There are many potential harms to individuals, societies and environments associated with powerful "networks" of living, nonliving and symbolic entities (actants), such as financiers, banks, think tanks, transnational trade organizations and agreements, competitiveness, scientists, engineers, universities, governments, military,…

This article draws awareness to the subtle and seeping "common sense" mentality of neoliberalism and deficit thinking assumptions about racially marginalized students in inner-city schools. From a literature review conducted on deficit thinking and deficit practices in schools, I developed three different frameworks for understanding the…

The purpose of this study is to observe students' reflection towards the integration of Tawhidic Science at the program "Kem Pandang Alam", at Tanjung Tuan Wildlife Reserve and several other locations nearby Tanjung Tuan, Teluk Kemang and Si Rusa, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan Malaysia. The respondents of this study were 32 students from…

Learning science in the context of socio-scientific issues (SSI) is widely advocated for achieving the goal of scientific literacy that values using science in daily lives. While prior research suggests that SSI-based learning can promote students' disciplinary knowledge and practices, less is known about students' perceptions of SSI-based…

Scientific literacy reflects an understanding of science as it relates to use of science in real-world contexts. Socioscientific issues (SSIs) are real-world problems that are complex in their acknowledgement of social as well as scientific aspects of the problem and are well-suited to support scientific literacy objectives. Because of their…

The aim of this study is to evaluate science teacher candidates based on bioethical values, scientific literacy level and empathy skills and to determine their associations. Therefore, descriptive model was used for the study. The sample of the study consists total of 286 teacher candidates from first, second, third and fourth grade of Faculty of…

This article sought to give an overview of different interpretations and characterizations of socioscientific issues (SSIs) by identifying single entities that could form components of SSI and give examples of where single entities were combined to involve SSI in enhancing scientific literacy. Through a narrative literature review, the article…

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…

Magnetism and its various applications are essential for our daily life and for many technological developments. The term "magnetism" is almost always used as a synonym for ferromagnetism. However, the magnetic properties of the elements of the periodic table indicate that the vast majority of elements are not ferromagnetic, but rather,…

As part of the "Learning, Media & Technology" series on "Key Thinkers and Theoretical Traditions", this paper explores the relevance of C. Wright Mills' much lauded book "The Sociological Imagination". The argument is made that we would do well to take heed of many of the central tenets of Mills' call to arms for…

This paper puts forward a theoretical framework for the analysis of expertise and experts in contemporary societies. It argues that while prevailing approaches have come to see expertise in various forms and functions, they tend to neglect the broader historical and societal context, and importantly the relational aspect of expertise. This will be…

This study focused on inquiring into undergraduate chemistry professors' efforts in North America to increase student motivation and interest in the subject and the feasibility of methods that connect students to real world applications and societal issues related to chemistry. A survey was distributed to chemistry instructors at post-secondary…

Through a collaboration between a professor in academia and an industry professional, entry-level food science students were given the opportunity to critically evaluate the safety of energy drinks. This evaluation occurred through a General Education (Category A3) course designated "Critical Thinking" at California State University --…

Complexities of social problems in our globalised world pose new educational challenges, including how to empower citizens for active engagement with socioscientific issues. This study describes the analysis and discussion of an activist video as the first phase in an activist education programme. Participants were 104 preservice primary teachers…

Considering the recent rapid developments in science and technology, it is quite important for individuals to be able to make decisions about their own future and their children's future for the society in which they live and to know how to establish a balance of risk and decision. For this reason, teacher training programs should be planned to…