Curriculum planning, even in a developed country, is not without problems. Curriculum planners in developing countries are faced with dilemmas at almost every level of decision making. The revision of the Malaysian physics curriculum is detailed in this article. (PB)

Descriptions of high school chemistry courses are provided, including organic chemistry, introductory chemistry for mathematics-shy students, and a course for eighth-graders taught by high school seniors. (SK)

Presents comments from a symposium at which scientists and science educators agreed that science education should focus more on problem solving and less on mastery of content. Also suggests ways to select textbooks that support a problem-solving approach. (DC)

Describes a preschool science-based curriculum which encompasses four broad topics: water, small creatures, gadgetry, and environmental terraria. Includes a description and list of activities for each topic. Presents research suggesting that children participating in this curriculum increased their self-directed discovery and verbalized curiosity.…

Draws on literature from the fields of science education, anthropology, and other areas. Proposes a viewpoint that science and science education are cultural enterprises which form a part of the wider cultural matrix of society and that educational considerations concerning science must be made in light of this wider perspective. (DS)

Examines the pros and cons of laboratory instruction. Complaints lodged against laboratory instruction include its high cost, and lack of research supporting the lab. Justifications listed include science education research supporting the lab, psychology, and common sense. (DS)

Describes modular science units for use in New Zealand primary schools. Includes a description of format, trial units, final product, and list of titles, as well as samples of a title page and page from a teacher's guide. (DS)

Describes several activities for preschool and primary age children integrating science and music sounds. Activities include using musical instruments, the voice, and the piano. Through these activities students can learn to listen to and discriminate between musical sounds made by striking and vibrating. (DS)

IT-INSET (Initial Training-In-Service Education of Teachers), is sponsored by the Department of Education and Science. It supports curriculum development by local teachers, providing them with initial-year education students as aides. The operation of the project at one junior school and the science curriculum developed are outlined. (SJL)

Describes the physics program at Saudi Arabia's University of Petroleum and Minerals, including the physics curriculum, examinations, and future plans. Includes comments on the development and operation of the University as a whole. (SK)

Describes a single introductory course for both nonscience and physics majors, emphasizing wave aspects of selected physics phenomena rather than traditional Newtonian mechanics. Modes of presentation, consistent with the notion of a spiral syllabus, are explained with reference to the cognitive and educational theories of Bruner and Piaget.…

Presents 15 recommendations to be discussed by delegates attending the international conference on chemical education at the University of Maryland during August 1981, including: exchange of information, new organizations, college instruction, new experiments and low cost equipment, academic-industry cooperation, popularizing chemistry, and…

Describes the relationship of Popper's theory of knowledge to chemistry instruction. Suggests that students be allowed to learn from their mistakes and presents five experiments with an implicit falsification purpose. (JN)

Determined if modifying Bloom's mastery strategy improves science achievement during a six week human physiology unit. Findings indicate only a small degree of improvement in achievement of 185 students. Suggests that the approach employed in this study would be impractical for the biology classroom. (DS)

Describes aspects of the preprofessional program for minority students in the health sciences at the University of Washington, including a summary of the history of the entire preprofessional program, factors bearing on selection and placement of students, and motivational factors. (CS)