The COVID-19 pandemic greatly reduced students' capacities to engage in hands-on 'enquiry' science. But even before the pandemic, teachers and researchers were questioning the value and purpose of practical science. This article describes a project that imagined and then tested two answers. It imagined that the answer is to give every child their…

This paper considers the adoption of computational techniques within research designs modeled after the extended case method. Echoing calls to augment the power of contemporary researchers through the adoption of computational text analysis methods, we offer a framework for thinking about how such techniques can be integrated into…

The rapidly growing field of epigenetics is now beginning to reveal how our genes are affected by environmental factors such as nutrition, exercise and stress. As it has such profound effects on our everyday lives, this article argues for the inclusion of epigenetics in the compulsory school science curriculum, and explores trainee science…

For over 250 years, the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) has been committed to finding practical solutions to today's social challenges. The Society's way of working consists of providing a platform for critical debate and new ideas; working with partners to translate knowledge and progressive thinking…

As research probes deeper into all aspects of science, greater specialisation is required. This natural progression takes knowledge and understanding further away from the general public. Hence part of the responsibility of scientists is to communicate that knowledge at an appropriate level of understanding. As most people do not actively follow…

The purpose of the paper is to present the framework and design of modules aiming to teach socio-scientific issues and the related pedagogy to pre-service teachers. Specifically, the work presented in this paper is part of the PreSEES project, a Comenius/LLP project with the main aim of engaging elementary and secondary pre-service teachers in…

This article provides a transcript of the Presidential Address delivered by Martin Rees, Lord Rees of Ludlow, to the Association for Science Education (ASE) Annual Conference at the University of Reading, January 2013. The address is divided into five sections under the following headings: (1) Three Reasons Why the ASE's Mission Is So Important;…

A recent Government response to shortages of new physics and chemistry teachers is the extended subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) course. Graduates without a physics or chemistry bachelor degree are prepared by an SKE course to enter a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme to become science teachers with a physics or chemistry…

Despite science's central role in European culture, public perception of, and participation with, science is characterised by contradictions and conflicting agenda. School curriculum reform, for example by Scottish Government, promotes "science for citizenship", yet teachers' understandings of the nature of science and its relationship…

Over the last decade policies framing the enterprise agenda for UK higher education institutions (HEIs) have consistently emphasized the potential impact of successful universities on both regional and national economies. Such policies have been backed by significant public funding to ensure that the UK HEI sector is able to compete globally in…

Contemporary policy statements from government and reforms to science curricula in schools emphasise the importance of educating a scientifically literate public for democratic participation in science and technology. While such an aspiration is seemingly uncontentious and appears consistent with progressive educational thinking, the reality of…

Undergraduate students pursuing a three-year marine biology degree programme (n = 86) experienced a large-group drama aimed at allowing them to explore how scientific research is funded and the associated links between science and society. In the drama, Year 1 students played the "general public" who decided which environmental research…

Brian Griffiths (1927-2008) was a British mathematician and educator who served as a member of the founding editorial board of "Educational Studies in Mathematics". As a mathematician, Griffiths is remembered through his work on what continue to be known as "Griffiths-type" topological spaces. As a mathematics educator, his…

In the twenty-first century educators around the world are being told that they need to transform education systems to adapt young people for the challenges of a global digital knowledge economy. Too rarely, however, do we ask whether this future vision is robust, achievable or even desirable, whether alternative futures might be in development,…

Following in the footsteps of a variety of previous research that elaborates on the current state of affairs in academia, this article sets out the argument that neoliberalism and its corresponding iterations of science and technology and research funding policies in this country have implications for the types of knowledge that can be generated…