The ways in which children and adolescents become interested in science have been well studied. However, little is known from a lifespan perspective about how this process continues from childhood through adulthood. This cross-national study builds an understanding of doctoral students in the sciences in the Chile and the United States and how…

The purpose of this cross-national study was to gain a more comprehensive understanding about doctoral students in the United States and Chile and how their decisions to pursue a career in the life sciences field occurred throughout their lives. I interviewed 15 doctoral students from the Seven Lakes University (Chile) and 15 students from the…

With states weighing whether to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), this analysis from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute compares the existing science standards of thirty-eight states with the NGSS and with exemplary standards from three other states. The K-12 science standards were compared for states whose expectations were either…

When the "Journal of Biological Education" was first published in 1967, biology was still very much the Cinderella of the three school sciences in many countries. Most selective secondary school biology courses readily betrayed their origins as an unconvincing coalition of botany and zoology. In the non-selective secondary modern…

Higher education faculty are not held to the same standard of pedagogical preparation as primary and secondary teachers. This perspectives essay points out the difference in pedagogical preparations between higher education faculty and high school teachers. The essay highlights research indicating the importance of pedagogical training, offers…

This article investigates the biopolitical dimensions that have grown out of the union between biocapitalism and current science education reform in the US. Drawing on science and technology study theorists, I utilize the analytics of promissory valuation and salvationary discourses to understand how scientific literacy in the neo-Sputnik era has…

This report examines K-12 science standards for fifty states and the District of Columbia, as well as the science assessment framework of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The reviewers' aim is to evaluate them for their intrinsic clarity, completeness, and scientific correctness. Their earlier evaluations, as well as those…

This article draws upon concepts developed in recent empirical and theoretical work on high skilled and academic mobility and migration including accidental mobility, forced mobility and negotiated mobility. These concepts inform a situated, qualitative study of mobility among international postdoctoral researchers in life sciences and engineering…

While the great scientists of the past recognized a need for a multidisciplinary approach, today's schools often treat math and science as subjects separate from the rest. This not only creates a disinterest among students, but also a potential learning gap once students reach college and then graduate into the workforce. "Cases on…

The purpose of this study was to understand how Thai scientists from four disciplines viewed nature of science (NOS). The sixteen participating scientists were chosen from the areas of chemistry, physics, biology/life sciences, and geology/earth sciences and were separated into novice and expert groups. The scientists' understandings about NOS…

Many graduate programmes in science now require courses in ethics. However, little is known about their reception or use. Using websites and interviews, this essay examines ethics requirements in the field of biosciences in three countries (the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Italy) between 2000 and 2005. Evidence suggests that…

Increasing the number of students who complete advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is a compelling national interest. Although college science and engineering degree completion rates have improved considerably over the past few decades, significant gaps persist among women and students of color. Gaps…

This study explored and documented Taiwanese students' alternative conceptions of animal classification. We examined the understanding of the "animal", "vertebrate" and "invertebrate", "fish", "amphibian", "reptile", "bird", and "mammal" concepts among elementary,…