Science curricula and teaching methods vary greatly, depending in part on which facets of science are emphasized, e.g., core disciplinary ideas or science practices and process skills, and perspectives differ considerably on desirable pedagogies. Given the multi-faceted nature of science and the variety of teaching methods found in practice, it is…

This paper presents the results of research regarding approaches to the origin of life featured in science textbooks produced by an Evangelical publisher. The research nature was qualitative with document analysis and an interpretive framework based on Epistemological Pluralism. Overall, the results indicate that there are four perspectives on the…

This study investigated comprehensive science teaching belief systems and their relation to science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and teaching practices. Rokeach's (1968) belief system was used as a framework for representing the hierarchy among in-service teachers' teaching beliefs. This study employed a multiple case study design with…

"What is truth?" Pontius Pilot asked Jesus of Nazareth. For many educators today this question seems quaintly passe. Rejection of "truth" goes hand-in-hand with the rejection of epistemological realism. Educational thought over the last decade has instead been dominated by empiricist, anti-realist, instrumentalist epistemologies of two types:…

It has been argued from world view theory that fundamental beliefs abut the world exert a powerful influence on how sense is made of events in the world. However, the nature of that influence has remained enigmatic. Hannah Arendt's distinction between thinking and comprehension, and knowing and apprehension provides a clarification. Thinking is…

This paper examines the historical roots of critical realism in western thought, highlights the dramatic nature of the shift in thought that the radical constructivists are seeking, and critically considers the relevance of radical constructivism in science teacher education. Radical constructivism is an epistemological philosophy that divorces…

Argues that science students should be taught to acknowledge the parallel structure of knowledge and belief, and recognize that science requires a presuppositional foundation that is itself not verifiable in order to reintroduce a valuable discussion on the meaning of science and its impact on life. (Contains 87 references.) (Author/WRM)

The purpose of this research was to provide information about gender-related worldview structures, among college students, that can inform the instructional decision making process. Information was generated in a logico-structural investigation of the interrelationship of gender, interest in science, and concept of nature. The strength of the…

Some interesting work currently being done in science education research is with scientifically misconceived ideas about the causes and mechanisms of natural phenomena. Though not stated explicitly, it can be inferred from the corpus of this misconception research that an assumption of homogeneity among students is made, even where there is…

This paper argues that science can be defined with sufficient clarity so as to maintain a coherent boundary for the practical purposes of school science curriculum development. That boundary excludes most forms of indigenous knowledge, if not all, just as it excludes art, history, economics, religion, and many other domains of knowledge. Being…