Assessment of Practical Work in Ireland: A critique

Proponents of science, technology and society (STS) education advocate a literacy grounded in the context of ethical, individual and social responsibility. Accordingly, STS programs and themes have been designed and developed in an effort to interpret science and technology as complex socially embedded enterprises, and to promote the development of a critical, scientifically and technologically literate citizenry capable of understanding STS issues, empowered to make informed and responsible decisions, and able to act upon those decisions. This paper posits that STS is a desirable and commendable goal. However, many dilemmas arise when educators begin to seriously address issues of power, knowledge, decision‐making, and responsible action in the science curriculum. In particular, this paper is a case study of an elementary teacher involved in STS education, with her grade three‐four class. The real‐life event or issue that triggers the STS curriculum unit is the school's septic tank overload. In describing this case, the author examines the potential power and problems of STS education.     

Models of Micro‐Organisms: Children’s knowledge and understanding of micro‐organisms from 7 to 14 years old

Current approaches to science‐technology‐society (STS) education focus primarily on the controversial socio‐scientific issues that arise from the application of science in modern technology. This paper argues for an interdisciplinary approach to STS education that embraces science, technology, history, and social and cultural studies. By employing a case study of traditional papermaking technology, it investigates how the interactions between technology and science can be explored in an authentic societal and cultural context across a historical time span. The term technology‐society‐science (TSS) is used to represent an alternative approach to linking technology, society, and science that aims to redress the imbalance between science and technology, and to resolve the tension between two diverging goals of STS education. The educational implications of this alternative approach to STS education are discussed.     

Environment and Public Opinion

Abstract

Initiated by recommendations in the reports of the study groups that examined the status of science education in the United States early in this decade, science-technology-society (STS) education has become accepted as a viable part of the school science curriculum. The social responsibility perspective on STS education that was embodied in those recommendations has become the most widely accepted. Approached from a social responsibility perspective, the goal of STS education is to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and affective qualities to take responsible action on the myriad of STS issues facing humankind. That goal is congruent with the superordinate goal of EE. Given the parallel and the lack of a body of research in STS education, recent EE research on responsible environmental behavior was used to generate a goal structure for STS education that is similar to one prepared for EE by Hungerford et al. in 1980. The STS goal structure is further explicated in a set of fifty-three learner competencies.     

Combining issues of “girl-suited” science teaching,STS and constructivism in a physics textbook

This paper outlines the design of a physics textbook that addresses issues of gender-inclusive physics teaching, STS and constructivism. Difficulties of addressing these issues in a textbook for normal classes, which has to compete with other textbooks on the market will be discussed. Specializations: constructivist approaches in science education research and practice. Specializations: gender issues in science instruction. Specializations: primary education, integrated science. Specializations: STS, phenomenological oriented physics instruction. Specializations: peace education within science education.     

The Ethics of Integrity: Educational Values Beyond Postmodern Ethics

I address the problems of diminished moral responsibility and of moral relativism, typically associated with education in late modern society, by developing, beyond the problematic contemporary formulations of postmodern ethics, an ethics of integrity as a moral resource for education. This ethics is constituted by the principles of respect for the dignity of persons, and the acceptance of responsibility for the consequences of our moral choices. I show how it offers more than the scant resources of postmodern ethics to educators who seek to enable their students to develop a deeply‐founded sense of moral comportment and an authentic identity in the face of the moral complexity of late modernity's globalised and plural society.     

Levinas: Ethics or Mystification?

The metaphysical ethics of Levinas appeals to many philosophers of education because it seems to promise ethics and social justice without recourse to moral norms, ‘totalising’ political systems or religious belief. However, the notion that the subject can be detached from its worldly being—that one can posit a primordial metaphysical pre‐conscious pre‐phenomenal self which stands in ethical relation to a primordial metaphysical pre‐conscious pre‐phenomenal Other—is highly questionable. From an empirical perspective, our experience of the world and of ourselves can only be conceived in social, cultural and linguistic terms; the self‐referential lexicon Levinas employs to depict the relation between the transcendental subject and the Other ‘in his alterity’ renders his metaphysical assertions impossible to evaluate or give determinate form. From a transcendental perspective, Levinas's metaphysical abstractions simply do not have the power to motivate people to behave ethically. Instead of contributing toward the transformation of education and society envisaged by many philosophers of education, the ‘ethics of the Other’ merely generates an esoteric discourse.     

