No abstract

Research!America, the largest not-for-profit alliance of groups and individuals in the UnitedStates dedicated to public outreach about research, conducts a number of programs for researchers as part of its commitment to step up the frequency and effectiveness of communication about science to elected officials, the media, and the public. This report describes these programs, emphasizing how they help scientists promote an open dialogue with journalists about research and its benefits. Data from surveys commissioned by Research!America and Sigma Xi, an international scientific honorary society, are incorporated. Scientists'accountability and accessibility to the public whose interests they serve are also discussed, as are techniques for becoming effective advocates for increased funding in medical and health research.

2018 is thirty years since the Educational Reform Act of 1988 introduced a National Curriculum to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This article questions whether this policy became something to be celebrated, commemorated or ignored. The National Curriculum for History has proved contentious in media and academic circles, but the focus has been on documentation over lived experience. In contrast, this research used an oral history approach to explore how thirteen history teachers perceived, experienced and enacted the National Curriculum in their own classrooms between 1991 and 2011. The findings show this period could be closely identified with increased prescription in the history classroom and, as a corollary, a potential loss of teacher autonomy. The National Curriculum played some part in that process, but after the initial shock, was not perceived as a restrictive force. Changing responses to the National Curriculum over four programmes of study illuminate changing experiences of history teaching from 1991-2011; a period fraught with developments in national educational policy.

This paper reports on research into the attitudes and perceptions of beginning history teachers in relation to teaching controversial issues. In 2007 the UK Department for Education and Skills, alongside the Historical Association, published a report into the teaching of emotive and controversial issues in history which suggested avoidance of some topics by some teachers. Initial research was carried out with 32 beginning history teachers to explore their attitudes to teaching controversial issues in the history classroom. Ten years later, the research was repeated with a further cohort of 37 beginning history teachers to explore whether attitudes had changed. Findings showed an enthusiastic, almost moralistic group of beginning teachers, committed to sharing a wide range of views with their young audience. The beginning teachers were remarkably confident about teaching controversial issues. The area where beginning teachers lacked confidence was in dealing with parents who disagreed with their approach to teaching a certain topic. Almost all the beginning teachers thought it was appropriate for history teachers to teach topics in a way that might conflict with family or cultural values. New concerns have emerged for some beginning teachers over how to teach the history of migration in a sensitive and appropriate way. KeywordsControversial history; teacher attitudes; beginning teachers; history teacher education Actitudes y percepciones de los profesores principiantes en relación a la enseñanza de temas polémicos en la clase de historia ResumenEste artículo es una investigación de las actitudes y percepciones de los profesores de historia en relación con la enseñanza de temas polémicos. En 2007, el Department for Education and Skills del Reino Unido, junto con la Historical Association, publicó un informe sobre la enseñanza de temas controvertidos en la clase de historia en el que sugirieron que algunos profesores evitaban algunos de estos temas. La investigación inicial se llevó a cabo con 32 profesores de historia principiantes para explorar sus actitudes hacia la enseñanza de temas polémicos en el aula de historia. Diez años más tarde, la investigación se repitió con una cohorte de 37 profesores de historia principiantes para comprobar si las actitudes habían cambiado. Los resultados mostraron un entusiasta, casi moralista grupo de profesores principiantes, comprometidos a compartir una amplia gama de puntos de vista con su alumnado. Los maestros principiantes estaban notablemente seguros de enseñar temas polémicos. El área donde los maestros principiantes carecían de confianza era en el trato con los padres que no estaban de acuerdo con su acercamiento a enseñar ciertos temas. Casi todos los profesores principiantes pensaron que era apropiado que los maestros de historia enseñaran temas de una manera que pudiera entrar en conflicto con los valores familiares o culturales. Nuevas preocupaciones han surgido para algunos maestros principiantes sobre cómo enseñar la historia de la migración de una manera...

The author calls for science communication scholars to play a greater role in helping to understand the processes, impacts, and implications of an enhanced public role in science policy decision making. A number of potential research topics are listed, including the role of celebrities in information campaigns, how public input changes priority-setting activities, and the significance of technology-driven public access to scientific information.