Despite advances in discussions about the nature of science, there is still a paucity of discussion on the ontological dimension of science in science education research that makes it difficult to defend its content and teaching. In this article, the reasons for trusting science and science education are analyzed through three arguments. The first…

In this article, I explore the tension between the current political context in which science needs defending against anti-intellectualism and outright assaults on evidence as a means of decision-making on the one hand and the overzealous scientism that can result from backlash against a perceived lack of rigor in various forms of inquiry. To do…

This review focuses on science education contributions to the "Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education" (CJSMTE) from January 2001 through December 2014. Through a combination of content and citation analysis, we examine the journal as a location for conversations around specific themes and broader ideas related…

This study suggests a novel approach, which integrates an explicit-reflective nature of science (NOS) instruction into the teachers-as-researchers approach to improve pre-service science teachers' conceptions of NOS. Participants were 48 university fourth-year students in a four-year pre-service science teacher-training program in Turkey. The…

This review examines 105 empirical studies that investigate students' views of the nature of science (VNOS), effects of curricular interventions on changing students' VNOS, and relations between VNOS and demographics, majors, and learning of science. The reviewed studies can be categorized into three theoretical frameworks: the unidimension, the…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and its reports are a key measure in informing the nation on how well the goal of scientific literacy for all students is being met. The "Science Framework for the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress" sets forth the design of the NAEP Science Assessment. The 2011 NAEP…

The paper opens by characterizing recent discourse about empirical educational research as the "new Babel"-critics, using different theoretical vocabularies and making different deep assumptions about the nature of social life, are failing to communicate with each other. After locating some of the critical positions on a left-right continuum, the…

This document sets forth recommendations for the design of a new science assessment. The assessment resulting from this framework will start a new NAEP science trend (i.e., measure of student progress in science) beginning in 2009. This framework represents a unique opportunity to build on previous NAEP science work as well as key developments in…

Argument exists as to the degree that education fits the criteria of a science. The scientific method cannot be applied to education since it has not developed a consistent set of concepts and theories as demonstrated within the natural sciences. (JN)

Argues that the limited results achieved so far by empirical educational research are a result of a fundamental difference in the generalized concepts used therein and the abstract concepts used in the natural sciences. Discusses the work of Galileo and Newton to clarify the difference between generalization and abstraction. (DMM)

It is useful to place the development of educational research within the context of the historical development of scientific research as a whole. The work of Whitehead, Northrop, Toulmin, and, especially, Kuhn suggests the value of viewing research as a social process through which ideas and intellectual techniques are diffused. It is useful for…