Socioscience and ethics in science classrooms: Teacher perspectives and strategies

This study explored teacher perspectives on the use of socioscientific issues (SSI) and on dealing with ethics in the context of science instruction. Twenty‐two middle and high school science teachers from three US states participated in semi‐structured interviews, and researchers employed inductive analyses to explore emergent patterns relative to the following two questions. (1) How do science teachers conceptualize the place of ethics in science and science education? (2) How do science teachers handle topics with ethical implications and expression of their own values in their classrooms? Profiles were developed to capture the views and reported practices, relative to the place of ethics in science and science classrooms, of participants. Profile A comprising teachers who embraced the notion of infusing science curricula with SSI and cited examples of using controversial topics in their classes. Profile B participants supported SSI curricula in theory but reported significant constraints which prohibited them from actualizing these goals. Profile C described teachers who were non‐committal with respect to focusing instruction on SSI and ethics. Profile D was based on the position that science and science education should be value‐free. Profile E transcended the question of ethics in science education; these teachers felt very strongly that all education should contribute to their students' ethical development. Participants also expressed a wide range of perspectives regarding the expression of their own values in the classroom. Implications of this research for science education are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 353–376, 2006     

Turkish Pre‐Service Science Teachers’ Views on Science–Technology–Society Issues

The international science education community recognises the role of pre‐service science teachers’ views about the interdependence of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) in achieving scientific literacy for all. To this end, pre‐service science teachers’ STS views signal the strengths and the weaknesses of science education reform movements. Turkey, a country that follows the international reform movement, aims at improving citizen’s understanding of the STS interdependence to enable them to fully participate in an industrialised, democratic society. This study explores the Turkish pre‐service science teachers’ views (n = 176) on STS issues and discusses the ongoing reform efforts’ strengths and weaknesses within the context of the study findings. Data were collected through an adopted “Views on Science–Technology–Society” instrument. Analysis revealed that many participants held realistic views on science, technology, and society interdependence, while their views on technology and the nature of science were differed. Some viewed technology as an application of science, and some viewed science as explanatory and an interpretation of nature. Most agreed that the scientific knowledge is tentative but they did not present a thorough understanding of the differences between hypotheses, laws, and theories.     

First‐year Pre‐service Teachers in Taiwan—Do they enter the teacher program with satisfactory scientific literacy and attitudes toward science?

Scientific literacy and attitudes toward science play an important role in human daily lives. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether first‐year pre‐service teachers in colleges in Taiwan have a satisfactory level of scientific literacy. The domains of scientific literacy selected in this study include: (1) science content; (2) the interaction between science, technology and society (STS); (3) the nature of science; and (4) attitudes toward science. In this study, the instruments used were Chinese translations of the Test of Basic Scientific Literacy (TBSL) and the Test of Science‐related Attitudes. Elementary education majors (n = 141) and science education majors (n = 138) from four teachers’ colleges responded to these instruments. The statistical results from the tests revealed that, in general, the basic scientific literacy of first‐year pre‐service teachers was at a satisfactory level. Of the six scales covered in this study, the pre‐service teachers displayed the highest literacy in health science, STS, and life science. Literacy in the areas of the nature of science and earth science was rated lowest. The results also showed that science education majors scored significantly higher in physical science, life science, nature of science, science content, and the TBSL than elementary science majors. Males performed better than females in earth science, life science, science content, and the TBSL. Next, elementary education majors responded with more “don’t know” responses than science education majors. In general, the pre‐service teachers were moderately positive in terms of attitudes toward science while science education majors had more positive attitudes toward science. There was no significant difference in attitudes between genders. Previous experience in science indicated more positive attitudes toward science. The results from stepwise regression revealed that STS, the nature of science, and attitudes toward science could explain 50.6% and 60.2% variance in science content in elementary education and science education majors, respectively. For science education majors, the first three scales—the nature of science, health science and physical science—determined basic scientific literacy. However, for elementary education majors, the top three factors were physical science, life science and the nature of science. Based on these results, several strategies for developing the professional abilities of science teachers have been recommended for inclusion in pre‐service programs.     

