teach scientific methods or problem-solving skills rather than scientific knowledge. Contains 19 references. (DDR)

Explains science teachers' perceptions and decisions about the development and implementation of a science/technology/society curriculum. Discusses the teacher interviews based on teachers' decisions. Summarizes five themes: concerns over content, discomfort with grouping, uncertainties about evaluation, frustrations about student population, and…

This report synthesizes critical issues and questions associated with science curriculum reform for the purpose of establishing a research agenda. Section headings describing needed research are as follows: Science, Technology, and Cultural Needs; Schooling Needs; Science Education Needs; and Research in Science Education Needs. Contrasts and…

Examined are the global issues of population growth, world hunger, air quality and atmosphere, and water resources in 10 middle school science textbooks. Less than two percent of text pages were devoted to these issues and no significant differences were found between textbook series. (Author/YP)

Demonstrates how socioscientific material is marginalized through the structures and language of syllabus texts and through classroom practices using the example of Salters' Advanced Chemistry from the United Kingdom. Concludes that socioscientific content is gendered through association with social concerns and epistemological uncertainty, and…

Examined is the program and professional development process that has characterized past and current science curriculum reform efforts. Illustrated are fundamental educational reform problems. Discussed is the importance of teacher involvement in educational decision making. (KR)

Reports on a study designed to examine selected units of commonly used elementary science texts, using the Project Synthesis goal clusters as a framework for part of the examination. The discussion of the finding focuses on the comparison of the results to recommendations of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). (TW)

Evaluates two preservice, undergraduate science-technology-environment-society (S/T/E/S)-oriented science courses for teachers and one inservice graduate course. (PR)

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…