Historically, societies have relied on universities and colleges to provide a space for young citizens to experiment with and explore the innovative approaches needed to address contemporary problems. Yet today, many universities serve as diploma mills that succeed in getting students onto the job market, but fail to give those students tools for…

Agnotology is a term that has been used to describe the study of ignorance and its cultural production (Proctor in "Agnotology: the making and unmaking of ignorance." Stanford University Press, Stanford, 2008). For issues that are contentious in the societal realm, though largely not in the scientific realm, such as human evolution or…

In this article, the author reflects on chemistry teaching in the next century. He questions--Was anything he taught in his fundamental chemistry course of value? And, how will our current understanding of the molecular world change during his students' lifetimes? It reminded him of a pseudo-quote he remembered from his own university…

In their paper, Munoz and El-Hani propose to bring video games into science classrooms to promote culturally sensitive ethics and citizenship education. Instead of bringing "educational" games, Munoz and El-Hani take a more creative route and include games such as Fallout 3[R] precisely because they are popular and they reproduce ideological and…

Last summer, Governor Bobby Jindal signed the Louisiana Science Education Act into law. Although the name of the bill sounds innocuous, it is backed by the intelligent-design movement and will no doubt lead to yet another court case on teaching evolution and creationism in school and college classrooms. After all, courts and classrooms have served…

In his article "Scientists at Play in a Field of the Lord", David Long (2010) rightly challenges our presumptions of what science is and brings forth some of the disjunctures between science and deeply held American religious beliefs. Reading his narrative of the conflicts that he experienced on the opening day of the Creation Museum, I cannot…

Scholars have argued that the history of science might facilitate an understanding of processes of science. Focusing on science education for citizenship and active involvement in debates on socioscientific issues, one might argue that today's post-academic science differs from academic science in the past, making the history of academic science…

Scientific information and new developments influence human lives making every human endeavor systematic. These developments in science and technology lead to educating literate individuals in terms of science and technology, or individuals who can think creatively and deliver their ideas freely. More specifically, individuals in today's world…

Scientific information and new developments influence human lives making every human endeavor systematic. These developments in science and technology lead to educating literate individuals in terms of science and technology, or individuals who can think creatively and deliver their ideas freely. More specifically, individuals in today's world…

This paper examines the relation between situated cognition theory in science education, and feminist standpoint theory in philosophy of science. It shows that situated cognition is an idea borrowed from a long since discredited philosophy of science. It argues that feminist standpoint theory ought not be indulged as it is a failed challenge to…

In this paper I respond to Long's paper in which he uses an ethnographic snapshot of a rally of scientists against the perceived "dumbing down" effect of the new Answers in Genesis Museum in Kentucky to raise educational concerns about the effects of creationist influence on the science curriculum in American schools. In my response I…

Discusses the need for science in developing countries. The development of the Western industrialized countries is a persuasive argument for the role of science and technology in development. Western modern science knowledge and indigenous knowledge are both necessary in science education. (SAH)

Presents Dr. Nair's keynote lecture at the Beijing +5 Women 2000 Conference in New York City on June 5, 2000. Discusses the relationship of care, multiplicity and respect for multiplicity, and the meaning of integrity in the changing world to institutions of science, technology, and commerce. (SAH)

Discusses problems with science education in schools in the context of their causes, including a dysfunctional working definition of science. Describes and illustrates the Science/Technology/Society movement as a potential means to correct these problems. Presents examples derived from statewide efforts in Iowa. (14 references) (Author/MKR)

Would-be reformers in science education must focus on what appears to be a root cause of scientific illiteracy, namely a sort of "corporatist manifesto"--an unwritten ideology that transnational corporations use to control production and consumption to maximize profit. Suggests that this credo is manifested in take-for-granted practices such as…