A stream of debate (including a previous special issue of this journal [25(1) 2014)] has made claims not just for "bringing knowledge back in" as the framing underpinning of the school curriculum, but that subjects associated with disciplinary and disciplined knowledge forms have a particular power and that these characteristics are…

Models and modeling are core elements of scientific methods and consequently also are of key importance for the conception and teaching of scientific methodology. The epistemology of models and its transfer and adaption to nature of science education are not, however, simple themes. We present some conceptual units in which school science models…

Recent reform efforts in science education include a focus on science practices. Teachers require support in integrating these practices into instruction. Multimedia educative curriculum materials (MECMs), digital materials explicitly designed to support teacher learning, offer one potential resource for this critical need. Consequently, the…

Data are becoming increasingly important in science and society, and thus data literacy is a vital asset to students as they prepare for careers in and outside science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and go on to lead productive lives. In this paper, we discuss why the strongest learning experiences surrounding data literacy may arise…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the impact of a literacy-infused, inquiry-based science curriculum on English learners' (ELs') English oral language expressive skills as measured by the Woodcock Munoz Survey-Revised subtests: Picture Vocabulary and Verbal Analogies (Woodcock-Munoz-Sandoval, Ruef, & Alvarado, 2005). In…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in early childhood education is an area currently given little attention in the literature, which is unfortunate since young children are natural scientists and engineers. Here, we outline our mixed-methods design-based research investigation of a pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) classroom where two…

Science process skills have provided a valuable chance for everyone to construct their own knowledge by means of scientific inquiry. If students are to understand what science is and how it actually works, then they should necessarily make use of their science process skills as well as scientific content knowledge compulsory to be learned in any…

Project work and work placements can help prepare tertiary food science students for the workplace. Programs in the curriculum should support the development of transferable skills such as communication, problem-solving, and planning. This paper describes a case study of a new capstone project for Masters of Food Science students based on a work…

Triadic dialogue, the Initiation, Response, Evaluation sequence typical of teacher /student interactions in classrooms, has long been identified as a barrier to students' access to learning, including science learning. A large body of research on the subject has over the years led to projects and policies aimed at increasing opportunities for…

What is traditional ecological knowledge? In many disciplines, including science education, anthropology, and resource management, it has been conflated with Indigenous knowledges, which has contributed to misunderstandings. This article explores the history of traditional ecological knowledge and examines its contemporary conceptualizations in…

Representation of nature of science (NOS) within curricula including standards, grade level expectations, and textbooks and their alignment with each other to achieve teaching NOS is crucial. Thus, the aims of the study were to a) assess how NOS is portrayed in standards, grade level expectations and a teacher edition of seventh grade textbook of…

One of the objectives of the South African science curriculum is to provide equal access to science for students from all backgrounds. However, this goal remains elusive as many students, particularly those from low socio-economic backgrounds, continue to perform poorly in science. One of the reasons for the persistent differential achievement in…

This paper discusses Singapore education system as a whole including primary, secondary and high school cycles, and tries to examine the country status in PISA 2015. It also aims to reach various conclusions by examining science and mathematics curriculum, teaching strategies, teacher education of Singapore. The paper discusses the success of…

A Delphi survey was conducted with 30 outdoor education experts in Kansas. Participant responses helped frame a Kansas definition of outdoor education and identified essential educational goals and outcomes, critical components for effective outdoor education programming, and barriers facing outdoor education in Kansas. The study highlights…

Curricular coherence is an indication of the alignment of content ideas, the depth at which they are studied, and the sequencing of ideas within and across grade levels and has been identified as an important predictor of student performance. This study examined the contribution of inter-unit coherence on energy to the learning of this concept…