Reflections on 25 Years of Journal Editorship

Abstract

These reflections range over some distinctive features of the journal Science & Education, they acknowledge in a limited way the many individuals who over the past 25 years have contributed to the success and reputation of the journal, they chart the beginnings of the journal, and they dwell on a few central concerns-clear writing and the contribution of HPS to teacher education. The reflections also revisit the much-debated and written-upon philosophical and pedagogical arguments occasioned by the rise and possible demise of constructivism in science education.

Evidence-Based Research in STEM Teacher Education: From Theory to Practice

“…This might be due to education being an emerging research field, comprising educators situated on the opposite ends of the research spectrum: from the positivist (examining an objective reality) research that utilizes the natural science methodologies to the purely interpretivist and descriptive research associated with the humanities and social sciences (interpreting a subjective reality). Consequently, modern educational research is abundant with co-existing contradictory "theoretical" frameworks; with the models and pedagogical approaches that can neither be empirically tested nor refuted; with the imprecise if not purposefully overcomplicated language infused with acronyms and vaguely defined terms that cannot be easily understood by practitioners, policymakers or even other researchers (Katz, 1999;Matthews, 2015). Moreover, the scarcity of the studies reporting negative, "politically incorrect" or "inconvenient" results (AERA, 2006) lowers the standards of educational research, making it suffer from what Richard (Feynman, 1974) dubbed the Cargo Cult Science syndrome:…”

“…As a result of the lack of universal understanding of STEM education as a research field, it is still rife with "research" studies that fall into the Cargo Cult Science category being used to inform educational policies and ongoing reform efforts (Davies, 1999;Matthews, 2015). Thus, it should not be surprising that the "planes don't land" and the reforms that cost the taxpayers millions of dollars keep failing our students (Center for Education Reform, 2018).…”