Science Education for the Public Understanding of Science

Solomon, Joan; Thomas, Jeff

doi:10.1080/03057269908560136

Cited by 35 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…If we are to take seriously the proposition that the science curriculum must prepare future citizens (Solomon and Thomas 1990, Millar 1996, Jenkins 1999, Popli 1999) then some of the key science developments which feature regularly in the media should be included, modern biotechnology among them. Of course, we cannot expect science teachers to change the curriculum to accommodate these changes without support.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Western Australian school students' understanding of biotechnology

Dawson¹,

Schibeci

2003

International Journal of Science Education

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Are science educators providing secondary school students with the background to understand the science behind recent controversies such as the recently introduced compulsory labelling of genetically modified foods? Research from the UK suggests that many secondary school students do not understand the processes or implications of modern biotechnology. The situation in Australia is unclear. In this study, 1116 15-year-old students from eleven Western Australian schools were surveyed to determine their understanding of, and attitude towards, recent advances in modern biotechnology. The results indicate that approximately one third of students have little or no understanding of biotechnology. Many students over-estimate the use of biotechnology in our society by confusing current uses with possible future applications. The results provide a rationale for the inclusion of biotechnology, a cutting edge science, in the school science curriculum.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Western Australian school students' understanding of biotechnology

Dawson¹,

Schibeci

2003

International Journal of Science Education

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“…Nevertheless, Latour's Science in Action did demonstrate the social complexities of scientific method in reality, contributing to the arguments that teachers should teach about the subject in the nature of science (NOS) and the Science for Public Understanding movements (see Solomon and Thomas 1999). These movements saw science ''as a very human activity whose focus of interest and theoretical dispositions in any historical period were, and are, very much part of and not apart from the dominant cultural and political issues of the day'' (Lemke 2001, p. 298).…”

Section: Conveying the Messages Of Sciencementioning

confidence: 98%

Sardonic science? The resistance to more humanistic forms of science education

Bryce

2010

Cult Stud of Sci Educ

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Resistance to more humanistic forms of science education is an endemic and persistent feature of university scientists as well as school science teachers. This article argues that science education researchers should pay more attention to its origins and to the subtleties of its stubborn influence. The paper explores some of the imperatives which dominate the continuing practices of teachers; the linkages between school and university science; and re-considers the relationships between learning science, learning to do science and learning about science. It draws on recent, prominent publications, as well as neglected and rather more contentious material, to underline the unhelpfully narrow view of science held by those who defend the traditional disciplinary influences of biology, chemistry and physics. Suggestions are made as to where those of a more radical and determined disposition should direct their attention in the interests of improved education, vital scientific progress as well as human survival. It is argued that university science must change in order to ensure that teachers better help their students to learn, do and appreciate science

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“…Solomon and Thomas (1999) have reviewed some of the arguments about the extent to which motivation should be balanced with scientific content in any area of science teaching. Using the example of BSE (Mad Cow Disease) these authors ask whether students should learn the science of such current issues (however exciting) when the story is changing rapidly, or whether the students should be taught a few basic stories covering fundamental concepts.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Challenge in Teaching Biotechnology

Steele

Aubusson

2004

Res Sci Educ

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Agriculture, industry and medicine are being altered by new biotechnologies. Biotechnology education is important because today's students and citizens will make decisions about the development and application of these new molecular biologies. This article reports an investigation of the teaching of biotechnology in an Australian state, New South Wales (NSW). In NSW few students were electing to answer examination questions related to biotechnology, suggesting that few students were studying the topic. This study looks at why electives relating to biotechnology are chosen or not chosen by students and teachers, with the intention of developing a greater understanding of the requirements for provision of a successful unit of study in this subject. Data was obtained through a survey of secondary science teachers, interviews with teachers and two case studies of the teaching of a biotechnology unit. Teachers reported a range of obstacles to the teaching of biotechnology including the difficulty of the subject matter and a lack of practical work that was suited to the content of the teaching unit. If biotechnology is worth learning in school science, then further research is needed to identify ways to promote the effective teaching of this topic, which teachers regard as important for, and interesting to, students but which most teachers choose not to teach.

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Science Education for the Public Understanding of Science

Cited by 35 publications

References 36 publications

Western Australian school students' understanding of biotechnology

Western Australian school students' understanding of biotechnology

Sardonic science? The resistance to more humanistic forms of science education

The Challenge in Teaching Biotechnology

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