Context-based and science-technology-society (STS) approaches to teaching science in high school have become widely used over the past two decades. They aspire to foster more positive attitudes to science while, at the same time, provide a sound basis of scientific understanding for further study. This paper reviews the detailed research evidence…

This paper describes briefly the development and key features of one of the major context-based courses for upper high school students, Salters Advanced Chemistry. It goes on to consider the research evidence on the impact of the course, focusing on teachers' views, and, in particular, on students' affective and cognitive responses. The research…