Ask someone to name a female scientist and they will inevitably say Marie Curie. They would be very unlikely to be able to name a second. Does this mean there have been no women achieving greatness in science in the past century? In fact, there have been many and not only have they achieved great things, they have had to overcome considerable…

This article is concerned with the impact of recent reforms to specifications for science exams taken by secondary school students in England at age 16+, and other policy shifts, particularly that towards "triple science". It draws on data from the National Pupil Database/Pupil Level Annual School Census, together with fieldwork in a…

Presents one viewpoint supporting the adoption of a core curriculum in science based upon social, egalitarian ideas and concerns for the basics, and another viewpoint opposing a core curriculum based upon the inability of classical sciences as taught to meet general societal and industrial needs. (DC)