高校STS教育的道德价值探究

当下高校STS教育还存在重探究科学知识,轻道德学习的现象,这与它的教育目标——实现价值导向还存在差距。STS教育过程中要发现和宣扬科学活动中的道德价值,包括对受教育者的诚信教育、责任教育、竞争与协作教育、理想信念教育、科学精神教育五个方面。     

面向生活:科学教育的人文回归

本文对遗忘生活世界的科学教育进行了反思,指出科学教育要面向真实的生活世界,才能使自身获得人文维度的意义基础。同时根据我国科学教育现状,指出回归生活世界需要建立完整的科学体系结构、鼓励学生探究生活世界中的问题和加强面向生活的科学教育资源的开发与利用。     

Epistemology, Science, and Moral Practice

Two features of discussions on epistemology in the social sciences and education are examined. One is the depiction of science by its critics, the other is the separation of scientific inquiry and ethics. I describe science as very human and very fallible, but also very successful. Contrary to critics, science is not a search for eternal truth or an ultimate reality, rather it is tentative, self-corrective, and growing. Other anti-science arguments are also explored.The separation of ethics from the methods and subject matter of science by critics is seem as a fatal flaw. Ethical problems arise in concrete situations so that moral choices are contextual, requiring inquiry and reflection about options and their potential consequences. Here inquiry is directed toward the most desirable outcomes available.     

化学教学要渗透STS教育

STS教育是近年来世界各国理科教育改革中形成的,强调以科学、技术和社会相互关系为指导思想而组织实施的科学教育.它注重人的科学素养培养.化学教学中开展STS教育有利于学生知识的获得、科学方法的形成和科学能力的发展,可以提高学生的科学素养,实现人与自然的和谐发展.     

The Ethics of Integrity: Educational Values Beyond Postmodern Ethics

I address the problems of diminished moral responsibility and of moral relativism, typically associated with education in late modern society, by developing, beyond the problematic contemporary formulations of postmodern ethics, an ethics of integrity as a moral resource for education. This ethics is constituted by the principles of respect for the dignity of persons, and the acceptance of responsibility for the consequences of our moral choices. I show how it offers more than the scant resources of postmodern ethics to educators who seek to enable their students to develop a deeply-founded sense of moral comportment and an authentic identity in the face of the moral complexity of late modernity's globalised and plural society.     

The inclusion of STS material in the most frequently used secondary science textbooks in the U.S.

Science-technology-society (STS) has been identified by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the Departments of Education in a variety of states, and a variety of commissions and panels concerned with reform in science education as a new direction and goal for science education. Because most teachers are dependent upon textbooks for determining their curricula and teaching approaches, an investigation of 11 of the most frequently used secondary science textbooks in the U.S. were reviewed to determine the attention given to STS topics. The framework established by the Project Synthesis research team for STS was used to define STS topics. The 11 textbooks were examined in their entirety to determine space devoted to STS. Minimum interrater reliability was established at 0.80; any deviation resulted in further analysis. Comparisons were made of STS coverage by science disciplines and across the 7-12 grade levels. Results revealed that less than 7% of the narrative space is devoted to STS topics, with a range of 11.5% to 0.5%. Further, the coverage of STS topics decreases as grade level increases. A great discrepancy, therefore, exists between goals for science education (an STS emphasis) to actual coverage in the most frequently used textbooks.     

