This paper proposes a study of the various ways in which social and ethical issues are integrated in the curricula of nanoscience and nanotechnology master degrees. During the last decade, new types of courses have appeared in science and technology universities, first in the United States and now reaching Europe and France, associating a call for…

Scientific expertise and outcomes often give rise to controversy. An educational response that equips students to take part in socioscientific discussions is the teaching of Socially Acute Questions (SAQs). Students engaging with SAQs need to engage with socio scientific reasoning, which involves reasoning with evidence from a variety of fields…

Recent efforts in the science education community have highlighted the need to integrate research and theory from science communication research into more general science education scholarship. These synthesized research perspectives are relatively novel but serve an important need to better understand the impacts that the advent of rapidly…

The educative goal of citizenship education through science education converges to the declared purpose of the SSI research movement. Socioscientific issues formulated in science education research covering topics as biotechnology, environmental issues, sustainable development, energy choices, have been introduced in French Middle Schools. But…

Education for Sustainability has become an institutional requirement in many countries. It takes many forms that can integrate the teaching of environmental Socioscientific Issues (SSIs). In this context, we present the French notion of Socially Acute Questions (SAQs). We develop a theoretical frame to analyse educational configurations applied to…

In this article, we describe a project on reasoning about socio-scientific issues (SSIs), involving French and Australian pre-service science teachers engaged in on-line discussion and development of a wiki. In the research, we developed frameworks for looking at the quality of reasoning about "socially acute" sustainability questions.…

This study investigates the reasons for science teachers' tendencies to teach socio-scientific issues in their classrooms. Teaching social problems is highly recommended in science education to increase student understanding of economical, environmental, political, and ethical issues in science. Results indicate that teachers show a positive…

Examines one of the key methods used to stimulate bourgeois interest in science in France during the Second Empire and early Third Republic; the campaign to create a popularized science. Concentrates on the "science writings" of Jules Michelet and Jules Verne, both of whom were immensely successful in creating a favorable climate of…

Reports on a survey of first year French university students to discover their views and opinions on the subject of "Science and Technology." Content analysis was used to study scientific titles and texts produced by the students. The main ideas deduced from this analysis encompassed themes such as scientific discovery and conquest,…

Investigates school children's images of scientists in Brazil, the United States, France, Italy, Chile, Mexico, India, and Nigeria by having them make drawings. Discusses the relationship between image and career choice. (DDR)

Compares the training and activity of scientists and engineers in France and the United States. Describes the French higher education system including the features and curriculum design of the "grandes ecoles." Discusses the differences in the role of government to research and development between the two nations. (YP)

Students' conceptions about "microbes" tend to condition their understanding of biotechnology. Explores connections between the status given to diseases, a hygiene-oriented culture, layman's versus school knowledge, personal experience, socio-cultural mediation, linguistic confusions, and students' conceptions. (Contains 21 references.)…

Reports on efforts in France to reshape science education through a focus on primary and secondary education, higher education, and research and development. (DDR)

This videotape gives students the opportunity to view farming practices in four distinctly different countries: Zimbabwe, France, China, and the United States. By viewing farming methods throughout the world and studying the different challenges facing the world's farmers, students will be able to appreciate the commonality of all farmers--they…