Science activities for young children

Science for young children, and older ones as well, should be a blend of development of science content, science processes, and positive attitudes toward science. When educators stress development and learning in these three interrelated and complementary areas, children learn how to explore science as they develop skill in using science processes such as observing, communicating, predicting, and inferring.Jean Shaw is Associate Professor of Elementary Education at the University of Mississippi. Sally Blake teaches at Kentucky Wesleyan College. The late Mary Jo Cliatt taught at the University of Mississippi.     

Making sense of the new academic disciplines

Peter Shaw is consulting editor of Academic Questions and Will Ariedl Durant Professor of Humanities for 1990–1991 at St. Peter’s College, Jersey City, NJ 07306.     

The response of pre-service teachers to a compulsory research project

This paper draws on 159 survey responses of fourth year Education students as they embark on a research project based in their internship school. The project explores predisposition to research and the level of preparedness to undertake a research project. The students who met most frequently with their supervisor and showed higher research self-efficacy were also most likely to want to undertake postgraduate study and reacted positively to good personal support and a feeling of belonging to a research “community”. Many felt they were “unconnected” to a learning community, and specifically to their supervisor. They were generally positive about their ability to do the tasks, such as finding and writing up literature, even though they were concerned about managing the overall commitment. Despite this they were optimistic about completion. Only 5% were sure they would undertake postgraduate study in the future, and 65% were sure they would not do so. In an environment where there is commitment to promoting research skills consistent with the needs of a knowledge society and drawing on evidence to inform practice, the findings not only raise the question of how best to support and give meaning to early research endeavours of preservice teachers, but also highlights the challenge of achieving this against a high level of disinterest in further tertiary study.     

"It just goes against the grain." Public understandings of genetically modified (GM) food in the UK

This paper reports on one aspect of qualitative research on public understandings of food risks, focusing on lay understandings of genetically modified (GM) food in the UK context. A range of theoretical, conceptual, and empirical literature on food, risk, and the public understanding of science are reviewed. The fieldwork methods are outlined and empirical data from a range of lay groups are presented. Major themes include: varying "technical" knowledge of science, the relationship between knowledge and acceptance of genetic modification, the uncertainty of scientific knowledge, genetic modification as inappropriate scientific intervention in "nature", the acceptability of animal and human applications of genetic modification, the appropriate boundaries of scientific innovation, the necessity for GM foods, the uncertainty of risks in GM food, fatalism about avoiding risks, and trust in "experts" to manage potential risks in GM food. Key discussion points relating to a sociological understanding of public attitudes to GM food are raised and some policy implications are highlighted.