STS革新教材给新世纪高师课程教材改革的启迪

STS (“科学·技术·社会”)革新教材 ,是我国教育领域的一个热门话题。文章介绍了STS产生、发展及其特点。谈了打破传统的教材模式 ,让师生真正进行一种共同的讨论式的学习、走出学科 ,在“综合”中求得拓展的新天地、让学生直接参与教育教学活动 ,为教育注入创新的生机和活力的三点体会。最后从新世纪高度阐明了高师院校借鉴STS的模式改革课程教材的必要性、紧迫性和具体举措。     

责任伦理观的引入与自然辩证法教学改革

在社会生活和科学技术不断变化的新形势下,在自然辩证法教学中引入责任伦理观十分必要,可以进一步突显其科学？人文素质教育的双重功能。根据责任伦理观的内涵和现实国情,我们要积极培养理工科研究生对科学技术事业健全发展、社会进步和自然界的责任意识。为此,需要把责任伦理观融合到自然辩证法教学实践中,通过增补自然辩证法教学内容来体现责任伦理观;通过任课教师的教学理念来落实责任伦理观;通过案例教学来强化责任伦理观。     

The Effects of STS Issue Investigation and Action Instruction Versus Traditional Life Science Instruction on Seventh Grade Students' Citizenship Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of employing an STS instructional model that addresses each of the four goal levels of STS education versus an instructional model containing only life science content, on seventh grade students' participation in citizenship action on STS issues. A modified version of the non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental research design was used with seventeen intact seventh grade life science classes, ten of which received STS instruction (N = 264) and seven of which received life science instruction (N = 136) over 20 school days. The STS instruction sequentially addressed each of the four goal levels for STS education. Data were collected using the Actions Taken on Public Issues instrument to measure citizenship behaviors. ANOVA and repeated measures ANOVA were employed to analyze data. It was concluded from the findings that employment of an STS issue investigation with an action instructional model that addressed the four goal levels of STS education significantly increased seventh grade students' participation in citizenship actions on STS issues. Implications and recommendations are provided.     

On the muckiness of science,ethics, and preservice teacher education: contemplating the (im)possibilities of a ‘right’-eous stance

In this article, we wade through the muckiness of ethics in science, teaching, and teacher education, in the form of a generative metalogue. Grounded in Sara’s experience with preservice teachers learning about ethics through a case study of a high school dissection, we contend with what it means to shift away from colonial and masculinist binaries that produce particular moralistic orientations as 'wrong' or 'right.' We contemplate what it means to attempt to teach-think-feel with ethics as 'mucky,' without diminishing attention to relations of power in science and ethics. Through our own thinking–feeling process and grappling with the ways that science and education can be simultaneously oppressive and liberating in an unfinished, complex, and interdependent world (of difference), we propose: Thinking with muckiness is ethical praxis; drawing from our own embodied resources for ethical feelingthinkingdoing is central to this praxis; and (place-conscious) powered relations in science and education must be made explicit.

     

An investigation of the semantic meaning assigned to concepts affiliated with sts education and of STS instructional practices among a sample of exemplary science teachers

The semantic meaning assigned to concepts associated with science-technology-society (STS) education, the percentage of science course time allotted to STS instruction, the categories of STS issues infused into sciences courses, and the instructional procedures used to do so, were examined among a sample of 65 exemplary secondary-level science teachers. The teachers were volunteers from the 87 science teachers from a Midwestern state locally nominated for the Presidential Awards Program. Data were collected using the Science Teaching Issue Opinionnaire (STIO) and a questionnaire, both developed and validated by the investigator. The STIO used a semantic differential format; it was composed of 23 STS education affiliated concepts (e.g., science; technology; students' need to understand the interrelationships among science, technology, and society; my ability to teach …), each followed by 13 seven-point bipolar adjective scales (alpha reliability = 0.97). The instruments were distributed and returned by mail. The exemplary science teachers were found to hold positive opinions of (1) science, (2) technology, (3) their understanding of science, and (4) their ability to teach science. The teachers expressed slightly positive opinions of (1) students' understanding of STS, (2) students' need to understand STS, (3) their own understanding of STS interrelationships, and (4) their ability to teach STS. The teachers suggested that 15% of secondary science course instructional time be dedicated to STS, but did not appear to dedicate near that amount of time to STS. “Pollution” headed a brief and rather predictable list of STS issues infused into science courses. On average a teacher infused 2.5 STS issues into a science course. The discussion, lecture, and a combination of these dominated the list of 35 instructional procedures which are not unique to or necessarily appropriate for STS instruction.