The focus of this paper is on the Science-Technology-Society (STS) initiative, developed in the 1980s, subsequently expanded to STSE to acknowledge environmental concerns and later expanded further to include the provision of opportunities for students to confront socioscientific issues (SSI), often of a controversial and certainly of a topical…

This article addresses some of the curriculum implications of adopting a socioscientific issues (SSIs)-oriented approach to science education, including (a) the need to provide scientific knowledge on a need-to-know basis and adapted to the complexity, multidimensionality, and fluidity of real-world situations and the constraints of particular…

This research study sought to identify prominent features of the nature of science (NOS) embedded in authentic scientific inquiry. Fourteen well-established scientists from different parts of the world, working in experimental or theoretical research, in both traditional fields such as astrophysics and rapidly growing research fields such as…

Outlines arguments for action research approaches to the implementation of STS education. Presents six teachers' initial views and changing perceptions throughout the duration of an action research project in terms of four categories: nature of STS education, development of curriculum materials, personal/professional development, and collaborative…

Combines some guiding principles of antiracist education with Vygotskian notions of education as enculturation to produce a set of proposals for a radical form of multicultural science education for sociopolitical action. Outlines a radical form of curriculum development involving the politicization of teachers as the only effective way of…

Presents a hierarchical list of principles that can be used as a guide in the construction of more successful science programs that have scientific literacy for all as a goal. Lists affective goals for science education. Discusses the role of teachers' attitudes and expectations in teaching this type of curriculum. (CW)

This article asserts that STS-oriented curricula, while of value in presenting a more authentic view of scientific practice and its cultural context, are too timid in their approach towards the political interests and social values that underpin scientific and technological developments. A case is made for politicizing students through an…

Describes how two teachers collaborated with a university-based researcher/teacher educator to design and implement more authentic science in a grade 7 classroom. Discusses the ways in which the teachers changed their views about science and science teaching, the anxieties they experienced, and the institutional constraints that impacted their…

Reviews the traditional definition of practical work in science, offers a different definition of it, and points out that practical work is not always laboratory based. Discusses the logistics of coordinating fieldwork. Contains 17 references. (DDR)